Landscape & Urban Design Issue 32 2018 | Page 40

Rigby Taylor Helps Bring Nature Into Towns

Increasing numbers of county , borough and parish councils , as well as schools , are seeing high levels of improvements in the increased levels of visual impact and the biodiversity benefits being created by their use of Rigby Taylor ’ s EuroFlor urban flower mixtures .
Importantly , too , local community budgets are also benefiting from the reduced cost of the urban flower seed mixes compared to bedding schemes . Indeed , not only is the seed and installation cost much cheaper , but in-season maintenance costs are also reduced .
As an example , Monmouthshire County Council has been winning plaudits from both the public and wildlife experts with outstanding results from using EuroFlor .
Upon entering the county visitors are greeted by welcome signs carrying a bee symbol to indicate the work the council is doing to encourage pollinating insects and to acknowledge the council ’ s recently introduced Pollinator Policy . Tenor and Classic ( perennial and annual ) EuroFlor mixture were sown on Monmouth ’ s roundabouts and roadsides , and attracted hundreds of letters of praise from the public .
Nigel Leaworthy , operations manager for landscape and grounds maintenance , says : “ The displays ticked so many boxes in relation to the Pollinator Policy , ie no plants grown in greenhouses , no travelling to the individual sites once planted to weed every two weeks , no watering , etc .
“ We identified strategic locations where the flower mixes would look best – roundabouts , housing estates , trunk roads and motorways – and determined that the EuroFlor mixes would eliminate 85 per cent of our annual bedding and provide savings in excess of £ 40,000 per annum .”
Other councils throughout the UK have had similar experiences .
EuroFlor mixtures provide :
• Choice of both annual and perennial mixtures
• Selected mixtures for both spring and autumn sowings
• Low installation and maintenance cost
• High visual impact & long flower displays
• Support for pollinating insects
• Ecological & species biodiversity
• Germination tested and packed in foil sachets .
Ecology seminar shows what wildflowers can do An ecology seminar at Great Barr Golf Club in Birmingham was attended by over 40 sports , amenity turf and landscape professionals who heard some excellent presentations on the ecological opportunities provided by wildflowers , how this can be managed as part of a sustainable landscape programme and what innovative solutions are available .
Also , Chris Stilgoe , head greenkeeper at the golf course , hosted an on-course site visit showing what can be achieved by sowing EuroFlor mixtures on the course . www . rigbytaylor . com
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