21 Mar Russell, our Rising Star!

Last year we entered Russell into the rising star category in the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) annual awards. Last Friday we attended the awards and we are extremely proud to announce we won the category!

Russell was awarded for his exceptional landscaping skills at such an early stage in his landscaping career. He joined us in March 2014 for work experience to complete his landscaping diploma at Merrist Wood Collage in Surrey. After the first week we realised Russell’s potential and employed him on a full-time basis. Within his first year of landscaping Russell has gone from strength to strength and will be running his own team by the autumn, this usually takes at least 5 years experience.

The winners, announced at awards event held at The Brewery in London on 13 March 2015, gain national recognition for their achievements and are testament to the high calibre landscaping offered by APL members.

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Chris Baker director of Holland Landscapes said: “in almost 30 years of landscaping I have never met someone who is so enthusiastic about landscaping. Russell shows the level of skill I would expect from someone who has been landscaping for many years, not one year. Me and Paul are very proud of him and know he will do very well within the landscape industry”.

The awards, now in their 19th year, recognise and promote the very best in landscaping undertaken by APL members in categories that range from smaller projects, special features and garden maintenance to contracts of over £250,000. The awards are a celebration of the high standards that have been achieved by members and demonstrate the APL’s commitment to quality landscaping.

This year’s judges were Richard Barnard from Hillier Landscapes, Bob Sweet, ex RHS Head of Garden Judging, Sorrel Everton from Gardens Illustrated, Robin Templar Williams of Robin Williams and Associates, and James Steele-Sargent from Arun Landscapes.

The Association of Professional Landscapers represents landscapers who meet a required standard of professionalism. Members of the Association are registered with the government endorsed TrustMark Scheme. They are regularly inspected and agree to follow a customer charter with clients. The APL is part of the Horticultural Trades Association which is the trade Association for the UK gardening industry. It is dedicated to helping develop the industry and its member businesses, including most garden centres and other garden retailers, growers, landscapers, manufacturers and service providers.