A section of residential central London is undergoing a major change in the way its communal gardens are maintained, with a marked benefit to the local environment. This significantly includes the machinery being used to do it.
The Church Commissioners Hyde Park Estate, is maintained under contract by Tony Heywood Landscapes. Tony Heywood has set out to promote the whole idea of sustainable practices in gardening for the private squares under his charge and owners of the land, the Church Commissioners through its management agents Frank Knight, have agreed to a three year programme of step-by-step action to achieve it.
The scheme being put into action by the company’s team of seven staff, all of them trained horticulturalists, involves different planting regimes such as prioritizing perennial bedding rather than annuals, and replacing chemical control of weeds with hand weeding and organic methods.
Another of its principal features is a gradual switch-over from petrol to battery-powered equipment for the routine maintenance tasks, and this is already under way with the recent introduction of a Helion hedge trimmer, an Airion leaf and debris blower, and an Excelion strimmer all made by French manufacturer Pellenc.
“I went to Saltex last year specifically to take a close look at battery-powered machines suitable for work in the Hyde Park Estate squares,” said Tony Heywood.
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