Lindum Turf, has been nominated for an award at the world’s most prestigious gardening show, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, for the second year in succession. Based at Thorganby near York, Lindum was named as the winner of the Sustainable Garden Product of the Year category last year, for its plastic-free wildflower turf.
The turf, which can produce an instant wildflower meadow effect, is grown on a fully biodegradable growing medium, unlike many others that use a single-use plastic mesh that damages the environment.
This year, the company has been shortlisted in the same category for its latest innovation – Species Rich Turf – a mixture of hardy grasses and wildflowers that can directly replace a monoculture grass lawn. As with wildflower turf, Species Rich is also plastic free, ensuring that laying it does not damage the environment in any way.
Lindum Turf managing director, Stephen Fell, said to be nominated two years in succession was a great honour. “Being nominated at Chelsea last year, and then winning, was a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work and innovation the team at Lindum Turf dedicate to creating new and sustainable products,” he says.
“Our wildflower turf is not only plastic free, meaning no single use plastics are buried in the soil to degrade into microplastics, it also provides a rich diversity of flora that attracts vital pollinators.
“Our Species Rich Turf builds on this idea, but with the addition of some hardy grass varieties to make it robust enough to replace a normal family lawn.
“The turf can withstand being walked on and played on, but adds a large diversity of plants to a garden making it much more ecologically beneficial than a monocrop lawn. It’s a great way to maximise the environmental benefits of your garden without compromising on utility.”
Lindum Turf will have to wait for the show, which takes place from May 21-25 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, to find out if they have won.
Some turf producers grow turf with a plastic-reinforced mesh incorporated, which helps to keep it together when being lifted, but the mesh is buried in the soil once the turf is laid leaving it to break down into microplastics which pollute the soil and even nearby watercourses.
Last year, Stephen Fell challenged the industry to remove single use plastics in turf as it is environmentally damaging. The Chelsea Flower Show has already banned plastic bags, floral foam, and plastic artificial turf across its shows and is aiming for the complete removal of single use plastics by 2025. It holds the Sustainable Garden Product of the Year category to encourage and highlight innovation in this area and reward companies doing the best work.
Describing single use plastics as the antithesis of environmentally friendly garden, Stephen continues: “People want to create wildflower meadows because of the beautiful colours and because they provide the type of biodiversity we need to help restore nature.
“This aim is entirely inconsistent with burying harmful plastics in the ground so it is high time the industry fully addressed this issue.”
Picture caption: Lindum Turf’s Managing Director Stephen Fell with the company’s new Species Rich Turf, which has been shortlisted in the Sustainable Garden Product of the Year category at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.