We are pleased to warmly welcome Harry Bradley to our sales team as our Home Area Sales Executive. With his extensive experience in the horticulture industry, Harry is well-equipped to make a significant impact. We look forward to the expertise and fresh perspectives he will bring to our team.
1) Welcome to the team Harry! Can you tell us a bit about your background in horticulture? My horticultural journey started in 2014, when I left school and started as one of the first apprentices at RHS Harlow Carr – this was a beautiful setting to learn and kick off my career in horticulture. Following this I have worked in landscaping across a variety of projects, from garden maintenance to hotel planting schemes.
2)What will your new role include? I will be servicing the home area of our sales department, covering areas such as the North-West, Yorkshire, and Wales.
3) What are you looking forward to most? I’d have to say I am looking forward to meeting all our customers across the regions. I always enjoy getting to know people in the industry and learning about all the different work that is going on!
4) What are you enjoying most about being back in horticulture? The plants! Whether it is walking into the office and taking in the displays in Cash & Carry or going to the yard to check on my customers orders, it is always nice to be surrounded by wonderful blooms and greenery .
5) Tell us something you’ve learnt since being here: That Rosmary is now under the name Salvia rosmarinus – not Rosmarinus officinalis.
6) What’s your favourite plant and why? I would have to go with a fern, I love the wide variety of species available and the structure they can bring to a garden.
7) What famous garden in the visit would you love to visit and why? Tresco Abbey Garden – I have a couple of friends work at the garden and it looks incredible. Due to the climate, they are able to grow a really interesting range of plants.
8) What do you like to get up to outside of work? Anything outdoors such as hiking, climbing, paddle boarding
9) Favourite travel destination? The Lake District or Ibiza
10) Go to takeaway? Chinese (anything salt and pepper!)
Vicky Newell, Amenity Sales Manager, shared her enthusiasm: “I’m thrilled to welcome Harry to our sales team. His extensive background in horticulture and industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to enhance our service and drive growth. I’m confident that his knowledge and passion will greatly benefit our team and our customers.”
Posted 21st Aug 10:38am
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We are excited to extend a warm welcome to Richard Knowles, who joins the sales team as our Southern Area Sales Executive. We are confident that his contributions will drive continued success for our team. We look forward to working closely with him and seeing the positive impact he will have on our southern region. Please join us in welcoming Richard to the team!
1. Welcome to the team! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what brought you here? A 47-year-old Leeds United fan loves a good concert or comedy event. I needed a career change/challenge, and since moving to the countryside, I have a new appreciation for plants and wildlife.
2. What excites you most about starting this new journey in horticulture? Everything! Learning about various plants which would suit our cottage garden at home is a bonus.
3. What will your new role involve? Building new relationships with existing and new customers in the South of England, learning what projects they are working on and trying my hardest to help them win their quotes with competitive prices, quality plants/trees, with reliable delivery.
4. What do you think will be most challenging? Learning Latin
5. How have your first few weeks at Johnsons been? What have you enjoyed most? Meeting everyone who have all been very friendly and welcoming, and also the Ice Cream day was an amazing and generous treat, thank you!
6. Tell us something you’ve learnt that you didn’t know before: Latin name for Holly – Ilex aquifolium! But so much more.
7. What’s your favourite way to spend a day off? Dog walks in the countryside, or a concert!
8. Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I raised over £800 for Martins House Hospice – dressed as Tina Turner and joined “Totally Tina” (tribute act) in York on stage in front of hundreds, for “Hot Legs” song.
9. Favourite cuisine? Fish and Chips or a good Sunday Roast
10. Favourite holiday destination? Tenerife or Whitley Bay
Vicky Newell, Amenity Sales Manager, expressed her excitement, stating, “I’m thrilled to have Richard join our sales team. Along with his extensive sales experience, he has a deep understanding of the importance of placing our customers at the heart of everything we do.”
Posted 21st Aug 9:56am
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Aberdeen’s historic Union Terrace Gardens has been revitalized through a partnership between ourselves and Ashlea Ltd, one of the UK’s leading commercial landscape providers. This remarkable project recently won a Gold Award at the 2024 Scottish Design Awards for Public Building and another Gold Award for Lighting. Additionally, it secured the prestigious Project of the Year and Public Realm Project accolades at the ASA Design Awards 2024, following its 2023 CECA Scotland Place Making Award.
LDA Design led a project team comprising Balfour Beatty, Ashlea Ltd, Arup, Stallan Brand, Ryden, McLeod and Aitken. Balfour Beatty awarded Ashlea with the soft landscaping contract.
Our supply included over £215k worth of plants for the gardens. This included a custom hand-grown city crest made from gold and green Ilex crenata, and 130 different varieties of plants. Our supply portfolio includes the Athletes Village for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the luxury hotel Grantley Hall, and various Royal Parks.
Originally opened in 1879 by architect James Matthews, Union Terrace Gardens has undergone a £28.3m rejuvenation. The gardens now feature new wheelchair-friendly routes, a children’s play area, and three new pavilions for cafes, restaurants, and cultural spaces.
The Gardens also feature extensive seating, new lighting elements, refurbished historic arches and Victorian toilets and specially commissioned artworks. Additionally, there is a new water feature, and the statues of William Wallace, Rabbie Burns, and Edward VII have been cleaned alongside, the ‘grand staircase’ leading down to the lower Gardens.
Over 20,000 plants were supplied to increase biodiversity within the Victorian park, including 1,252 Primula vulgaris, 1,853 Ophiopogon plan ‘Nigrescens’, 1,400 Brunnera, 1,270 Ajuga reptans ‘Atropurpurea’, 1,008 Anemone Honorine Jobert 2L, and thousands of Ilex crenata gold and green which made up the city crest.
Johnsons Nurseries’ marketing manager, Eleanor Richardson, said: “We were thrilled when the opportunity arose to work on such an iconic garden project, and it was great to work with the fantastic team at Ashlea once again.
“The project has breathed new life into the gardens, and we hope that our plants can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
Stuart Simpson, Director at Ashlea Ltd, said: “We were delighted to work with the Johnsons team once again on this project, transforming Union Terrace Gardens into a fresh, revitalized space. Johnsons’ top-quality plants, trees, and shrubs really enhanced the gardens and made this a truly tranquil location.”
Johnsons Nurseries and Ashlea Ltd have collaborated on numerous projects before, including The NCL2 Fulfilment Centre, Stockton, Sighthill, Glasgow, Pennine 5 Campus, Sheffield and various Center Parcs locations across the UK.
Photo credit: Chris Swan Photography
Posted 5th Aug 4:34pm
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