In This Issue
Sustainability - Doing nothing is dangerous
Record start to the year, reveals GTN Bestsellers
100km team relay for industry construction specialists
100% natural weed prevention product launched in UK
Buyers flock to Glee at Spring Fair as exhibitors report brisk business from UK and overseas
Glee at Spring Fair New Product Showcase winners
Plant sales up as primulas lead the way
Kelkay win GWP business from rivals
Gardenex secures funding for National Hardware Show
Hillier Nurseries and partners going extra mile to support new Maggie’s Centre Southampton
Pictures from GCA Conference themed-party night
Zest 4 Leisure reveals Charity of the Year for 2020
Award-winning reputation grows for leading garden centre
Gordale staff star in BBC One TV programme
Clothing and houseplants show increases in December
Freedom of City of London granted to compost firm's MD
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
LeisureGrow Group Enhances Sales Management Team with Focus on Pet, Garden & Lighting Growth
Have drip feeders had their day?
Garden retail expert bolsters Vitax’s sales team
Weather, Peat or Price?
Empathy by PlantWorks appoint sales manager for the North
Wild Bird Care sales down
Flymo announces its Ambassador for 2020
Red Baron and Pink Fir Apple lead in the veg patch
HTA applaud vote to keep Universal Business Rates in Scotland
The best of last week's
January sales up on past three years
Glee at Spring Fair is open
Launch of Young People in Horticulture Association
Lubera win award for Best Novelty Bedding Plant
HTA comments on Brexit and Environment Bill
January plant sales are a good omen for a great 2020
Gardenex announces Joe Denham as new chairman
Garden Centre Photo Tours
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
Casual Dining previews new exhibitors & new launches for 2020
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Freedom of City of London granted to compost firm's MD

 

A Cumbrian businesswoman who makes eco garden compost from Herdwick wool and bracken has been granted the Freedom of the City of London.

 

Professor Jane Barker, who runs Dalefoot Composts with her husband Simon Bland at Heltondale near Penrith, was awarded the honour in a special ceremony at London’s Guildhall. Jane was also officially ‘clothed’ as a member of the Worshipful Company of Woolmen, one of the oldest Livery Companies in the City tracing its roots to 1180. 

 

The double honours are in recognition of her work to promote the sustainable benefits of wool. Dalefoot Composts, a significant local employer, makes a range of premium peat-free garden composts using ingredients harvested from the local fells – lower grade hill sheep wool that farmers find difficult to sell and invasive bracken. The composts are used by champion growers and stocked in garden centres across the UK.

 

“As a young girl growing up in the Eden Valley, this is something that I would never have dreamt happening! I joined four other Woolmen at the Guildhall in London to receive our parchment certificates, swear an oath and sign the Freeman’s Declaration Book - Lord Nelson had been there before me. The Livery Companies raise £70 million a year for charity, an incredible amount. I feel privileged to play a part in this tradition and delighted that Simon and our daughter Arabella were there too to watch,” Jane said.

 

And although officially Jane can now drive her sheep across London Bridge without taxation, she will be keeping her flock of Whitefaced Woodlands safely at home. Champions of peat-free and climate change gardening, Jane also runs with her husband the parent company Barker & Bland Ltd which restores large areas of damaged peatbogs from the Cairngorms to Dartmoor for organisations like Natural England and Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Jane is a Professor of Practice at the University of Cumbria – Centre for National Parks & Protected Areas, Department of Science, Natural Resources & Outdoor Studies.

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