SUSTAINABLE GARDEN DESIGN PROMISED

A new partnership between the Lawn Association (LA) and the London College of Garden Design (LCGD) has been announced.

The two parties say this will ensure that garden design professionals have the skills and expertise to promote true sustainable lawn care within their work.

The Lawn Association say they practice, teach and promote sustainable lawn care that "corrects the mistakes of the past to guarantee superb lawns for the future".

By helping them to maintain the best new and established lawns, now and for the future, the students at the LCGD will learn about the foundations of lawn care, improving soil structures, nutrition and drainage as well as all other aspects. The aim of this is to ensure that their designs allow lawns to be future-proofed by being individually planned and matched to their environments.

LA Chairman David Hedges-Gowers explained, “Sustainable lawn care plays a massive role in securing a future for the lawns we love. Yet too many people continue to rely on herbicides, polymer-coated fertilisers and over-use of watering, the antithesis of sustainability.
 
"The LA continues to strive for better education and understanding at all levels to ensure lawn care remains the positive contributor to our environment that it should be. And so we are thrilled to be collaborating with the LCGD. 
 
"The intrinsic strength of any new lawn comes from the way it is designed. Therefore, who better to guarantee truly sustainable lawns for the future than garden designers and landscapers?"
 
LCGD Director, Andrew Fisher Tomlin, added, "We are delighted to be partnering with The Lawn Association to promote responsible modern lawn care to our students and alumni. Whilst there are many alternatives to lawns, every garden designer will be regularly asked to create traditional lawns within their designs. It is therefore important that they have up-to-date professional training that reflects the Lawn Association’s sustainable and ethical standards.”