A National Trust property in Devon keeps tree and hedge cover in check, quietly and without fumes.

Situated on a ridge above the Plym estuary on the outskirts of Plymouth, the much visited landscaped garden at 18th Century Saltram House is very much exposed to south coast winds. Head gardener at the National Trust property Penny Hammond has the constant task of maintaining screening, yet preserving the delightful views across the Devon countryside. She’s now found a way of achieving this that’s easier and less obtrusive to visitors.

Holm Oaks (also known as Holly Oaks) provide evergreen protection for the garden areas around the House, but the lower branches have to be kept in check to allow visitors to see the surrounding landscape. Previously this was a job done by 2-stroke petrol saws and because of the noise and fumes, the work had to be carried out before 11.00am when Saltram House welcomes its first visitors each day. Since April this year things have changed with the use of battery-powered tree and shrub equipment.

“We’d had Pellenc equipment on trial from Exeter dealer Radmore and Tucker and, because of the way they performed for us, decided we had to add them to our armoury permanently,” said Penny Hammond,”

“I have to make a case for a fixed asset purchase like this, but it wasn’t difficult since it fits neatly into the greener technology policy the National Trust is adopting these days. It means we don’t have to call on contractors for cutting jobs anywhere near as much as we used to.

“The Holly Oaks are pretty tough to prune, but with the Selion pole saw it’s like slicing through butter with a hot knife. We like very much that it can easily be extended and best of all its quiet and there are no fumes. We now do the job more quickly and at any time because there’s no hindrance to visitors. It’s very much opened things up for us in terms of work planning.”

A 300-metre stretch of beech hedge planted six years ago for screening part of the garden area also has to be kept trimmed and a Pellenc Helion hedge trimmer was bought at the same time for this and other hedging work, as was a Pellenc Excelion brushcutter for general ground clearance work. Each of the new machines runs off a single lithium-ion powered battery unit that fits comfortably around the user’s shoulders.

Penny Hammond has three full-time staff in her department and upwards of ten regular volunteers. She says that a real bonus is that the new tree and hedge trimmers are used with ease by everyone involved in the garden work at Saltram.

“In the past there used to be many more gardeners doing the work here, but now equipment plays a much bigger role, so it’s important that what we use earns its keep. These new machines certainly do that. They are a dream to use.”

Etesia UK will shortly be hitting the road, after announcing the dates of their first road show since 2006, with an emphasis on all things green. The 2012 Green Technology Show series kicks off on Tuesday 27th March at Merrist Wood College, Guildford.

Planned as a hands-on, arrive and drive event for all new and existing Etesia and Pellenc customers, the road show will then move on to Edge Hill University, Lancashire on Thursday 29th March, with further dates to be arranged for later in the year.

“Previous road shows we’ve held have been highly successful and extremely well attended,” said Les Malin, Etesia UK’s General Manager. “Commercial users take advantage of the opportunity to try the machines for themselves and gain first-hand knowledge of our full range of products. They will be able to gain advice from our staff and, if required, arrange follow-up demonstrations.”

Open to all, the events, which run from 10am to 3pm, will include the full range of Pellenc environmentally friendly lithium-ion battery powered tools along with Etesia’s electric Bahia M2E, which was first seen at SALTEX last year, the range of robot ETMowers and the 124 Bio Diesel ride-on mowers.

At each event, visitors will be able to take advantage of an on-the-day special offer, which will see them receive a free Pellenc tool. Further incentives and prize draws will also take place. Refreshments and lunch will also be available to all.

In addition to the two road show dates, the company has also confirmed their presence at the Plant Network Conference on Wednesday 28th March at the University of York.

This timely conference will explore horticultural practices in relation to economic, social and environmental challenges that face public gardens and parks today.

Attendance to either of the road show events is free by pre-registration only. Anyone keen to come along should contact their local dealer to book a place, or alternatively, you can register your interest by email. Include your name, company/organisation, which road show you would like to attend, and the number of customers you will be attending with.

Charles Rodriguez established Garden Thyme Limited, a grounds maintenance business, to service the Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Middlesex and South West London areas twenty years ago. Initially contracts were confined simply to grass cutting and maintenance on the many housing estates that were springing up in the South of England.

Council housing’s grassy surrounds provide a major source of business and as a result Garden Thyme’s involvement in keeping estates green amenities ship-shape has continued to grow. Grounds maintenance remains the core of the business, but in general the associated disciplines include; arboriculture, park patrol, sports field management and planting and designing new borders.

Charles says that there has always been a pride in minimising the intrusive side of the work that they do: “Most of the sites where we work are sensitive in one way or another. As we work in predominantly residential areas, the sound of petrol machines is not necessarily welcome”.

For weeks on end Charles and his team have the daily task of seeing that not only are the residential areas as leaf and litter-free as possible, but that the surrounds of the play areas are safe from fallen leaf hazards and always look in tip-top order.

Charles’ dilemma had always been keeping a balance between controlling debris accumulation and minimising disruptive noise, so much of the work was previously done by hand. When a petrol blower could be used, the operatives needed air defenders, and so residents did not welcome leaf blowing.

Around three years ago he first saw Pellenc lithium-battery equipment at IOG SALTEX and bought his first piece of equipment – two Helion hedgecutters along with battery pack from his machinery dealer, Richmonds Groundcare of Esher. After the launch of the Airion blower last year, Charles thought this could be the answer his problems.

Weighing only 2.6 kg and with a noise level of just 80 db, it is the lightest and quietest professional blower on the market and can be used near sensitive areas such as hospitals and schools. It is very comfortable to hold owing to the soft touch new generation handgrip and is optimally balanced for natural tilting towards the ground.

The Airion has 4 speeds which easily enable the operator to effortlessly optimise and adjust the speed of the air expelled according to its working environment and the site to be cleaned. Keeping the speed selector button pressed instantly selects the booster mode, giving a maximum power of 750 Watts. This function is especially useful for picking up wet vegetation or heavy waste matter.

“At first, one of the residents at one of our sites thought that the blower was actually broken because it was so quiet!  We can now start work on site earlier which also enables us to get on with other tasks.

“All of the operatives like using the equipment because they are light, quiet and are very low vibration compared to the petrol equivalents. Because the machines are battery powered, we know that they will ‘start’ first time, every time with no risk of the plugs fouling or the pull-start breaking.

“The other advantage is that we no longer have to mix 2-stroke fuel and carry petrol cans with us. The reduction in fuel expenditure is a big factor for us. In a single year we must have saved hundreds of pounds”.

Etesia UK has published a new customer focused newsletter, aptly named ‘Cutting News’, with the first issue now available through their nationwide network of dealers, the company direct and via a digital download on the company’s new website.

The newsletter is in addition to the regular dealer newsletter which the company produces and provides user stories for their range of ride-on and pedestrian mowers, brushcutters as well as the complete range of Pellenc Lithium-ion battery powered equipment as well as details of new products launched and company news.

“I think people will enjoy reading the newsletter,” says Les Malin, Etesia UK’s General Manager. “We always try to be as informative as possible and keep everyone up-to-date with all of our developments. We will be producing the newsletter on a regular basis to both new and existing customers, but if you need any extra help or advice on the range of environmentally-friendly products we offer from both Etesia and Pellenc, we are always happy to speak to you.”

The newsletter can be digitally downloaded by visiting the company’s brand new website – www.etesia.co.uk and click on the news section.

Autumn leaf fall is a massive problem to Eamonn Murphy, Grounds and Gardens Manager at Haileybury, one of the UK’s leading boarding schools, in Hertfordshire. The co-educational public school, founded in 1862, has grounds of over 500 acres with hundreds of trees, most of them native deciduous, with oak, birch and chestnut the principal offenders in terms of leaf shedding.

For weeks on end Eamonn and his team have the daily task of seeing that not only are the school’s pitches as leaf-free as possible, but that the surrounds of the teaching blocks and the main buildings are safe from fallen leaf hazards and always look in tip-top order.

Eamonn’s dilemma had always been keeping a balance between controlling leaf accumulation in the central school areas and minimising disruptive noise. His petrol leaf blowers needed air defenders for the operative, so teachers and the bursary did not welcome leaf blowing albeit necessary. Eighteen months ago he was introduced to Pellenc lithium-battery equipment by his machinery dealer, RT Machinery of Aylesbury.

After a trial period of using these he soon realised that noise need no longer be an issue for work close to school buildings and bought a set of the equipment.  Eamonn has had it in full active use at the school for just under a year now and the Pellenc Airion leaf blower, which weighs just 2.6Kg, is keeping the walkways and drives close to the school free of leaves.

“The acoustics of the school buildings and their surrounds are such that noises are much exaggerated,” said Eamonn. “Control of these light machines is very easy and actually more responsive than our existing petrol ones.  Set on level one, when you’re 10 metres away from leaf blowing, you can barely hear it. Even on the top level four, it sounds a bit like a hair-drier, no more than that.

“At first my staff – and to be honest me too – were a little sceptical about whether such quiet machines would have the power to do the job. We have been proved wrong. Leaf blowing is more than adequately dealt with, and having a multi-purpose power source in the battery back-pack is a real asset. Switching from job to job, which we have to do all the time, is so easy now.  

“The reduction in fuel expenditure is a big factor for us. In a single year we must have saved hundreds of pounds.

“I believe petrol-driven hand equipment will soon be a thing of the past. I pride myself on always looking for the latest and best solutions to problems, especially if they offer an environmentally friendly bonus.  I do not like to stand still when it comes to equipment and methods of working. Health and Safety and EU Directives keep on mounting, so it’s vital to conform or, better still, be ahead of the game. I like to think that, by doing jobs like leaf blowing using battery-power, Haileybury is a pace setter.”   

As a groundsman Eamonn obtained his initial training at Otley College in Suffolk and at Ipswich Town under Alan Ferguson, who is now in charge of pitchcare at the Football Association’s National Centre at Burton. After joining Haileybury as a Deputy Head Groundsman ten years ago, within 18 months, Eamonn took over as Head Groundsman and last year in a re-organisation took on the wider responsibility of Grounds and Gardens Manager, which has given him the opportunity to undertake and manage all operations at the school concerning non-building work.

In his time at Haileybury he has achieved HND in Sports Turf Science at Writtle College. He heads up a team of 13 groundsmen and gardeners and looks after 13 grass pitches for rugby, cricket, football, lacrosse and hockey, plus a sand-based artificial hockey pitch. Thanks partly to him, and with the support of the Bursar, the school is these days self-sufficient in equipment and manpower for all its sports pitch and garden needs.

As well as seeing that Haileybury now has sports pitches to match any at rival public schools, Eamonn has a one rare and notable international distinction. He is the International rugby pitch consultant to Kazakhstan. Haileybury has sister schools in the Euro-Asian republic in Almaty and a recently opened school in the nation’s capital Astana, and through Haileybury’s affiliation with the rugby team (1st team captain undertaking coaching sessions at Haileybury Almaty) was invited to advise on the re-construction and on-going maintenance of its national rugby stadium at Almaty, which he describes as a very challenging, continuous but fulfilling task he carries out with the full support of the school.