March 2008: Fresh talent from Agricultural and Horticultural College
Emma Bowles joins us from Hadlow College, Kent's premier land-based college, where she gained a BTEC National Award in Horticulture (Design) with 'distinction' in her Specialist Project study and Landscape Construction.  She is now part of the new team at Benenden School where she has put her excellent skills, qualifications and bags of enthusiasm to good use.

January 2008: New clients - Benenden School and Weydon School
Benenden School, Cranbrook
Founded in 1923, Benenden School in Cranbrook, Kent is one of the country's leading boarding schools and educates over 500 girls aged between 11 and 18. The School's estate comprises around 250 acres with sports fields, buildings and formal areas as well as ancient parkland, ponds and lakes, woodland including a pinetum, pasture and even its own Japanese water garden.  Of course, such a diverse environment requires a specialist team of grounds care staff - a challenge to which CGC were keen to rise.

CGC began managing the grounds of Benenden School in January.  A permanent team of staff is now in place and, with the necessary investment in new machinery, they are keen to develop the grounds and raise their profile even higher.  The team say the School is a "beautiful place to work with a huge variety of work that means it is a pleasure coming in each day.  You never get bored working in such attractive surroundings."

Weydon School, Farnham
CGC started working with Weydon School in Farnham at the end of January and is already enjoying a very positive relationship.  One of our main objectives, in partnership with the School, is to help them with their aim to become one of the leading comprehensive schools in the area for sports, and compete with independent schools in rugby, football and cricket.

To this end, we have undertaken all Spring renovations of the sports pitches, involving vertidraining, overseeding and re-setting goal posts, together with carrying out a full maintenance programme throughout the Summer months, ready for the start of play in the Autumn.

Sian Blason, Head of Sport, says of her experience with CGC, "the work done so far has made a massive difference.  The team have turned the grounds around in a very short time with the pitches recovering from Winter already.  Kevin and his team are excellent and communicate closely with me to understand what I need."

October 2007: London Gardens Society trophy presentation evening
Held this year at the glorious Egyptian Hall in Mansion House, London, the awards are an annual celebration of the horticultural activities of the London boroughs.  This year, Director Bob Bailey and London Team Head Darren Bashford attended the awards to represent CGC.  Prizes were handed out in several categories by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.  The work of Darren and his team at St Pancras Hospital was awarded prizes in two categories on the night.

September 2007: CGC welcomes St Peter's Catholic School, Merrow
The School is situated in the Merrow district of Guildford, Surrey and is set in a very pleasant environment with excellent facilities. The extensive grounds and many pitches and sports fields require much attention to keep them looking their best.

The main aim of our work with St Peter's is to focus on their grounds care service to more specifically suit their needs.  Premises Manager, Richard Assender, said, "There has been a significant improvement in the upkeep of the grounds since CGC took on the contract.  The on-site maintenance team are very hard-working and always accommodate short-term requests to tackle any problems at the School site." 

May 2007: The Chelsea Flower Show, 23rd - 27th May
The flower show has been running for more than 140 years - originally called the Royal Horticultural Society's Great Spring Show when it began in 1862 at the RHS garden in Kensington. This year marks the 81st year of the show being held at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. The Chelsea Flower Show is still viewed as the most important event in the horticultural calendar and is as popular as ever. With new trends constantly appearing it is clear that the Chelsea Flower Show will continue to mark the country's ever changing horticultural history. To find out more or to book tickets visit www.rhs.org

Febuary 2007: Win Tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show, 23rd - 27th May. Simply email a photo of your grounds looking glorious this spring for your chance to win two tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show this May. The winning photo will be published in the next issue. Entry closes on the 1st April. The winner will be contacted by the 15th April.

January 2007: Commercial Grounds Care busy with recent storm damage
During the recent storms, Commercial Grounds Care was called out frequently to deal with numerous damaged fences and trees. Andrew Gould, Contracts Manager commented, “We are not a nine-to-five company and our regular clients appreciate the experienced service and 24 hour availability we provide”.

Insurers could face a £350m bill for the damage caused by storms that swept across the country in January, experts claim. Winter storm, ‘Kyrill’ battered Europe on the 18th of January and led to 13 UK deaths. Despite the devastation it caused, the Association of British Insurers said the event would be only the eighth most expensive UK weather incident. The "great storm" of 1987, which cost the industry £2bn, was the second most expensive.

Having trees surveyed regularly, enabling structural weakness to be detected and dealt with ensures that storm damage and subsequent risks are minimal. Notre Dame School, Lingfield has suffered no storm damage over recent months, despite the high winds. This can be attributed to Commercial Grounds Care’s regular maintenance and monitoring of the schools trees over the last three years, as part of the grounds management service.

Contact Commercial Grounds Care today to learn more about storm damage services and tree surgery.

January 2007: Commercial Grounds Care Newsletter Launched
To get your hands on the new seasonal newsletter created by Commercial Grounds Care, please join our mailing list using the quick link menu to the left or take a look on the downloads section.

November 2006: Commercial Grounds Care Publish New Brochure
Commercial Grounds Care is pleased to announce the publication of the new company brochure. To get your copy please contact Robert or Jane at Commercial Grounds Care today. Alternatively, take a quick glance at the brochure by clicking here.

October 2006: New Website Launched by Commercial Grounds Care
Commercial Grounds Care has launched their new website at www.commercialgroundscare.com The site details an extensive range of grounds care and management services, including recruitment and equipment support services. The new website also has a useful resource section that includes useful links, downloads, fact sheets and the option to sign up to the new seasonal newsletter.

October 2006: Commercial Grounds Care work with Zest Marketing
Commercial Grounds Care has joined forces with Zest Marketing to develop the company's marketing strategy to ensure continued business growth. The strategy has included the creation of new marketing materials, such as the company brochure.