Case Study

Our grounds maintenance team looks after the gardens and grounds of the Vineyard Hotel near Newbury.

The hotel management recently approached Scofell to ask us to create an open green space on a field behind the hotel, so they can erect a marquee there.

The field, about the size of a football pitch, was covered in brambles six feet high, self-seeded raspberry canes and all manner of other weeds. We first cleared the whole area, and then dug over the ground with a tractor and rotovator. Our flailbot is excellent for challenging terrains; we used it to mulch up the vegetation, and then removed all the waste material.

Clearing an area like this requires patience before landscaping can begin. Every time that the soil is disturbed, more weed seeds are brought up from lower down in the soil. So it’s best to allow time for those weed seeds to regrow, so that they can be dug out once more. This enables us to create a stable seed bed, which gives the desired seeds the best chance of surviving.

We are currently in this waiting period. The next step will be to spray the regrowth, dig up and dispose of the roots, dig out the stumps, level the ground, rotovate the whole area and then plant our wildflower and grass seeds.

The plan is to put beehives in a corner of the field, so we will plant a species-rich wildflower mix for the sake of biodiversity and the sake of the bees.

Four months after we started this project, the Vineyard will have a green landscaped area where a marquee can be set up, offering more beautiful surroundings for the hotel guests to enjoy.