As part of
Course Manager Matt Aplin’s strategy to improve the ecological footprint of the
Goring and Streatley Golf Club, the “amazingly colourful results” of sowing
Euroflor wildflowers “attracted as many complimentary comments about the
outstanding display of colour as about the quality and performance of our
greens”, he says.
“That was
in a year when the course was magnificent – it was looking immaculate and was
playing very well - so the display of wildflowers obviously made a massive
impression on everyone who saw them,” he adds.
“The news
travelled fast about the swathe of colours and we even had non-playing visitors
coming to see the display!”
Since Matt was appointed Course Manager at the Berkshire club in 2015 –
after joining the greenkeeping team as an apprentice 20 years ago – he has
constantly been looking for opportunities to improve the course’s ecological
footprint and last year identified a rough area adjacent to the 14th hole that he wanted to improve.
“I was
bouncing my thoughts about the possible use of wildflowers off Gareth Acteson,
Rigby Taylor’s area sales director, and he suggested that the Euroflor mix
(rather than native species) might work better in that spot.
“The Sarah
Bouquet mix of annuals was chosen on the advice of club member Joyce Gustard,
who is renowned among the membership for the quality of the floral display in
her own garden, and that was definitely a wise move because a few months after
sowing the area was awash with colour.”
Sarah
Bouquet is a mix of 30 different species, including Anethum Graveolens, Borago
Officinalis, Callistephus Chinensis, Helianthus Annuus, Helichrysum Bracteatum,
Lobularia Maritima, Lupinus Nanus and Rudbeckia Gloriosa, and has a flowering
height of 70-90 cms.
Adding
that he uses a lot of Rigby Taylor products on the 18-hole, par 71 course, not
least the R9 100% ultra-fine rye seed mix – “R9 has outstanding wear qualities,
for example, and is the best seed on the market”, as well as the Propel-R
wetting agent and a range of conventional and controlled-release fertilisers –
Matt confirms:
“We didn’t
do too much preparation for sowing the wildflower seeds and we undoubtedly
over-sowed in terms of seed ratio, but the impact was tremendous from June
right through to October.
“That
success, and the number of favourable comments we received, has spurred us to
double the overall amount of space sown with Euroflor wildflowers this year and
because we have used less seed (perhaps just 65% of what we sowed last year on
a similar-sized plot), we will effectively have double the amount of colour for
a relatively low additional cost.”
Another
way in which Matt recovered some of the cost of the outlay on seed was to
re-sell small Discovery packs (also supplied by Rigby Taylor) of the wildflower
seeds. “After seeing the flowers a number of members wanted the seeds for their
own gardens,” says Matt.
The cost
savings to the club have also been aided by the fact that at the end of last
season Matt cut down the plants and left them where they fell, to encourage
natural seeding. “Already now [in May] some of last year’s seeds are 45 cms
high”, he adds, “and that is as a result of using an annuals mix. That equates
to real value for money.”
