MONTH IN REVIEW
TRIBUTE
THE SOCIETY OF GARDEN DESIGNERS PAYS TRIBUTE TO JOHN BROOKES
The Society of Garden Designers ( SGD ) has paid tribute to leading landscape designer John Brookes following his death on 16 March . The tribute was written by society member Andrew Duff .
An icon of garden design , it is not an exaggeration to say that John Brookes FSGD MBE has influenced us all as designers . Brookes enjoyed a breathtakingly diverse and broad career from the late 1950 ’ s working until his death last week leading the way forward from traditional to modern garden design .
His association with gardens started with his parents , growing vegetables for the family table during the war and then doing a three-year apprenticeship with the Parks Department in Nottingham . The last six months of this apprenticeship was with a Dutch landscape architect from whom Brookes learned the practicalities of design , including drawing , and who encouraged him to approach Brenda Colvin for a position in the office she shared with Dame Sylvia Crowe and with whom he worked after Colvin retired . It was in their Baker Street offices that he was exposed to the art and people that continued to inspire him for the rest of his life .
DEPARTURES
HTA ANNOUNCES CHAIRMAN CHRIS PATEMAN ’ S DEPARTURE
The Horticultural Trades Association ( HTA ) board has announced that Chris Pateman has left his post as chairman due to family reasons .
Pateman said : “ I find a number of family issues are now requiring my attention and the long commute had made it harder than anticipated . As a result , I no longer feel able to contribute to the HTA as I would have wished .
“ In my short tenure with the HTA , it has been both a privilege and a pleasure to have witnessed the enthusiasm of the HTA teams .”
Adam Taylor , president of the HTA , said : “ We are sorry to see Chris go but we understand his situation and wish him all the best for the future .
“ Naturally , we identified the distance between Horticulture House and Chris ’ home in Kent and had discussed it but it has had a greater impact on Chris than was first thought . The board will be discussing the vacancy in the near future .”
£ 10,000
That ’ s the grant amount that was given to improve visitor facilities at a Northumberlandia Country Park
ACQUISITION
BAYER ’ S PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF MONSANTO APPROVED
The European Commission has conditionally approved Bayer ’ s proposed acquisition of agricultural company Monsanto .
German multinational , pharmaceutical and life sciences company has now received approvals for the transaction from substantially more than half of the some 30 regulatory authorities , including those in Brazil and China .
The conditions cover in particular the divestment of certain Bayer businesses , including the global field crop seeds business such as canola , cotton , and soybean ( with minor exceptions restricted to the Asia region ), the R & D platform for hybrid wheat , the global vegetable seeds business , the global glufosinate ammonium business as well as certain glyphosate-based herbicides in Europe , predominantly for industrial use .
In addition , Monsanto ’ s global business with the nematicide NemaStrike must be divested . The conditions also stipulate the transfer of three Bayer research projects in the area of non-selective herbicides and the granting of a license to Bayer ’ s digital farming portfolio . BASF is the intended purchaser of these assets .
14 Landscape Insight | April 2018