Hedge maintenance at Practicality Brown
Plant Healthy – Improving Plant Expertise

Practicality Brown is Plant Healthy!

We are proud to announce that we are Plant Healthy certified, and have met the stringent Plant Healthy Certification scheme requirements.

By adopting the Plant Health Management Standard, we are continuing to commit to robust biosecurity and pathogen controls. This means buyers and landscapers can trust that our hedges and trees, are grown, handled and supplied under rigorous standards designed to protect UK plant health and the wider countryside.

This certification confirms Practicality Brown’s dedication to best-practice horticulture, reducing the risk of spreading pests and ensuring safer plant supply chains—benefiting clients, designers, and the environment alike. This is an ongoing process of continual monitoring throughout the growing season.

Plant management and maintenance at Practicality Brown

Professionalism

  • Enhanced Credibility: The Plant Healthy certification underlines our commitment to plant health, safeguarding landscapes and natural habitats.
  • Environmental Integrity: This reinforces our commitment to sustainability, compliance, and high-quality horticultural practice.

 Trust

Garden owners, designers and landscapers can now specify Practicality Brown with increased confidence, knowing that our plants meet rigorous biosecurity standards.

Whether designing show gardens, such as RHS Garden Shows featuring our award-winning Practical Instant Hedge™ or creating habitats for biodiversity, this certification signals our continued excellence and leadership in the horticultural industry.

Visit The Nursery

We would be delighted to show you around our Tree and Hedge nursery in Iver, Buckinghamshire, and show you our best horticultural practice in action.

We are located near to M4, M25 and M40 junctions, about 6 miles from Heathrow Airport. Also, just 15 miles from central London and 1 mile from Iver Station. With regular trains from London Paddington.

Please phone us first 01753 652022 to book a nursery visit and we will ensure we have an expert on hand to show you around.

We look forward to meeting you and helping you with your enquiry.

Hedge management at Practicality Brown

Hosepipe bans – what its means for your new plants

Irrigation!

How to look after your plants during a hosepipe ban

Hosepipe bans, also known as a Temporary Use Ban, have been implemented by several water companies across the country.  These Bans restrict hosepipes usage and are imposed by water companies to try and save water during periods of high demand or low supply.

Not all water companies have implemented a ban (as at 22 July) but the following companies have:

 

Which water companies have a hosepipe ban?

  • Southern Water across Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.
  • Thames Water in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and parts of Berkshire and Wiltshire.
  • South East Water across Kent and Sussex.
  • Yorkshire Water much of Yorkshire, parts of north Lincolnshire and parts of Derbyshire.

Check with your own water company about their restrictions.

 

What do the restrictions mean

Each water company will have its own specifications, but in generally, you must not use hosepipes for:

  • Watering gardens, plants, lawns or allotments
  • Filling or topping up ponds, paddling pools, swimming pools or fountains
  • Cleaning paths, patios, driveways, vehicles or windows

However, you can continue to use drip irrigation systems with a timer and pressure-reducing valve, plus:

  • Water plants or veg using a bucket or watering can
  • Fill ponds to protect fish or other aquatic animals.
  • Business use: garden centres, landscape companies, agriculture and car washes may have exemptions under certain conditions

 

How long will it last?

The ban is indefinite and will be reviewed based on rainfall and reservoir levels. Most water companies will lift the ban when conditions allow but it could be extended.

For more details on the areas affected, see BBC’s report

 

Practicality Brown support responsible water use and always recommend an automatic irrigation systems help the hedging plants establish themselves in their new permanent location.

If you would like any further information on looking after the new Practicality Brown plants in  your garden, please contact our Horticultural Team.