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Future-ready Landscapes: resilient planting, healthier soils and smarter inputs take place on 16 September, 12:00 – 12:45 at GroundsFest 2026.
This essential event is sponsored by Origin Amenity Solutions Ltd.
Attendees can enjoy a complimentary lunch courtesy of Origin Amenity.
THE PANEL
- Alistair Taylor, Origin Amenity Solutions
- Stuart Simpson, Ashlea Landscapes Ltd
- Trudy Martin, Tru Growth
- Chaired by HortWeek columnist, Neville Stein
Future-proofing the UK’s green spaces demands a shift in mindset—from reactive maintenance to proactive stewardship. This panel addresses the trio of challenges facing every specifier and manager: plant selection for a changing climate, soil biology as the foundation of performance, and the intelligent use of inputs to reduce waste and maximise resilience.
Whether your focus is selecting resilient plants, improving soil biology across green spaces, or tightening water and nutrient efficiency across your maintenance operations, this panel offers practical, evidencebased guidance from the grounds managers and landscape contractors leading the way.
Meet the Panelists
Alistair Taylor, Origin Amenity Solutions
Alistair Taylor is technical area sales manager for Origin Amenity Solutions. With over 30 years of service, he specializes in turf, grounds maintenance, and sports surface advisory. Starting as a technical sales rep in 1996, he moved into management in 2009. Trained at Elmwood College, he brings practical greenkeeping experience from his early career at East Kilbride Golf Club.
Stuart Simpson, Ashlea Landscapes Ltd
Stuart began his career in 1985 as an Assistant Gardener on the popular BBC Scotland programme, Beechgrove Garden, in Aberdeen. He then worked at the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988 with Findlay Clark, continuing with the landscape department after the festival concluded. Seeking to broaden his experience, he spent three years in the Southeast of England as a Maintenance
Manager with Waterers Landscape before returning to Scotland in 1992. He subsequently worked as a Contracts Manager for Forgewood Landscaping and Lanrec Contracts, eventually joining Ashlea Ltd in 2001.
Trudy Martin, TruGrowth
With more than 25 years’ experience in the horticulture, landscaping and grounds maintenance industry, Trudy Martin has worked her way from the ground up to CEO, gaining first-hand insight into what it takes to build and grow a successful business.
She founded TruGrowth to help businesses thrive through business development, marketing and practical consultancy. Above all, she is passionate about the industry and committed to inspiring the next generation to grow and succeed.
