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Johnsons Nurseries Supplies Plants For Rockliffe‘s Multimillion-Pound Transformation



One of the UK’s largest plant nurseries, Johnsons Nurseries Ltd, has continued its long-standing relationship with the five-star luxury resort, Rockliffe, supplying more than 17,000 plants and trees for its newly landscaped grounds as part of its multimillion-pound transformation.


Set within 375 acres of historic parkland near Darlington, Rockliffe has undergone an extensive transformation, including the restoration of its Grade II-listed Old Hall, enhanced accommodation, new dining experiences, and the creation of a standalone restaurant pavilion named Atlas.


The ambitious project has seen the resort's gardens and outdoor spaces transformed to complement the renovated and new buildings, creating an attractive and welcoming environment for guests.


The landscape and planting scheme was designed by Colour Landscape Architects, while Johnsons Nurseries supplied an extensive selection of shrubs, trees, instant hedging, ornamental grasses, flowering perennials and topiary, creating year-round interest throughout the newly landscaped grounds.


Among the varieties supplied were mature Scots pines, multi-stem Amelanchier lamarckii and Magnolia trees, alongside instant Carpinus betulus hedging and ornamental Taxus baccata topiary. The planting scheme also features an extensive mix of flowering perennials and ornamental grasses, including Anemone 'Honorine Jobert', Geranium 'Rozanne', Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm', Calamagrostis and Deschampsia, providing seasonal colour, texture and movement throughout the gardens.


The landscaping was carried out in-house by Rockliffe’s Estates team, led by Head of Engineering & Estates Phil Mennell.


Despite one of the hottest and driest summers, the team worked tirelessly to establish thousands of plants and trees, extensive hedging and new lawn areas, overcoming challenging conditions and tight deadlines to complete the grounds ahead of the resort's reopening.


Group Managing Director at Johnsons Nurseries, Graham Richardson, said:

"We're incredibly proud to have supplied the plants for Rockliffe’s newly transformed gardens as part of this prestigious development."

"From the restoration of the historic walled garden to this latest transformation, it's rewarding to see how the grounds have evolved. The finished gardens look fantastic, and we're delighted to have played a part in creating outdoor spaces that guests can enjoy for years to come."


Phil Mennell, Head of Engineering & Estates at Rockliffe, added:

"This has been one of the most ambitious landscaping projects we've undertaken at Rockliffe, and I'm incredibly proud of what our Estates team has achieved. Working closely with Johnsons Nurseries has been invaluable, ensuring we had the quality and variety of plants needed to bring the designs to life."

"It's been fantastic to see the gardens transform, and I'm looking forward to watching them establish and mature for our guests to enjoy for many years to come."


Emma Fletcher, Director at Colour Landscape Architects, said:

 “Johnsons have been a great support on the delivery of the new gardens at Rockliffe, assisting us on species choices and availability from early design stages and providing flexibility in deliveries to align with the challenging project programme."

"We are delighted that the completed gardens have been so well received, and a large part of that is the impact that the planting beds and stock have had.”


The completed gardens complement the resort's historic parkland setting, enhancing the guest experience and marking another chapter in Johnsons' long-standing relationship with Rockliffe, which reopened at the beginning of September.


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French pâtissier Tipiak has improved the recipe of its authentic French macarons to create a more vibrant range for the UK food service sector

Each piece now contains more filling, is larger in size and has been enriched with added natural colouring for a brighter look. At the same time, the raspberry macaron has been given a more creamy filling.


The new, improved French macarons, available frozen to the UK foodservice sector via distributor Central Foods, also have a longer defrost shelf life of five days when chilled and covered.


In addition, just like all Tipiak products, the thaw and serve range uses Fairtrade chocolate and free-range egg white for its French macarons selection, which is certified gluten-free by the French Association of Gluten Intolerance (AFDIAG).


Marie-Emmanuelle Chessé, international development project manager at Tipiak, said:

“We are delighted to unveil our new, vibrant French macarons selection to the UK food service sector."

"Macarons are the shining stars of pâtisserie, with their gorgeous colours and flavours, and their crisp shells and soft centres. Visually appealing and tasting absolutely divine, they’ve become a huge hit on social media with around 10 million posts on Instagram alone."


“Our authentic Tipiak thaw and serve French macarons have been given a new recipe to make them even more attractive. They look stunning and are products that any food service operator would be proud to serve.”


Each box of Tipiak French macarons contains 36 pieces in six different flavours – caramel and sea salt, lemon, chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, and pistachio - and are perfect for a range of food service scenarios from afternoon tea through to hot beverage accompaniments.


Macarons are traditionally used in a café gourmand and can also be served as part of a light dessert or used to decorate cakes, shakes and other sweet treats. They are the ideal canvas to be decorated for special occasions like Easter, Christmas and Halloween. And with a diverse range of flavours, there is something to suit all tastes.


Tipiak’s French macarons take just one hour to defrost in the fridge, plus 15 minutes at room temperature. Keep chilled and consume within five days.


For more information about the Tipiak range available to the UK food service sector visit here.

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