With thanks to our incredible supporters, we have successfully hit our target to purchase an Avant 755i compact tractor.

Our revitalised ‘Little Green Tractor’ replaces our old, tired model and ensures our Horticultural team can continue to care for and maintain our Grade II* listed, 15-acre heritage site.

The Avant 755i boasts a whopping 2.3 times the lift capacity of our previous tractor and, with its articulated body, is far more manoeuvrable, reaching places our old tractor couldn’t. The team have already enjoyed putting our new green machine to the test, working in the compost bays and consolidating material with ease.

Keep an eye out for our small but mighty new addition as it gets to work during our Growing Our Green Heritage development project. Our newest ‘team member’ will be helping us move plants from the historic glasshouses to the nursery during the propagation and preparation works involved in the glasshouse restoration scheme – helping our living collection of over 10,000 documented taxa, plants and trees continue to survive and thrive for generations to come.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our supporters who helped us raise £35,000 to make this possible. We are especially grateful for the major contributions from:
The Roger & Douglas Turner Charitable Trust, The Rowlands Trust, Saintbury Trust, The Grimmitt Trust, Martin Wills Wildlife Maintenance Trust / The HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust, Limoges Charitable Trust, CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust, National Trust Nottingham Centre, and British Cactus and Succulent Society.

We would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to the invaluable help of many individual donors whose incredible generosity funded a third of the total!

“The multifunctional Avant loader is amazing! The lift capacity, performance and agility of the vehicle have now expanded our capabilities within the horticultural department, meaning we can perform tasks with greater efficiency and safety and also carry out work which wasn’t practical or possible before.
This loader is crucial and is at the forefront of our daily work, enabling us to transport tools, plants and compost around the site whilst greatly improving our logistic workflow — and therefore supporting the Gardens as a whole to function at its best for many years to come.”
— Ben Taylor, Botanical Horticulturist – Grounds and Services

Be sure to say hello to our ‘Little Green Tractor’ on your next visit and enjoy seeing the powerful impact of your support in action. With your help we can keep the Gardens growing and thriving for years to come. Thank you.

Our ‘Little Green Tractor’ was purchased from the wonderful team at Global Sales.