Husqvarna Automower® reinvigorates the lawns of Hertfordshire’s Hatfield House

Hertfordshire’s Hatfield House has deployed a number of robotic lawn mowers over the past year in order to maintain the property’s lawns - a decision which has proved a terrific success.

Built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I, Hatfield House is a beautiful Jacobean property and popular tourist attraction, meaning the grounds of the house must be pristine at all times.

A complex lawn which was no challenge to Automower®

It is here where Head Gardener, Andrew Turvey, saw an opportunity in 2018 to galvanise the house’s gardens through the installation of Husqvarna Automower®, following a Husqvarna demo day in North London organised by long-term machinery suppliers and authorised Husqvarna Automower® dealers RT Machinery, and then an on-site demonstration by the RT Machinery and Husqvarna teams.

Andrew took the opportunity to test two Husqvarna Automower® products on the north side of Hatfield House – a location which was challenging for the grounds team to maintain due to a number of islands and a water feature. After seeing Husqvarna’s robot lawn mower successfully manage green spaces in Edinburgh, Andrew felt it was time to see what the product could bring to Hatfield House.

RT Machinery completed the complex installation in April 2018, which meant them installing guide wires and circling no short of 20 trees on the lawn. The complex installation meant Husqvarna Automower® was able to map out the lawn and optimise its mowing pattern in order to achieve the best finish possible, even in areas with poor drainage and the spaces which the Hatfield House team historically found it challenging to mow.

The impact of robotic mowers at Hatfield House

A little over 12 months since the installation, Andrew speaks glowingly about the impact Husqvarna’s product has had.

Andrew commented: ”The robotic mowers have performed beyond anything we could have expected and have truly changed the way we go about our gardening here at Hatfield House. By using these products we have reduced the amount of petrol and diesel we use. The areas which our robotic mowers are working see high footfall and customers are often amazed by them – wondering where the grass goes and commenting on how quiet they are. Grass quality has actually improved as the mowers provide a very even and consistent finish across the lawn - the regular mowing encourages the sward to stand up rather than lay down, making our lawns look fantastic.

”The two mowers we currently have cover 90% of the grass on the north side of the house and save us roughly 4 hours per week. This means we can redeploy our highly skilled workers on more technical and enjoyable jobs. Our horticulturalists, for example, can work more on making the garden look stunning for visitors.

”We are so impressed with Husqvarna Automower® we have recently increased our fleet to nine machines and it’s expected that by the end of the year we will have 11 managing lawns around Hatfield House. This is the best commendation I can give.”

The first UK commercial user of Automower® AWD

With the additional robots now installed, Hatfield House was the first UK commercial user of the newly launched Automower® AWD, with 2 machines cutting areas that had to be managed by teams with grass strimmers previously.

Andrew and the Hatfield House team’s robotic mowing fleet provide less noise than regular mowers and have the ability to work day or night, rain or shine. The machines are environmentally friendly and can be controlled via the Husqvarna Connect app.

Andrew added: ”Each morning I check the status of the mowers from my phone, making sure I’ve not received any notifications. This again saves so much time and gives me peace of mind that the lawns are being taken care of without having to watch what is happening at all times.”

Andrew has also taken advantage of Husqvarna’s battery equipment, benefiting from the Fleet Services applications to remotely manage each machine.

Husqvarna Automower® supports management of green spaces in Edinburgh

In collaboration with Quantified Planet and cities worldwide, Husqvarna ran an international robotic pilot to improve productivity and sustainability in the world’s parks. Husqvarna Automower® robotic lawnmowers were be installed in seven cities across the globe, including Edinburgh and London in the UK, Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden, Almere and Leeuwarden in the Netherlands and San Francisco in the US.

Parks and green spaces are important to Edinburgh, and the City of Edinburgh Council are always keen to look at new forms of technology the maintain their sites. Husqvarna Automower® was installed in locations around the city including Princes Street Gardens West, Longstone Primary School and Mortonhall Cemetery. 

Amongst the benefits of the new mowers are increased efficiency - allowing staff to concentrate on horticultural activities elsewhere, improved safety on steep grass verges and a positive impact on the environment thanks to their use of battery operation. David Jamieson, Parks and Greenspace Manager, said: “Edinburgh has a proud reputation for its green spaces and our parks team work tirelessly to ensure their regular upkeep. By testing technology like robotic and remote-controlled lawn mowers we hope to explore new ways of improving the efficiency of the service even further to the benefit of the city’s landscape."