Nicholsons walking on water (almost...)

The Nicholsons forestry team are currently planting specimen trees around a new lake for one of our clients. Included in the contract was the planting of some very large Scots pines on an island in the lake and this required a mini-digger to operate on the island. The civil engineering contractor who has also been working on the site had told us that they would build a temporary bridge to the island to allow us access, but we'd rather been expecting something a little more substantial than this. What's more, the bridge had been set up to take a digger that was somewhat larger than ours.
However, in the usual Nicholsons' way we used brains and quite a bit of brute force to realign the steel joists, got the digger onto the island, planted the trees, and got off the island again without anyone (or anything) getting wet! We're still on site planting more trees around the lake and in an avenue, and the client is very pleased with the end results.

Managing woodland in a galaxy far, far away....

Whippendell Wood isn't actually far, far away at all - its just down the A41 - but its not everyday you get to manage trees on the so-called planet of Naboo - and its certainly a wood worthwhile mentioning. Used as a location in The Phantom Menace, Whippendell is a terrific ancient woodland, owned by Watford Borough Council, and used very well by the local residents. The woodland is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for the semi-natural vegetation found on the site, and the increasing amounts of deadwood - a habitat we need to see more of in our woods.

We've now come to the end of our first stage of work, concentrating on thinning out the non-native conifers and Sweet Chestnut plantations. We've also constructed a useful turning area for timber wagons - in a safe location away from the main car parking area. We'll be back next year to increase the size of some of the glades, and start to thin out more of the broadleaved areas.

Staff Training Day

Last Monday saw the annual Health and safety day here. The entire staff was collected together for updates on current practices before splitting out into groups, for refresher training on relevant equipment.

The Arboriculture team and landscape teams had refresher courses on all the different equipment that they use, to make sure that they are safe while in your garden. Boys (and girls) with toys.

The Plant centre team caught up on pest and diseases especial some of the more problem ones like Oak Processionary Moth. After that a tour of the nursery to look at all the lovely plants that we have to sell this year. We also looked at the growing trial of peat free compost growing against peat based compost (one of Merlin’s pet projects). The results are amazing and not really what we thought with the peat free trial plants being bigger and bushier than the ones grown in our normal compost mix.

This was an unusual day when we were all on the nursery together.

Arb Approved Contractors

The Nicholsons tree surgery team, part of Nicholsons Forestry, have achieved accreditation as an ‘approved contractor’ from the UK Arboricultural Association (AA). By using an AA ‘approved contractor’, existing and prospective customers can be assured they are using a team whose methods, equipment, training and support have been thoroughly assessed, tested and approved by the AA.

Achieving accreditation has been challenging, even for a team with a reputation for doing things right, but Nicholsons felt it was worth the effort.

The Arboricultural Association (http://www.trees.org.uk) aims are: to advance the study of arboriculture; to raise the standards of its practice; to foster interest in trees through publications, exhibitions and the stimulation of research or experiment; to assist in the training of students in disciplines where arboriculture is a major subject; to co-operate with other bodies having similar aims.

Below are the Nicholson's Arb trucks sporting the Arb Association Logo

Flood Risk Reduction Tree Clearance

Nicholsons Forestry team are currently managing the removal of poplars and willows from a riverside location on one of our clients' estates. The work is being done in consultation with the Environment Agency in order to reduce the risk of flooding in the area. The removal of the poplar plantations is also helping to restore the semi-natural landscape of an Enviornmentally Sensitive Area.
It is hoped that some of the cricket bat willows (Salix alba 'Coerulea') may indeed be sold to make cricket bats, but most of the timber is unfortunately of relatively poor quality and will therefore be chipped and used to generate heat and power.

As part of our efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of our operations, Nicholsons are currently trialling an battery-powered hedgecutter from Pellenc. Supplied by Etesia UK Ltd., the hedgecutter runs from a backpack-mounted rechargeable lithium battery pack that the manufacturers claim will provide a full day of use without needing re-charging. As well as a hedgecutting attachment, the batterypack can also be used to power electric chainsaws, pruners and polesaws.
If the trial is successful and we go ahead and buy one of the machines the benefits for our clients would be a significant reduction in noise and fumes when our teams are trimming hedges in their gardens. For our teams there is also the added benefit of a reduction in hand-arm vibration and weight, as well as the reduction in noise and fumes.

'No Burn ' Ground Preparation for Forestry

After felling mature conifers on an Estate, we are now preparing the sites ready to be planted in the autumn with broadleaves. Rather than burning the brash, we are using this 480 horse power mulcher to do the job.

Woodfuel Seminar at the RAC

Nicholsons Forestry Team was represented by Rob Pile at a seminar on the use of woodfuel for heating at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester last week. The event also saw the official opening of the college's new woodfuel heating system.
As well as hearing presentations from a range of speakers on managing woodlands to provide woodfuel, timber specification for producing good quality woodchip for fuel, and the new Forestry Commission grants aimed at woodfuel production, it was also a chance to catch up with some old clients and meet some (hopefully) new ones. Rob also spent some time talking to Andy Grundy from Midlands Wood Fuel Ltd. with a view to selling lower grade conifer timber from our clients' woodlands to MWF.

Nicholsons Country Gardeners at Broughton Grange

This Thursday the Nicholsons Country Gardeners Club visited Broughton Grange. The Gardens are only open 3 times a year under the NGS scheme, but we were able to have a private viewing in the evening by kind courtesy of the owner. The head gardener Andrew Woods showed us around assisted by the assistant head gardener Alastair. Both were hugely enthusiastioc and obviously passionate about the garden, which is divided up into many zones. There is the more formal parterre with Box and Roses, a stunning Herbacesous border,a woodland garden with peat blocks, a stumpery, 80 acres of Arboretum and a garden designed by Tom Stuart Smith, with it's different levels and a different theme on each level. The views from this part of the garden in the evening are stunning and we were very lucky with the weather.

The tours have been a great success so for those who have not joined the club please do and join us on some great visits and fascinating lectures.

Nicholsons visits Rousham

With our Country Gardeners Club we had a visit to Rousham and were hosted my Charles and Angela Cottrell Dormer who introduced the tour and were kind enough, with their fantastic and energetic head gardener Anne Starling, to show us round these beautiful gardens. The gardens were designed and laid out by William Kent and have remained in the same style and layout ever since.

Dreadnaught.

This pictures the launch of our intrepid Tim.P and him subsequently wrestling a 4" pipe into our reservoir. He had to brave the snug fitting life jacket, coax a contrary rubber duck into position, manhandle a giant dipstick on a lump of concrete into the middle of the reservoir, fend off swarming toad tadpoles and the mirth of his colleagues in order to achieve the task. Which he did superbly!

Our reservoir is rainwater harvested from our poly tunnels and roof spaces with a little coming from nursery run off. Like most people involved in agriculture and horticulture over the past few months our reserves are low - the reservoir did not fill up to capacity over the winter months which did not help matters.

Having not had our reservoir this low before we soon realised the pump extracting water was not able to do the job with the water so low.

Tim is placing in a 'sewage' pump which pushes big volumes of water out and into a new (actually recycled) holding tank, before being chlorinated and stored for use. It has a cunning floating filter so only abstracts from the clearest water near the surface..... Or so we thought until we spotted several dozen (live) toad tadpoles in our holding tank!

They are now found in the mesh of several filters - fortunately their numbers are such that losses are negligible - much less than them getting cooked on the liner in the heat as they crawl out - yet another hazard. Thankfully large numbers do make it to safety and are found all around the area!

We are now able to use the remaining water in our reservoir which takes the pressure off our mains bill - and your available water!

'ditching' and 'dolloping'

Making the most of the unusually dry weather we are currently preparing a 3 hectare site near Coventry for the next rotation of trees. The land was previously stocked with poplar and is a very wet site. To improve the site drainage for the young trees, ditches are being cut and the resulting spoil 'dolloped' to create raised individual planting stations. Alder, ash and oak trees will be planted in December.

Timber Extraction in Dry Weather

One of the virtues of the dry weather is that the Nicholsons Forestry team has been able to carry out the early summer's thinning program with the minimal possible damage to sites. This is another load of timber departing from the Althorp Estate on its way to the sawmill.
[Written by Tim Shardlow, Forestry Consultant to the Althorp Estate]

COMING HOME

With exclusive access to some of the county’s most lovely clients and beautiful houses, we at Nicholsons are becoming increasingly aware of how important the approach to a house is and how it relates to the interior of the building. A well designed, first impression can only be a good thing, not only making guests feel welcome and clearly directing them to the house; it can also make you feel calm and relaxed when you arrive home after a busy day.

We adhere to a few design principles which enhance every property’s kerb appeal and create an entrance that lives up to the fantastic interiors often found within. Be honest with yourself and if you have any of the following they need to go, or at least be relegated to the back garden:

o Cheap, visible light fittings; “over the top” electric gates which judder or do not open properly.

o Novelty antiques like post boxes, telephone boxes and gnomes.

o Wheelie bins, plastic toys, trampolines and clutter in the front garden

o Concrete, concrete block or crumbling tarmac drives and paths.

o Hanging baskets and mismatched pots, tacky Conifers, rockeries, bedding and ericaceous plants on non- ericaceous soils.

Unmarked houses are not good; no one is too posh for a house name or number. A solid, timeless carved stone name plaque is the best, placed to be visible for the postman, garden designer or Doctor, should they need to visit.

Once the clutter is gone and the house is proudly displaying its name, it is time to introduce the following:

o Simple, understated and elegant design. Layout is important and try to keep parking areas away from windows if at all possible.

o Discreet light fittings, so you see the light where you need it, not the fitting, cabling or glare.

o Steel edges to lawns and drives to give a crisp finish and defined lines and contain gravel, resin bound gravel or tar spray with gravel rolled in surfaces.

o Planting to be in scale with and suited to the type of house. A cottage garden will not enhance a stately home and modern blocks of mono species will not necessarily suit an old farmhouse. Avenues of trees are good; so are pleached trees and topiary.

o Keep boundaries simple and neat.

o The whole area should be easily maintained so it can be kept looking its best with minimal effort.

o The drive must relate to the interior of the house and can set the tone for the entrance to the property.

o Door furniture is almost as important as the driveway itself. Good solid knobs and knockers will go a long way to offering a warm welcome on the doorstep.

o Finally be generous with the doorstep. There’s nothing worse than having to step up to ring the bell then falling backwards off the step while waiting for the door to be opened. A wide doorstep will accommodate carol singers at Christmas and welcome guests all year round.

It’s all very well giving advice but I have to confess my own front garden is a jumble of pots and hanging baskets and I have dug up the lawn to grow vegetables!

Whatever you do, don’t let your house down. Give it the entrance it deserves and enjoy the feeling of arriving somewhere special every time you come home.
By Karen Maskell.

Farm Woodlands

Many owners of farm woodland schemes up and down the country will have recently received yellow forms through their letter boxes, inviting them to claim for another five years of grant payments. They remind us of the reasons we planted those woods in the first place, and to stand back and look at them again. They are the game cover, the shelterbelt, the improved view from the kitchen window, and the wet corner of the field that would never grow corn.

If you have a Farm Woodland plantation, I suspect your Forestry Commission contract sits quietly in a filing cabinet alongside quotes for trees, catalogues for tree guards and the odd invoice for weeding. Rarely seen, rarely needed, but representing something good on the ground. Many of the woods, like the forms we once filled in, sit quietly in their place.

Unlike your filed paperwork, you can get more from your woods than what they’re probably giving you now. Yes, it involves time which is hard to find on a farm - but they can bring you more. They also offer a good deal more fun and satisfaction than paperwork and forms will ever be.

We will all have different reasons for planting these woodlands, but there are a few jobs which are worthwhile doing to get the most out of them. Simple things - like removing or adjusting tree guards are going to be a good start. Tree stems can be damaged by trapped water and compression if the guards are left on too long. Secondly, remember that some of the longest living trees we have can be the slowest to establish. Make a decision on what trees you want to establish in the long-term, and get some qualified help to make sure those trees have the space and light that they need.

Thinning is so often forgotten, but can make such a difference to the farm woodland. Light reaches the floor again, helping any understorey of shrubs and allowing a herb layer to develop. Tracks through the woods benefit wildlife and game birds which like the mix of shelter and sunshine. Trees are able to put on girth, and you begin to see which ones should be there in a hundred years time. Consider pruning the best stems at the same time, and you’re left with a few logs and plenty of kindling for the fire.

Nicholsons have been happily involved in getting many farm woods planted and maintained over the years. They’re all different, and farm owners and managers often appreciate knowing about next steps, getting thinning licences, and knowing if there’s any more grant support out there for what they do. We can help at any stage in thedevelopment of your farm woodland, and helping you get the most from it.

Watering Specimen Trees

Despite yesterday's rain (14mm recorded at our nursery in North Aston), Nicholson's Forestry are continuing to water our client's specimen trees all over the area.
Our team uses two 1000-litre tanks, mounted on the back of a Landrover and in a trailer, and a petrol-engined pump to apply water. The pump allows us to use long lengths of hose to reach trees which the vehicle can't get to - particularly useful for trees on steep slopes or where the landscaping around the trees has been completed.
If we've planted specimen trees for you in the past two or three seasons and you need help keeping them watered, please get in touch and we will do our best to help.

Radio Nicholsons

Many friends of Nicholsons were pleasantly surprised to find Niel Nicholson presenting a feature on the Radio 4 topical afternoon slot 'You and Yours' . The topic revolved aroung the pressures and difficulties that the recession brought and how Nicholsons dealt with it as a company. A very articulate Niel toured the nursery with presenter Winifred Robinson and wowed her with the deilcious stock on display. To catch up with the broadcast click on the link below.


(If we had a web cam in the office we would also love to have shown you Niel cringing with his head in his hands as the show was broadcast live with staff huddled around the wireless....next time perhaps.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b011c224

Woodland Management to Maximise Tree Quality

Nicholsons Forestry division are currently managing thinning operations in two areas of mixed conifer and broadleaved woodland for a client in Oxfordshire. The work will remove the majority of the conifers (larch and Corsican pine) from the woods to leave a mainly broadleaved woodland. Conifers are often planted as a 'nurse crop' with the intention that they will be removed part-way through the life of the wood once the broadleaved trees are well established. A few larch and pine are being left where these will add to the quality of the landscape as viewed from the nearby village.
The operations are being carried out using a Timberjack harvester, though the row spacing in the wood is only just sufficient to allow the machine through and in places we are also having to fell a few small broadleaved trees.

Protecting New Parkland Trees

In the past month we have been helping to plant and protect some mature tree specimens in an area of old parkland in Northamptonshire. Tree numbers had been reduced since the 1980s by the effects of Elm disease within the grounds.

We placed guards around the specimens to prevent any damage from grazing Horses, aided by a small tracked post-banger.

Nicholsons at Le Manoir

Nicholsons forestry team have been helping to fence a new orchard planted within the grounds of Le Manoir at Great Milton. The site has been transformed in the past few months, from a fallow field covered in rough grasses, to a well structured and beautifully laid out feature of the hotel grounds.

Unusually, we had to stop the banging in of posts to accomodate a television crew, who are documenting the development of the site. As and when this programme makes it to our televisions, you may wish to note that the silence was proudly provided by our team of fencers!

Nicholsons in the London Evening Standard!

On Wed 6th April North Aston was featured in the London Evening Standard: There was a full page article singing the praises of the Cherwell Valley for it's easy commute to London and value for money when compared to Chipping Norton... After waxing lyrical about Fritwell and Souldern, it goes on to say "A slight step up, in cost terms at least, is North Aston, which is unspoiled by more modern developments and exceptionally well-mainteained. it continues "it also has Nicholsons, a fabulous plants nursery, which is simple heaven for the horticulturaly inclined". We can't get better praise than that!!

Street Works Qualification

The Arb team go on yet another course! Matt and myself did our supervisor qualification for Signing Lighting and Guarding and Sam and Mike were doing there signing lighting and Guarding instillation qualification. We needed to update these courses because of the new requirements to have a "street works card" as of the end of April in order to put any cones out on the highway! This course will enable us to use temporary traffic lights and other combinations of signs inorder to safely guard of areas of the highway! We decided to send all of the Arboriculture team onto the course to ensure there training is up to date and in line with these new requirements. Nigel from Lux traffic management did a brilliant job of training us and we all had two fun days out playing with cones!!! We all passed so apologies if you see us out there holding you up in the roads of Oxfordshire in the near future.

First Country Gardens Event of 2011

On Thursday the 17th of March we held our first Country Garden Event of the 2011 seaon. This was a talk by the very well known and respected sundial designer and maker David Harber. And followed by a brief introduction to Alitex greenhouses.

David Harber Sundials

I had no idea that Sundials were so beautiful and complex. Not only is the concept of a sundial one of the oldest forms of time measurement in mankind, but the design is hugely involved: each sundial is individually made to be accurate depending on the site it is going in. Depending on the longitude, the sun shines at a different angle and hence the angles of the rings need to be correct to show the shadow - the most accurate sundial is accurate to 15 seconds!!David Harber has spent years perfecting the maths and has not compromised on the beauty and aesthetics of his product. A Sundial is a thing of beauty that is timeless.

Alitex Greenhouses

When you want to see a greenhouse that looks like the old Victorain Glasshouses yet has all the features of a modern greenhouse then Alitex is the make to look at. Hence their accreditaion with the National Trust. Their greenhouses are made of Aluminium - 90% of which is recycled - and are beautifully and sympathetically built.

The next event is on 21st April and has James Alexander-Sinclair speaking.

Tubex Tree Guards

'Know your product' - so the business mantra goes. It makes sense. It helps customers understand advantages and time savings when making comparisons with other products on the market.

In the spirit of this, Business Development Executive, Debbie Philippe from Tubex joined one of our teams for a day of tree planting in February - using their guards.


A highlight of this rather grey and misty day was when Debbie broke the shaft on a professional planting spade.....no we hadn't rigged it!

1080 trees and Tubex guards later we had the job completed.

Thanks for joining us Debbie!

Nicholsons in the Ardennes

Forestry Director Tim Shardlow has just returned from Belgium. He advised an Estate on woodland management with particular emphasis on 'pheasants and forestry'.

Reducing the visual impact of HS2

Whilst we have yet to hear whether or not the proposed High Speed line from London to Birmingham is going to go ahead, some people who live along the preferred route are beginning to prepare for the worst - but hoping for the best.

Nicholsons have planted some 500 native trees with associated hedging and fencing to help reduce the visual impact of any future High Speed rail line and construction work at Butlers Cross in the Aylesbury Vale. The plantation builds off an existing hedgerow, thickening it, and in keeping with the landscape of the Chilterns.

Sensitive and well considered planting of trees and hedgerows offer a great long-term landscaping solution for many situations, especially for medium to long distance views. Whether these trees and shrubs will ever be used to block a view over a high speed rail line - we don't know, but they will already be contributing to the local landscape and wildlife.

Forest Road Construction

Nicholsons Forestry team have recently completed the upgrading of a 500m access road from the public highway into the woodlands on one of our client estates. The work involved the digging out of existing material, the importation from a local quarry of 800 tonnes of stone, and the spreading and compaction of the stone to form the new road surface. We also constructed a turning area to allow road going timber lorries to get into and out of the site more easily and to facilitate the loading of timber that will be brought down to the turning area by timber forwarders. The cost of the work was part-funded by a Woodland Improvement Grant from the Forestry Commission, and the work was completed ahead of timber harvesting operations on the estate which are due to begin in early March.

Forestry Commission consultation halted

The Nicholsons Forestry team were pleased to hear that the consulatation on the Public Forest Estate in England has been brought to a halt. We feel this is the right decision at this time. Whilst we could understand the ethos behind the process, we had serious reservations with the proposals. Especially that there would be adequate protection put in place to secure the scale of access, recreational opportunities, biodiversity and landscape protection the Forestry Commission offer.

One of the issues raised in the Consultation was that the Forestry Commission is both a regulator (administering aspects of forestry law), and an operator in the business. We don't currently see a disparity in them holding both roles, and in some respects it is probably quite healthy and helpful. Provided the Forestry Commission are prepared to take heed of criticism levied at them by the private sector and their own regulatory arm, may they continue their good work.

We will be interested to see who will be sitting on the advisory panel (now being formed by the Environment Secretary), to report on forestry policy in England this autumn.

For DEFRA the press release see: - http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/02/17/futureforestry/

This old warrior has come to us from a client's garden. It is an olive tree that has been lovingly pruned....then subsequently hoicked out by a digger and brought back to our yard. We are giving it the benefit of the doubt and have carefully replanted it in our heeling in bed. The olives that we sell in Nicholson Plants do hail from Italy and some of them while not nearly as old as this fellow are recipients of pretty harsh hair cuts - they seem to respond well to this treatment and flush back vigourously. We do take our olive trees in under cover during the winter which does preserve the leaf on the tree - if they are left out there is a danger in prolonged temperatures of less than -7c that they will suffer - at this point they need wrapping in horticultural fleece as will the pot.

Lets hope that the trauma enjoyed by this tree will spur it on to a new lease of life - watch this spot....

One Oak Project starts the Tree Planting

Nicholsons have been supporting the One Oak Project (http://www.oneoak.info/) which has been involved in the story of an Oak tree starting from its felling and the products that can be made from it. Seed had been collected and grown by Nicholsons and now it was time to start to plant the next generation.

On the site of the old tree a Sculpture was unveiled by the Duke of Marlborough (seen on the right of the picture), made from a bow of the tree. Local schools who have been involved with the project from the start then set about replanting with Oak Transplants having sung an Ode to Trees.

The cherry picker has arrived!

The Nicholson's tree surgery team have got another piece of equipment to help them continue the good work on our clients trees. This 18 meter cherry picker is mounted on a Nissan Cabstar so we can transport it effectively around the countryside to help us get access to those hard to reach places quickly and efficiently.

We got this machine to enable us to undertake some of those tricky jobs and help reduce the fatigues associated with climbing using ropes and harnesses. This machine will be used by the team whenever possible in order that we continue to abide by current Health and Safety guidelines!

David and Sophie Harber

How refreshing in todays busy commercial environment that artist and sundial specialist, David Harber, took time to consult his customers about his work. In a new initiative, David and Sophie Harber invited several designers and landscape architects to discuss current trends in the industry and review possible materials for the future. The day was an inspiration where like minded people, who often work in relative professional isolation, had the chance to brainstorm industry trends. David and Sophie were very hospitable and I think that I can speak for all involved when I say that the day was very worthwhile. Good luck David!

New Barn at Nicholsons

Nicholsons have just re-erected an old timber framed barn at the main site at North Aston. The barn was originally on one of their clients sites and it was dismantled and carefully re-erected. With a new roof and cladding this will give Nicholsons a perfect barn to use for staff training, staff meetings and for lectures and seminars.

Nicholsons have just launched their Country Gardeners Club with a series of lectures (which will be held in the barn)and visits. Please see the website for further details.