Ha Ha

In a new direction for us, but building on exisiting skills we currently have a team having "fun" constructing 180m long Ha-Ha near Chipping Norton using gabion baskets and dry stone walling stone to extend the clients garden into the field without having the views disturbed by fences.

 

Ha-Ha's were designed to provide stock proof barriers while allowing the view from the house to remain unimpeded. Generally around the larger country Houses they allowed Cattle and Sheep to appear to graze in the fields right up to the house, without the need for Parkland railing or more visually intrusive wooden fences.

 

It is very rewarding to be involved in  creating a new Ha-Ha.

A Courtyard Redesign

A local Hotel asked us to help with the re-design of a small courtyard from an untidy area of vehicle parking to a new garden and pedestrian pathway.

A simple but very effective job.
Start to finish in under a week.

Chaumont garden show

Nicholsons’ Landscape section left the office for a day recently to visit the Chaumont Garden festival in the Loire Valley in search of fresh thoughts and artistic flourish.

After trying out all of the seats on offer we tried to digest the inner meaning of the “Body and Soul” gardens designed by an international selection of inspired minds.

Some gardens were more comfortable to be in than others and some had ideas to take home, though on the whole their appeal was in the concepts behind the design rather than the detail.

The gardens needed to be walked through to be appreciated with the designers urging visitors to take off their shoes to feel the materials underfoot or to caress the giant bamboo stems.

By contrast at Chelsea it is possible to drift past the gardens and like what you see through the crowds without even knowing the name of the garden let alone the ideas behind it, stopping only to consider and discuss the merits of one plant variety over another.

All of which begs the question which is the better designed garden? The one with a story to tell that engages the mind as well as the senses or the one which bares all at first glance and relies on thousands of pounds worth of paving and perfect pre-prepared planting?Perhaps it’s time for a Chaumont moment in the UK?

No Potholes - the entrance we deserve!

At last, I hear you all cry! We have sorted the potholes at the entrance to the Nursery. They had progressiveley got worse over the winter and were a real embarassment, but with the help of G Hill and Sons we have redone the entrance and it looks great. The approach is now what you expect from a company priding itself in Landscaping. It is much easier now to come and visit and we look forward to seeing you soon.

When it is OK to bury plastic!

Faced with a structural problem of adding top soils behind a dry stone retaining wall – we were advised by our structural engineers ( Brenda Marsh at Hannah Reid ) to build up the levels in polystyrene blocks, designed for the purpose. The hole has been dug and blocks of polystyrene 610mm x 1200mm x 2400mm ( the size of a baby elephant! ) have been laid in. These blocks will be buried and a Spanish terrace built on top.
My only question remains as to what our successors will think in later archaeological digs when they strike polystyrene?

Posted by Liz Nicholson