The morning after...

Thank you Liz and Niel for a superb evening! The annual staff party was held in lovely surroundings with fabulous food, our brilliant Nicholsons team and plenty of Christmas cheer….

Too much festive cheer for me as I am trying to focus on this Blog entry as my Resolve slowly takes effect!

(The picture shows Niel Nicholson trying out Adam's new toy)
Well that is us done for 2008 so have a lovely Christmas and get out into your garden to see what needs to be planted and I will see you in 2009.

Christmas cheer

Not long to go now as the Christmas trees are nearly sold out, all wreaths are discounted and we are eagerly awaiting our annual staff Christmas party which is being held tomorrow. We shall be closed from 12pm on Wednesday 24th December (Christmas Eve) until Monday 5th December 2009 so get down here quickly. I hope that you are all ready but remember that we can offer that late tree or shrub as an alternative present or why not buy some Nicholsons vouchers over the phone. One customer from Australia did just that today for his mother who lives locally. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a festive Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Remember that planting trees is a fantastic New Year’s resolution and a good way to burn off all the trimmings! (So I will see you in January then…)

Back to the classroom for all!

Last night we had one of our bi-monthly staff training sessions. We gather after work from 4.30-7.30pm at a local conference centre to learn new things. This month it was time to improve our carbon footprint by learning about waste and recycling within Nicholsons. Merlin chaired a very interesting evening which included guest speakers from Agrivert, a green waste composting company, and Avoncrop who is the UK’s leading specialist supplier to the Horticultural Industry. Our Landscape contracts manager, Ronnie, tracked one of our skips and we found out that surprisingly most of it gets recycled.
At Nicholsons we have many methods of recycling including paper/cardboard, plastics, pots, green waste and hardcore. Ade, the site foreman, tries hard to train our staff and keep them in line afterwards!!
We do accept large plastic pots back to the nursery which customers have bought their plants in as we do sterilise them and re-use them in growing so feel free to return them on your next nursery shopping trip.

Christmas Opening - Extra Days

Don't forget we are open both tomorrow (6th December) and next Saturday (13th December) for Christmas trees. Fantastic selection of Nordmann Needlefast trees available and stands etc. The weather is set to be good, so shop first and pick one up on the way back.

Saturday 6th Dec
Dr Radcliffe's School Christmas Fair - another one not to miss.

Tree Planting Frenzy

The tree planting rush has now begun if a little late despite the recession. Every man and his dog has now realised that trees are now ready to plant and soil conditions are perfect if a little wet.

I am now spending my time starting off tree planting teams in the morning and visiting sites to do quotes in the afternoon. This is the normal situation prior to christmas as most people want all their planting done before christmas which seems to be the end of the world.

Life however does continue after christmas and planting will continue at a pace until the end of March.