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.