Christmas at Nicholsons 2015

Come and visit Nicholsons. Not only are the "named" Christmas trees back in stock, but there are lovely wreaths and a great range of Christmas Gifts all based on a Garden theme!


And on Saturday 5th and 12th Dec there is free mulled wine and festive goodies. Do come and join us.

Nicholsons win the OX5 Corporate Cup...again!

A huge well done to the Nicholsons team who stormed the field on the OX5RUN at Blenheim on Saturday. 

It is with great pleasure to say that despite tackling the awful weather conditions, our efforts did pay off as we  managed to win the Corporate Cup as the fastest corporate team in the race this year. 

All funds raised went towards supporting young patients of the Oxford Children's Hospital.

CHRISTMAS TREES FOR SALE

Nicholsons Famous named Christmas trees are back!

All non needle drop Nordmann firs with names to help you choose which one to take home for Christmas.
Prices as follows

4-5ft 120-150cm £30.00
5-6ft 150-175cm £40.00
6-7ft 175-200cm £50.00
7-8ft 200-240cm £70.00
8-9ft 240-270cm £90.00

Lots left to choose from, all hung up in our big barn so you can easily see which one will be best for your space.

Also Individually designed hand made wreaths while stocks last!

Open weekdays 7.30am-4.30pm
Saturdays 9.00am 4.00pm
Closed from 12.00pm Wednesday 24th December
Re open 7.30am Monday 5th January 2015

Nicholsons, North Aston, Bicester, Oxon. OX25 6HL  01869 340342
e-mail sales@nicholsons.gb.com    

Clara's Christmas Grotto at Nicholsons

This Saturday for one day only!

Clara's Christmas Grotto at Nicholsons , North Aston. OX256HL.

Santa dropping in between 11am and 4 pm.

Open 9.00am -6.00pm for christmas trees and wreaths in our barn

Nicholsons' New Tree and Hedging Centre Building

We are just putting the finishing touches in place before we move into our new  Tree and Hedging Centre building.

No job is too lowly for Director Niel Nicholson as he tidies up and gets the new furniture in place!









Very excited about moving in and greeting our customers in the comfort of our new offices.

HS2 Screen Planting

Recently completed planting to screen the new HS2 development.

A former client of ours has recently been forced to move house and garden due to the fact that the HS2 train line is due to pass through their kitchen! The reality of the certainty of the route alignment means that, if the route is close to your house rather that actually running through it, now is the time to plant screening trees and shrubs. The photo above shows a screening belt recently planted for another one of our clients.  It has both evergreen and deciduous species including Field maple, Evergreen Oak, Hawthorn, Holly and Hazel. This planting will grow and will provide a complete screen in about 10 years’ time against the new rail line, while enhancing the view for many others and adding a valuable wildlife corridor linking local habitats.

If you are affected by HS2 and would like to discuss the possibility of screening with planting do get in touch with Nicholsons. We can advise on species and location for screening and we also supply screen plants and have an efficient planting and aftercare service to ensure the best establishment of your investment.

Contact Nicholsons

Blenheim Horse Trials 2014

As Nicholsons are one of the sponsors of the horse trials Charlie Harper and his girlfriend Nicola went to represent the company at the drinks reception on the first day. They were introduced to the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough on the way into the main library, where they mingled with other sponsors and took in the luxurious interior of the palace whilst quaffing champagne. Now that's what I call eventing!

Lorraine's favorite plant combination for July

Hosta Tardiana Halcyon - common name Hosta

A member of the Asparagaceae family, this clump forming perennial has smooth, veined, blue-grey leaves, with lilac grey bell shaped flowers in dense racemes in July and August.

Requires partial shade in a fertile, moist and well drained soil in a sheltered position and also requires protection from slugs.

 Plant in a large container to make a bold statement in a shady part of the patio.

 

Acer palmatum ‘Suminagashi’

A member of the Sapindaceae family, this stunning Japanese Acer has deeply divided foliage with serrated edges, the purple red spring foliage darkens to deep magenta in summer, then turns crimson in autumn.

Prefers a sheltered position in partial shade in acid-neutral soil.

Plant in a container to make a strong architectural focal point.

The colour of the Acer foliage makes a fantastic contrast with the blue-green foliage of the Hosta; this combination could also be successfully utilized as temporary infill in bare patches in the border between spring and summer flowering perennials.  

Blenheim Flower Show 2014

Nicholsons team have just finished putting together our show garden for The Blenheim Flower Show.

The garden has been designed and built by Nicholsons to raise awareness of  The Valley Girls’ fund raising 

trip to India in February 2015 in aid of British Heart Foundation, Vasculitis, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital & Southampton Hospital.

The lines of plants are inspired by the growing beds on our nursery; row upon row of perfect planting. They are all brought together in the containers to enclose a private garden with an authentic  Kadai firebowl for cooking and for keeping warm on chillier evenings. Exotic scented climbers frame the entrance to the shelter  with handmade candle lanterns casting a soft light at night. The packing cases used as containers remind us of the trade links between the UK and India. 

This garden is entirely built  by recycling materials found around our nursery in North Aston, Oxfordshire. The plants are all borrowed from our nursery, the packing cases salvaged from our wood fuel pile and the shelter reused from a previous show.

It was important to us to know that the materials will be recycled afterwards too. The plants will go back to the nursery to be used on landscape schemes and to be sold in our tree and hedging centre, the pallets will be chipped and used to fuel our woodchip boiler.

 The Flower Show is open from 20th -22nd June so do drop in and say hello if you are there.

Muscari stripes

Muscari bedding at one of our gardens recently.
This site was planted with 11000 Muscari bulbs by the soft landscape team last October to create blue stripes across the lawn for spring interest.
Muscari aucheri Blue Magic was used as it is noninvasive and the flowers are double headed so give twice the effect.

Hankerchiefs

Hankerchiefs on the ethereal Hankerchief tree at beautiful Upton Wold garden. Our Club 57 enjoyed a lovely summer's evening in the Cotswolds...more events coming up

Landrover with a difference

In the Arb team we have a landrover with a difference - it has a winch fitted to the front.

Not only can it pull itself out of difficulties, but it is very helpful when we need to pull larger trees over in awkward situations - for instance where it is very important to make sure a tree falls in exactly the right line.

Fitted with a box tipping back it is an ideal piece of kit.

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.

Nicholsons' New Post Driver

We are delighted to announce that we have just taken delivery of our new machine, a custom built tracked post driver. No longer do we have to use the manual post boppers or the slow tractor mounted driver that needs 2 people. This new machine is faster, more efficient and can be run with only 1 person.

Even in  the  extremely wet  ground conditions we have at present, the machine allows us to complete fencing contracts without making a mess . The 300 kg hammer also drives the posts in to the  ground  most effectively .

A special  rock spike attachment enables efficient working even in our local Cotswold brash.

Do get in contact if you have any fencing needs and we would be delighted to offer a quote:

tim@nicholsons.gb.com

Blog tired of Tradition

Nicholsons "named" Christmas trees are fabulous but there are other alternatives if you are tired of tradition. We have topiary cones and spheres as well as topiary lollipops ready to decorate with the added bonus that they can be planted out in the garden after Christmas as a permanent feature. We also have lovely Hollies, evergreen oaks and birch which will all look great with decorations either inside or out. Species available include Bay, Box, and olives. Come and see us to choose the size and shape that fits your space.

The Nicholsons "Named" Christmas Trees are back!

Our Christmas trees are here and ready to be chosen. As always they have been individually "Named". Can you remember who you had last year...? Lots of lovely trees here and we also have Wreaths.

Open Weekdays 7.30-4.30pm
Saturdays 9.00-4.00pm

A new addition to the extended family

We are delighted to announe the recent arrival of Willow Steele to Matt and Julia Steele. Matt is our Arboricultural Manager and is taking paternity leave to have time with his first born. Mother and baby are well and we are all delighted for them. Wishing Willow a happy and healthy life ahead.

Blenheim Palace Flower Show

Nicholsons attended the brand new Blenheim Palace Flower Show at the weekend using the trade stand garden we had at Chelsea to showcase what we can offer in Garden Design. The weekend was a great success with thousands of visitors.

Nicholsons also had a "Tree and Hedging Advice Centre" where anyone could ask questions about planting trees and hedges from one of our experts.

Fenella was filmed by Witney TV and did a fantastic job as an ambassador for Nicholsons.

Wood Fuel

Niel Nicholson was filmed at the nursery discussing the topic of woodfuel. The BBC news clip is about promoting the use of wood in Oxfordshire as a cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel than oil. Using more wood would increase coppicing and wood harvesting which also encourages biodiversity to help the wildlife. The aim is that wood produced in Oxfordshire will be used in Oxfordshire.

The BBC came to Nicholsons to film the woodfuel boiler which heats five buildings from its renewable wood source. Nicholsons has also signed up to the OxLogs standard of firewood managed by toe² (Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment) where the customer will know where the wood stock is from and is guaranteed to be produced under ceratin standards.