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.

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!

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.

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.

Day 1 of Chelsea, Press Day

The completed stand

Finally complete and doesn't the stand look good. Well done to everyone! Remember to visit us on Pavilion Way at location PW33.

Monday is Press Day and the team had some very important visitors....

Chelsea Pensioners taking a rest on Nicholsons stand with Clara and Liz Nicholson

Music by Wendy

Clara and Liz were interviewed by BBC Radio Oxford and Clara was outstanding.

Also Roderick and Hanny Nicholson even got in on the act when they were spotted on the BBC News UK page admiring the vegetation. I shall ask Roderick what the plant was when I next see him...

Photo courtesy of BBC NEWS UK

Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee with Tree Planting

On a perfect spring day, two local school groups were treated by the Woodland Trust to a session of tree planting to mark the Queens Diamond Jubilee. As far as we could see they all seemed to be having a lot of fun! A big 'THANK YOU' to Bishop Lovedayand Dr Radcliffe's Primary C of E schools for all your help. The trees sit alongside a local footpath to the west of Swerford, and so everyone involved should be able to re-visit over the coming years and see them grow.

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.

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.

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.

Just before the children at Witney Community Primary School came back from their summer holidays, we sent the Landscape Team, Jules and Alastair to revamp the tired looking space ready in time for the Autumn Term.
With a digger some MOT Type 1, a few edging boards and some childhood inspiration to make some teepees, they built them a whole new looking space ready for the soft works team to come in and plant up the trees and shrubs.

Myself and Ali went back shortly after the term started and got the children involved in the planting. Some were more interested in the worms which they placed in the new raised veggie bed we also built for them. The children were all so enthusiastic and it was wonderful to see them all getting their hands into the mud and plant something that will grow taller than them by the time they leave the school.
So thank you for helping us.

For all those children who planted and then put a layer of bark mulch on top we wrote their names on a on a tag and attached it to the plant, so they can show their friends and family, but most importantly to look after, water and talk too.
Talking to plants and trees will always make them grow!

Nicholsons Hedging at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre

Nicholsons are delighted to announce that they have opened a Hedging shop within the Bicester Avenue Garden Centre - one of the centres within the 120 strong Garden Centre Group. It is to be known as the British Hedging Shop and stocks all the lines that Nicholsons grow and are known for - quality container grown hedging. This is the first such Hedging shop within the groups stores and it is hoped that if it is a success that it will be roled out in other stores next year.

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

Nicholsons at the Globe

On Thursday 8 October The Woodland Trust hosted an evening function at the Globe Theatre, London. The event was a charity fundraiser with a host of celebs. Not least amongst the notaries were a group of well turned out natives from Nicholsons.

The trust had requested that we supply them with a selection of native trees and shrubs all looking their best. So, several oaks, beech, hornbeam, spindle, guelder rose, wayfaring and laurels all found themselves in the bright lights – and were even dressed in hessian for the occasion by the Trust volunteers. They helped add ambiance to a very successful evening for the trust whose auction raised substantial funds for their great work.

Could anybody in the know give some more history surrounding the oak tree that apparently – and obviously in the photo – is growing within the Globe Theatre?

A load of old bales!

Back in the 12th century a bishop of Winchester came up with the idea of throwing in a load of barley in a pond to keep it clear, and so 800 years on gardeners are still using this method.

The most efficient way of keeping ponds clear of algae is to semi-submerge barley straw wrapped up in Christmas tree netting, or in the case of some gardeners, in the lady of the house’s tights!

Barley straw rots down faster than other straws and as it rots down it uses up the available nitrogen in the water which algae needs to feed on and grow. So removing the nitrogen leaves very little for the algae to live on and leaves clear water. A very environmentally friendly use for the straw.