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    

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

Too many trees to choose from...

Trees, trees and what a surprise another tree! It is that time of the year again when I get to break out of the office and visit the plant growers to reserve the tree and shrub stock for the new season. The purpose of the visits is to build a good relationship with other nurseries and find out how the horticultural industry is changing. I can then look at the quality of the plants and reserve the best to be delivered to us in the autumn. Nicholsons Plant Centre still has a sale on to clear out the current season’s stock then in September the sale’s area will be stocked again with a fresh supply of garden plants, ornamental trees, specimen trees and topiary.

Transport...

Improvisation is the key when plants need to be collected and transported. Our customer felt that the size tree of this tree was not going to be a problem to take home! We can offer deliveries at a charge but it is amazing what we can fit into a car…..

Lifting the correct way...

At Nicholsons there many items of all shapes and sizes to be lifted and moved. In order to save our backs we organised a staff training session on manual handling. The materials we frequently move are awkward and heavy in the range of large trees, compost and logs. The Landscape team experience a variety of manual handling techniques in their daily work from laying slabs, shovelling and mixing cement. All the staff took part and the emphasis was on the individual and their capabilities of lifting. There is no set law on the maximum weight to be lifted but general guidelines which advise the individual on the best way to lift and to ask for help whenever they feel they need to.

Nicholsons awarded "Highly Commended" at Grower of the Year Awards 2009

Last night Niel, Merlin, Catherine and I attended the Grower of the year Awards 2009 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in Hyde Park, London. John Inverdale presented the awards to a wide range of growers from seed companies to edible crops and ornamental crops (our category). We were awarded "Highly Commended" behind the winner who went on to win grower of the year in ornamentals. We are very happy with that as we are a much smaller nursery than the winner and we do not supply plants to the multiple garden centres. The announcer on the microphone was the one and only Alan “voice of the national lottery balls” Dedicoat; Catherine got his autograph for her mum (good excuse Catherine!). I was not as subtle when I asked John Inverdale for his!
An enjoyable evening was had with fine food and the company of likeminded horticultural growers, even if some of them were heavily into their tomatoes!!

Don't let the snow damage your plants...

When the snow was bad Niel spent time walking about with a soft brush in order to knock the snow off the plants. As you can see in the photo, the branches of the olive are weighed down by the heavy snow. Make sure that you remember to check evergreen trees and shrubs along with topiary for any damage that the might have occurred. Prune off any broken branches.

Nicholsons in the snow!

Well, the worst snow storms for a while had their own impact on Nicholsons as we were not able to find the plants let alone plant them. Full steam ahead now as we only have 6 weeks left in the bare root planting season.

Enjoy the views of Nicholsons in the snow!! Click on any of the images to view an enlargement.

Hedges, hedges and more hedges

Our return to work has been greeted by some of the coldest temperatures on record which has been a hindrance to Nicholsons. We have been unable to get planting straight away because of the frozen ground. This means that you will have to plant your hedge as soon as the ground thaws out. Hedges should be planted for a manner of reasons. Within the garden they create a versatile boundary or divide which can be used as a formal or informal manner. Hedges are great windbreaks as they filter the wind rather than create a vortex effect like a fence or wall. Many different species of plants can be used to create a hedge to offer colour, texture, security and wildlife appeal in the garden. Should you require any further help on choosing the right hedge then please follow this link: http://www.nicholson-nurseries.co.uk/forestry/forestry_hedgeplanting.htm

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.

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.

The early bird catches the view..

Starting work at 7.30am is very early especially on a cold, wet and dark winter's morning but the benefits of seeing a sunrise on a regular basis out weighs the negatives! The photos show a sunrise over Nicholsons reservoir and an early morning view over the nursery (the moon still visible in the distance).

Set at 135m above sea level, Nicholsons Plant Centre gives you ‘The Great Outdoors’ experience. Being so exposed to the elements you know that if we have grown the plants at the nursery then they are going to be hardy! So come along when we open and share a sunrise or appear at the end of the day for a winter sunset.

A Sad Farewell!!

Yes, we are selling plants at full speed now as the bare rooted hedging season is upon us.

As Mike said, the Forestry team are out there getting muddy boots by planting trees! However, not only do they plant trees but sometimes it is necessary to cut them down. This is what has happened to our beloved sycamore tree at the entrance to our nursery.



The sycamore went through several consultations with our qualified Arboriculturalists starting with a machine called a resistograph to get a Picus Tomography.

(Please visit the NEWS page on our main website to view forester Adam Quant's report and photos)

The report states the results and provides photos to show why the decision to fell was taken.

It is sad when a tree has to be taken out but they are living just like us humans and when the time comes.........!!