Icing on the polytunnel....

Happy New Year to one and all! Nicholsons has had a slow start due to the weather but we are open for business despite the snow so get those enquiries or orders e-mailed in. However, planting has been delayed because of the foot of snow so once it has disappeared we shall go plants mad! I look forward to seeing you at the nursery soon.

Well dressed trees

Nicholsons landscape section has been busy at home as well as in the office choosing and dressing their christmas trees. Myrtle, Amber and Floyd (trees all have a name at Nicholsons) are now all installed, dressed and sparkling at homes throughout Oxfordshire.

If you have a photo of one of our trees with its finery on please e-mail it to me karen@nicholsons.gb.com and we will upload as many as possible to show just how lovely our trees are. If you still don't have a christmas tree we have a few left so come in soon and pick up Wallace or Jasper or Rupert or Mungo or Sophia or Germaine and friends.........All looking for loving homes.

Chester went to Deddington......

Holly got dressed in Adderbury....

The Beech!

After nearly two weeks of cutting this beech tree in the heart of Oxford is now down! The tree was in a state of terminal decline because of root compaction which had happened by the builders.

We tried the previous year to rectify this by teraventing the area around the tree and fertilising the tree.

We reluctantly took the decision to remove the tree when it did not show any signs of improvement and a root rooting fungus Meripilus giganteus appeared in Autumn 2009.

Each piece had to be lowered in a controlled manner to the ground avoiding the expensive up lighters. The tree was estimated to weigh in the region of 50 tonnes. The timber was taken away for Firewood and the chip brought back to our yard and sent off to a combined heat and power plant to be turned into green electricity!

Christmas Party 2009!

Ho, ho, ho or hic as the Christmas party season came around once again. A big thank you to Directors Niel, Liz and Tim for a lovely party of superb food and excellent company! Personally I love working for Nicholsons and it was great to catch up with all the Nicholsons team from each of the three departments of Plants, Forestry and Landscapes. The best secret Santa present went to Mike Tustin - the fellow giver obviously knows him very well!

Christmas Market success

On Saturday 5th December the Christmas market opened! So come and visit the Christmas experience at Nicholsons which includes a greeting of festive aroma of mulled wine and warm mince pies. Then follow the arrows to Narnia for good looking "named" Nordmann trees which could even win you a bottle of champagne in the prize draw. There are prizes for the children on completion of the Narnia quiz and many tempting gifts for the adults to buy for their friends and relatives. The wreath making workshops have been a great success so ring us to book a space. Shrubs, trees and vouchers also make perfect gifts....

Winter at Nicholsons

Christmas Market Open
The long awaited Christmas Market is open and ready for business - Winter at Nicholsons. There is not only a lovely array of plants and sundries, there are fresh Christmas Trees, Seasoned Logs and Wreaths. Also range of other stalls: Hampers from Eagles Fine Foods, Flowers and Wreaths from Daisies Florists, Whichford Pots, Ornaments for the garden from various suippliers and much more. Open every weekday from 7.30am -4.00pm and on Saturdays from 9.00am - 4.00pm and on Saturdays come and enjoy a glass of Mulled Wine and a Mince pies and watch the wreath demonstrations.

What a load of old Logs

Yes it is really true. Nicholsons have started selling logs, and yes they really are "old". The best logs to burn on the fire are hardwood seasoned logs and these are all that is available. The logs have been seasoned for most of a year and come in 3 bag sizes and can be delivered. There is even a separate website for information: http://www.logs.gb.com/ -come and visit and see for yourself.

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?

Matt, Sam and Graham step up to the challenge.

The tree had a large cavity in the upper crown and numerous Inonotus Hisbidus fungi brackets from within the crown. A climbing inspection was undertaken and the resistograph micro drill was used at 20 meters up to ascertain the extent of the decay. The tree officer was then happy with the evidence and agreed that this TPO’d tree should come down.

Over three days Matt, Sam and Graham took up the challenge of bringing this tree down to earth. Matt did a good job of dismantling it and Graham and Sam managed to keep up with the wood chipper. The pictures show Matt and Sam before doing the final felling cuts bringing the tree to the ground. The client won’t be short of firewood this winter!

Nicholsons Plants escape from the nursery.

Nicholsons Plants division were allowed to break free from the nursery yesterday to go on a trip out. We were privileged to have a guided tour of the Waddesdon Estate by the forestry manager, Pete. Pete showed us how well the trees and hedges, which we supplied to him over the years, were growing. It was very informative to see a 12 year old hedge planted from our bare rooted plants which had been laid 2 years ago now stood as a bushy, stock proof, Saxon mix hedge 2 years later. The Millenium oak arrow avenue (see picture) was a stunning site and can already be seen on Google maps. It was obvious that Pete and his team work with incredible effort and pride in their nurturing of the parkland.

The second picture shows woodland planting which is seven years old planted using all our trees and shrubs both in bare rooted and potted form. Species included cherry, copper beech, holly, larch, ash, Scots pine and even Davidia (the pocket handkerchief tree).

The third picture shows our transport for the day!!

After our tour of the parkland and woodland planting we were treated to a guided tour of the walled kitchen garden by the head gardener Sue. I have never seen such an aesthetically pleasing, productive kitchen garden ever before. The varieties and quality of vegetables were outstanding and it was nice to hear that the Rothschild family use them in their kitchens on a daily basis. There were unusual varieties of cabbage and potatoes; the greenhouses were full of tomatoes, peppers, aubergine and plants for the house. The fruit ranged from pot grown dessert cherries, peaches, grapes, nectarines and a pear and apple arched walkway to die for. Next came the cut flower area to provide flowers for the weekly, colour schemed flower arrangements.
A big thank you to Pete, Sue and all the staff for putting up with us and showing us around their outstanding areas. The experience was amazing and we have all learnt something new!