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.

The cherry picker has arrived!

The Nicholson's tree surgery team have got another piece of equipment to help them continue the good work on our clients trees. This 18 meter cherry picker is mounted on a Nissan Cabstar so we can transport it effectively around the countryside to help us get access to those hard to reach places quickly and efficiently.

We got this machine to enable us to undertake some of those tricky jobs and help reduce the fatigues associated with climbing using ropes and harnesses. This machine will be used by the team whenever possible in order that we continue to abide by current Health and Safety guidelines!

David and Sophie Harber

How refreshing in todays busy commercial environment that artist and sundial specialist, David Harber, took time to consult his customers about his work. In a new initiative, David and Sophie Harber invited several designers and landscape architects to discuss current trends in the industry and review possible materials for the future. The day was an inspiration where like minded people, who often work in relative professional isolation, had the chance to brainstorm industry trends. David and Sophie were very hospitable and I think that I can speak for all involved when I say that the day was very worthwhile. Good luck David!

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.

From Plants to Panto...

For two weekends only our one and only Merlin Brooke-Little swapped Nicholsons for the brighter lights of the Duns Tew pantomime "Sinbad's Big Eruption"! No he wasn't a magician but a character called Inkpad or 'Pot Noodle' to his friends. His colleagues turned out to cheer him on and we thought that those of you who missed him might like to sample a clip of his work. Signed photos can be obtained from the Cabin at Nicholsons Plant Centre in North Aston. (Be prepared for a long wait!!)

The Nicholsons Plants team were recently treated to a training session on composts and their composition. Not from any old Horticulturalist but from Neil Bragg the chairman of the Horticultural Development Company (HDC) and a director of Bullrush Horticulture LTD. It was a very enlightening session that helped a lot of our staff understand many of the issues surrounding the problem of peat, and the ways in which we can reduce our usage and encourage our customers to think of alternatives.

Our mixes for nursery stock have reduced their peat component over the last five years by using more bark introducing new wood fibre products and keeping a level of loam. We have had trials of peat free mixes for our tree and hedging crops but have found that water retention and some fertility is lost. There is also the danger for us as we pot by hand that currently there are poor restrictions on the quality of green waste material. There is an amount of broken glass for instance the is 'permissible' - not if you pot by hand!

The challenge for us is to keep the quality of our plants and keep reducing peat use - all of our bagged composts for gardeners are now peat free - gardeners accounting for 63% of UK peat use. As technologies and legislation improves so we hope to reduce our usage still further.

Chaumont garden show

Nicholsons’ Landscape section left the office for a day recently to visit the Chaumont Garden festival in the Loire Valley in search of fresh thoughts and artistic flourish.

After trying out all of the seats on offer we tried to digest the inner meaning of the “Body and Soul” gardens designed by an international selection of inspired minds.

Some gardens were more comfortable to be in than others and some had ideas to take home, though on the whole their appeal was in the concepts behind the design rather than the detail.

The gardens needed to be walked through to be appreciated with the designers urging visitors to take off their shoes to feel the materials underfoot or to caress the giant bamboo stems.

By contrast at Chelsea it is possible to drift past the gardens and like what you see through the crowds without even knowing the name of the garden let alone the ideas behind it, stopping only to consider and discuss the merits of one plant variety over another.

All of which begs the question which is the better designed garden? The one with a story to tell that engages the mind as well as the senses or the one which bares all at first glance and relies on thousands of pounds worth of paving and perfect pre-prepared planting?Perhaps it’s time for a Chaumont moment in the UK?

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.

Spanish pebble mosaic in the cotswolds

This summer’s exciting commission has seen us setting 10 Tonnes of Chinese black unpolished pebbles by hand into a dry mortar mix to create 100m2 of stunning pebble mosaic. Kindly advised by Maggie Howarth, we embarked on this project in early July and apart from running out of pebbles ( very serious as boats are very slow from China!) the project has been much fun and the result is really very beautiful….at least we think so!