As the warmth of summer approaches, it's time to prepare your garden for the vibrant and flourishing season ahead. Whether you're an experienced gardener or just starting out, a little preparation can go a long way in ensuring a successful and thriving garden. In this blog, we will explore some essential gardening tips to Read more »
By Libby Reeves The last 12 months have been a very tricky time for us all. The painfully dry spring and blazing hot summer of 2022 was followed by the warm but unnaturally dry autumn and one of the coldest winters I can remember. The recent rain has been something of a blessing for Read more »
By Ruby Simpson Perfection is an interesting concept – and something that many humans strive for. This puts pressure on a lot of us, for various reasons; people feel they have to look perfect and portray a happy life because of social media, parents think they have to uphold unrealistic expectations because of fear Read more »
By Jared Hutchings ...and Re-discover Herbaceous Perennials! Around about this time of year, with those pesky late frosts safely behind us, my lovely mum proudly announces “I’ve got the bedding plants in” and hurries me outside to witness the neat row of “geraniums.” “They’re pelargoniums, mum”, but she ignores my botanical pedantry. I duck Read more »
By Libby Reeves Traditionally, orchards were always a haven for local wildlife. In modern times, with a push for more productivity and consumerism, they have become void of their previous biodiversity. Unlike other ancient habitats, however, we are in a stronger position to replace them, as it takes far less time for these habitats Read more »
By Ruby Simpson Spring feels like it’s fully arrived – bulbs are bursting into flower, April showers are in full swing and the days are finally stretching out and giving us more hours of daylight to fit gardening into! I had a glorious day in the garden this week when I decided to get Read more »
By Ruby Simpson There are lots of ways to use colour in the garden to suit everyone’s individual tastes, but there are a few simple rules that will help you create a huge amount of impact in your border planting. Even if you love a lot of bright colour, removing just one or two Read more »
By Libby Reeves It is so easy to think that any green space must be beneficial for the local environment, any tree to be planted must assist with the fight against carbon, and promoting everyone from individuals to large estates to add more plants must help our landscape to improve. This is, however, not Read more »
By Rachel Jackson As we continue to head into February, we start to see the tell-tale signs of Spring approaching. The days are getting longer, the weather is becoming mildly warmer, and the first green shoots start to appear through the soil, bringing much needed colour back into our gardens and natural landscapes. It Read more »
By Libby Reeves As I look out of the office window, the beech hedge is almost white with frost, and my fingers are just starting to thaw from being outside in temperatures getting close to -6 degrees. It sometimes feels like the garden is a forgotten pastime better suited to later in the year, Read more »
By Natasha Hannah-Lyons If you were asked to list iconic British wildlife, I would confidently say that the small, prickly mammal that gently toddles around our gardens after dark would be on most of our lists. This little bug eating carnivore is a firm favourite of many, but it is in need of our Read more »
By Libby Reeves Prior to Christmas, I was given some interesting blog ideas from our Managing Director, Liz Nicholson. On looking through this list, I saw the idea of planting one tree per household, which I thought I should address first, as, in an ideal world, I would have written this a few months Read more »
By Libby Reeves Another year is coming to an end, the weather is getting cooler and wetter, and I am regularly getting asked ‘when is the right time to plant a tree?’ The answer is simple; now is the perfect time to plant trees, shrubs, or even herbaceous plants, despite the top growth starting Read more »
By Ruby Simpson We all share the idealistic notion of sitting in the garden, gazing at the delightfully perfect planting and taking a moment away from the madness of daily life to relax and appreciate the beautiful outdoors. In reality, I find that if I ever have a spare moment to sit down in Read more »
By Libby Reeves It's a fresh, September morning and I find myself enjoying a bike ride to exploit some of the fine weather before the cold and the dark set in. This blog is an account of what horticultural pleasures I come across along the way, hoping that you might find something useful for Read more »
By Mark Nathanson “The tree we want to plant today, for tomorrow, should have been planted yesterday.” In the winter planting season of 2021/2022, Nicholsons Forestry department and its contractors planted approximately 382,000 bare root trees across 88 sites. This how-to guide offers some of the best practice employed by Nicholson’s Forestry Operatives. When to Read more »
By Libby Reeves Here in Oxfordshire, we are surrounded by areas of historic limestone. The Cotswolds are on oolitic limestone; the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs (including White Horse Hill) are on chalk. This has wide implications for the native flora that grows in these areas and, ultimately, the plants in our gardens. Limestone Read more »
Whether you have a windowsill, courtyard garden, vegetable plot or regularly glean a glut of produce from an established kitchen garden of your own, National Allotment Week is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits of homegrown produce. Kitchen Gardens have become increasingly popular over recent years and on reflection, there are a Read more »
