Many bird species migrate from equatorial regions towards the north during spring to take advantage of increased daylight hours for foraging. This is particularly vital in spring when the majority of bird species are breeding and raising young. Birds use a range of methods to navigate from their wintering grounds to the UK. They Read more »
By Jess Bradley, Assistant Woodland Manager Recently, we hosted a tree planting event in one of the woodlands managed by Nicholsons. Dai, Jess, Tom and Kieran from the Nicholsons Forestry team hosted the two day event where 1,000 native trees were planted. The planting day was in collaboration with Arval, a car hire company Read more »
On a day-to-day basis, I get many people asking if they can keep their plant in a pot since they happily stay in containers in the nursery. This is a fair question but certain care guidelines need to be followed to ensure that your plant thrives in its new surroundings and doesn’t succumb to Read more »
Article prepared by Rachel Crapper, Assistant Ecological Consultant Importance of ecosystem health We all benefit from a well-functioning and health ecosystem which improves water and air quality and helps limit disease and stabilize the climate. How do beavers help? Ecosystem health Beavers have an important role to play Read more »
What flower springs to mind when you think of Mother's Day? For me, it’s daffodils! I remember when I was younger, we made daffodil cards at school with yellow tissue paper petals and an orange trumpet made of card. I love a cheery bunch of daffodils in the house – it makes me feel Read more »
By Katie Stevens, Forestry Assistant Throughout the world, we are experiencing the effects of climate change with unpredictable, extreme and out of season weather conditions. This is the first of three blogs that will look at various species that are predicted to cope with the stressors of climate change. Each section will include Read more »
By Freddie Gibbs, Associate Director & Head of Garden Design Avenue: a road, path or track, typically with trees at regular intervals along its sides. Vista: a distant view through or along an avenue or opening. From these definitions, it’s fair to say that when it comes to landscapes, these two aspects Read more »
I first joined Nicholsons back in the summer of 2016 on a placement year during my degree in Product Design at the University of Bournemouth. After I completed my studies, I returned as an assistant within the team and have continued to progress through different roles: Studio Manager, Garden Designer to Senior Designer, Head Read more »
One of the trickiest decisions to make when you re-landscape your garden is choosing paving. Search on any number of websites and you have to make choices about stone, finishes and colours and navigate jargon like 'riven,' 'etched' and 'dressed'. Paving is also one of the most expensive elements of a landscaping project and Read more »
I have known Nicholsons all my life, having grown up in the area in local villages with my parents still down the road. I started at Nicholsons back in the summer of 2016 on a placement year during my degree in Product Design at the University of Bournemouth. Our Managing Director, Liz, was brave Read more »
It's nearly a year since we lost my father-in-law, Roderick Nicholson, founder of Nicholsons. He may not be with us any longer but he left a wealth of ‘Roderickisms’; concepts, ideas, snippets of poetry and in the absence of recalling exactly who had created them, he would often adopt them as his own with Read more »
As gardeners, we are veterans of the biosecurity threat with more emerging pests and diseases arriving on our shores as each month passes. Last year, Dr Nicola Spence, the Chief Plant Health Officer, delivered a lecture at the Forestry Conference outlining the pests and diseases arriving in Britain to infect our native species. She Read more »
December is the month where the ‘big sleep’ typically starts for bats. They may have already started longer periods of physical inactivity referred to as ‘torpor’ during November depending on weather, temperatures and food availability. December typically sees the temperature getting colder and bats moving to their winter roosts, sometimes in small groups, but Read more »
Due to their increasing popularity, greenhouse selection has been a frequent topic of conversation amongst the Nicholsons designers recently. These decorative and practical features enable gardeners to establish productive crops and ornamental plants, regardless of the weather or growing region. Trend-setting glasshouse restaurants have increased the popularity of greenhouses to expand people’s homes, becoming Read more »
Wood For The Trees is a series created by film-maker and outdoor educator Charly Le Marchant and Tom Barnes, who is the Managing Director of Vastern Timber. The series focus on the future of UK forests, covering topics such as rewilding, woodland creation, agroforestry, and much more. Our Managing Director, Liz Nicholson, recently contributed Read more »
As well as our collaborations with DEFRA and the RHS, we were recognised as Sustainable Landscape Architects Practice of the Year in the Pro Landscaper awards. We planted 8,000 trees in the Mara region of Kenya and developed 2 forest school gardens back at home working with the Berkeley Reafforestation Trust. By supporting Nicholsons, Read more »
During my recent search for a new home, I always found myself frantically scrolling through property descriptions to discover the all-important and often neglected information on the garden. And yet, it is not just me who is more focussed on the garden than the house. A 2020 study from Rightmove revealed that homes advertised Read more »
Compost. It is sold in every garden centre, supermarket, and hardware shop. We are encouraged to create our own with our food waste, garden cuttings and various modern plastic alternatives; but what is it and how can we be using it to maximise our gardens, as well as our sustainability efforts? The purpose of Read more »
