Gardens can have such a positive impact on our well-being. Time outdoors with nature, sunshine, growing plants and tidying your garden space can help to improve your physical and mental health through extra hours of daylight, fulfilment, purpose and grounding. We can make simple changes in our own gardens and lives to benefit us, Read more »
The UK is home to six wild species of deer, of which only two are native; the iconic red deer and the illusive roe. The remaining four species (fallow, Chinese water deer, muntjac and sika) were introduced to this country primarily for sport hunting. Since the Norman conquest of 1066, the UK countryside has Read more »
The summer holidays are fast approaching and parents don’t know whether to be excited, relieved or panicked. The children, however, are over the moon! They are planning adventures, dreaming of sun, sea and sand and bubbling to the brim with anticipation and giddiness, imagining what this summer could bring. As the end of term Read more »
Topiary is the shaping of shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes. Many of us will have formed our first impressions of topiary through visits to historic buildings. You may have come away with memories of tiny box hedges with gravel in between or avenues of clipped hedges leading the eye to a victory column. Read more »
By Libby Reeves, Head of Horticulture I have been studying trees and plants in scientific formats for many years, particularly their growth habit, how they have evolved and why they are here. This is something I feel well-versed in and have written about on several occasions. I fell in love with plants Read more »
By Ruby Simpson, Garden Designer As a designer, when I come across a garden with a dramatic feature that needs to be creatively included or enhanced, I’m excited for the challenge! When I saw the mature copse of trees at the bottom of this client’s garden, I couldn’t wait to start 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 second 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 »
The challenge of creating privacy within a garden is frequently discussed with our clients. In the Nicholsons Garden Design Team, we encourage natural screening wherever possible, if not physical structures softened by greenery to limit any incoming line of sight or equally block an unwanted view on neighbouring land/property. The Design Team has summarised Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
