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 »
By Nadia Cheddi (Lighting Designer) In recent years, garden lighting has become a very popular trend. Whether it is uplighting huge feature trees to give structure and height, or downlighting the façade of house, more and more people are wanting to venture into the world of garden lighting. However, we need to make sure Read more »
By Olly Wills A Moment of Clarity: “Nature is a playground where our inner child can roam around.” Wim Hoff During the summer of 2020, whilst camping with friends in the Cotswolds, I had my first chance to spend time in a natural swimming pool and the experience was transformational. The water was refreshing, Read more »
By Wil Heeney Often when people talk about wildlife gardening, they conjure up images of gardens left to grow into backyard jungles. However, improving our back gardens for wildlife doesn’t have to mean carrying out your own re-wildling experiment. Even the slightest changes in the smallest spaces can promote native biodiversity. Below are two Read more »
By Ruby Simpson June is here! And because we have all been busy celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, I thought why not go for a red(ish), white and blue(ish) theme? I have included some Roses in the mix, as June is the month of the Rose. Not only that, but it’s the 60th Anniversary Read more »
By Steve Malsher I consider myself extremely lucky in the work that I do. Working in not only beautiful gardens, but in a beautiful part of the world, The North Cotswolds, Oxford and South Northamptonshire. Simply driving from once place to another can open up vistas that could grace the cover of any landscape Read more »
By Victoria Sherbourne Synonymous with freshly cut grass, blooming flowers and blossoming trees is the Chelsea Flower Show. This year, we are thrilled to be returning to the Show to build a considered and captivating garden named, “Connected by EXANTE,” for Finnish designer, Taina Suonio. Our passion is to lead on sustainability, not only Read more »
By Will Beament Increasingly in the contemporary world, Environmentalism is slowly being incorporated into every facet of modernity. Whether this is through policy via the encompassing umbrella of ‘Sustainable Development’, through direct-action following law, or simply through the desire of ‘grass roots’ change. Being in the industry of green infrastructure and designing Landscapes, one Read more »
By Jared Hutchings Have you ever picked up one of those bags of seed with a title like “Wildflower Meadow Mix” and a dreamy image of a grassy swathe, speckled with colour, like something painted by Monet. Did you imagine yourself sprinkling those seeds on a worn-out patch of lawn, and then sitting back Read more »
Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt are to return to RHS Chelsea Flower Show to build the most magical garden “Connected by EXANTE” for Finnish designer Taina Suonio. We could hardly believe our luck when we received the invitation to join forces with Taina at Chelsea in 2022. Our beating heart is to lead on sustainability, not Read more »
By Jarka Valasheek (Assistant Designer & Planting Specialist) Don't just smell the roses! If you really love them, do go ahead and enjoy the fragrance that they can produce. I particularly enjoyed ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’ at Upton House in their Rose Garden last summer. However, if growing roses is not an option for you, Read more »
Stronger together – providers unite to expand environmental services for clients Two of the environmental, landscape, forestry and planning industry’s most experienced service providers are celebrating the launch of Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt, offering a unified range of environmental, landscape, planning and forestry services – all under one roof. With a combined 65 years Read more »
By Libby Reeves Biological controls are tiny creatures that we can use within our gardens to control pests and disease. It is a more recent method, but a highly valued version of pest control that is encouraging farmers, growers and gardeners alike to move away from chemical use. This is important. Chemicals are dangerous, Read more »
