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 »
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 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 »
