Simplicity and Meadows Sculpture by David Williams-Ellis Planting carried out by Nicholsons

The Diversified Woodland Set in south Oxfordshire, this particular suite of woodlands owe their management to the fact they draw in an income stream not just from a firewood business, but also from a training provider of bushcraft courses. Diversification is as much the ethos for the farm as it is the woodlands - which are partially Ancient and partially naturalised. They are also used for Read more »

The Woodland Burial Site Set on an area of neglected grassland, this site has been transformed into a natural burials arboretum. Designed by Nicholsons, the site is set out around a central pathway, with sweeping tree lines, avenues of mature oaks and maple, grassy glades, and themed areas of woodland with native shrubs surrounding them. Created over a cold winter, the entire site was carefully Read more »

The Ash Woodland Ash grows almost everywhere, and in this situation  a five hectare woodland emerged from Ash regeneration over a period of 120 years. Now in maturity, it reached a point of high risk, not just because of its even age – but also a lack of species diversity. This would have been the situation regardless of whether Ash Dieback was on the scene, but Read more »

A Secret Town Garden This lovely Oxford Garden is a real hidden gem. With a long history for the garden owner, renovations had become overdue. The brief was to reduce the garden maintenance whilst increasing the overall visual impact of the garden. This was delivered with the addition of a topiary border with simple but beautiful planting, a meadow area with wildflowers and botanically interesting Read more »

The Canal Garden This garden was a bleak expanse of grass when our clients purchased the property. We worked together to develop a design that reached out into the wider landscape and simultaneously created different character areas addressing the different parts of the house. A long drive leads to a courtyard for parking and leads around to the back and sides of the house to Read more »

The Woodfuel System A West Oxfordshire Estate installed a 900kw wood chip boiler to heat the stately home and surrounding tenanted properties. The boiler has an annual consumption of 800 cubic metres of sawn timber, converted into wood chip. The majority of this timber is sourced from low value conifer thinnings taken out in felling operations on the surrounding sister Estate -  managed by Nicholsons. Whilst Read more »

The Orchard Fence This bespoke fence was installed around an organic orchard in South Oxfordshire. The orchard forms a natural extension to vegetable garden and restaurant business, and Nicholsons originally installed deer and stock fencing to protect the orchard site before planting. The fencing timbers were designed and commissioned by the client with a specific requirement that people walking party would be able to relax and Read more »

The Solar Farm Solar farms have become a part of a modern agricultural landscape. This particular solar farm was situated at the top of a hill adjacent to an active airfield. It required a 4 kilometre surround of native hedging with some mature tree standards planted in a more exposed locations to disguise the installation. A key aspect of the design was to keep berrying plants Read more »

The Inaccessible Woodland This 17 ha woodland is set on heavy clay soils in North Buckinghamshire. A beautiful ancient woodland with an owner whose heart is in its management, diversifying its use and sharing the site with the community - the priority had to be improving  access. The wet clay throughout much of year completely restricted any vehicle access into the woodland , and hence Read more »