Greening your Garden
Release date: October 14th 2009

Quietly in the rolling hills of North Oxfordshire nestles North Aston – a village that does not wear its heart on its sleeve. The Organic Box Scheme has been growing delicious veg hidden away from rabbits and passers-by for the last ten years. The North Aston Dairy delivers incognito its delicious organic milk to your door. The Peach Pub Company quietly built a chefs’ training centre in a disused old barn. For the past thirty years Nicholsons has nestled at The Park, North Aston – you may see woods pop up, hedgerows appear, a striking new garden in your street – and someone said they bought some amazing plants from somewhere . . . it was most probably all Nicholsons.

At the risk of being a whistle blower, Nicholsons and its environs needs to be exposed and put on the map. It is just one of the gems in the village and it owes its success to being firmly focused on what makes for happy customers, a happy workforce and first-rate products. The business has grown in absolute harmony with its plants and continues to thrive and give pleasure – to those in the know.

Nicholsons has diversified but stuck together, a little Trinitarian, there are three distinct parts to the company; Plants, Landscapes and Forestry but they remain an indivisible whole.

Nicholson Plants is showcased through their Plant Centre based at The Park in North Aston. As soon as you get to your destination you can tell that the company takes plants and customers seriously. If you expect to be insulted on your quest for an Hydrangea quercifolia by a poorly crafted well lit china fairy in a display case then you will be thankfully umolested. The shop has gardening things that are useful! More unusual than that, the staff know plants and can tackle every enquiry without making you feel inadequate!

The range of plants extends to all the usual suspects - shrubs, herbaceous, climbers, fruit with specialities in bigger screening plants, specimen ornamental trees - the finest selection in Oxfordshire - and miles of whatever hedge you need.

The Plant Centre is partially supplied by their adjoining nursery. Being successful, Niel Nicholson explains, also brings responsibilities, not least of an environmental nature; “Having such worthy neighbours in the village is a good impetus to evaluate ourselves and look at our impact. People often assume that, because Nicholsons is a nursery business, growing and selling plants, we must be doing our 'bit' for the environment. It’s true that over the last 20 years we have been instrumental in planting approximately 10 million trees and shrubs. However, there is a lot of environmental cost involved in transport, the peat issue, use of pots, plant miles and just plain waste. Some ways we have tried to improve include:

• All our water – upwards of 10,000 m3 /pa, is now recycled and not drawn off the mains.
• We recycle 95% of our waste
• Our pots are all recycled
• We source UK plants to minimise imports from the continent.
• We have hosted peat free trials and our bagged compost is now peat free, our nursery usage, peat reduced.

"Most importantly we really try to court local customers and to offer them all they need without needing to go too far afield. There are endless ways in which we still hope to improve”.

There are noisier, brasher places to buy your plants but for sincerity, quality, breadth of skill and choice then Nicholsons is a must to visit.

Merlin Brooke-Little

Messages can be left for North Aston Diary and North Aston Organics on 01869 347702. You can visit Peach Pub’s Website.