At last a little bit of more spring like weather, it was a lovely day here today, great for the Sparsholt College next door to have their annual countryside day. Tomorrow looks less joyful but they are promising warmer weather again next week so let’s hope we all build up a bit of momentum on the sales front.


Sometimes it is tempting to pretend everything is ok, to put up a brave front and try not to give the impression of poor performance and panic, but this spring has been a shocker and it is the same for lots of horticulture based businesses so we are not alone. There is not a lot we can do with such a poor run of weather other than face up to things and get stuck in and make the best of it. It is not just the businesses that suffer but the employees too. We are not a well paid industry generally and the loss of all the spring overtime will be quite a hit to many, good job we enjoy what we do so much! A good friend of ours with a small local retail outlet has faced up to the troubled spring with a full on advertising programme this week with the headlines ‘Horticulture in Crisis, help out by getting down here and buying some plants’. Stunningly upfront and honest is our Roger and it may well work. I can’t wait for his ice cream parlour to open, a yummy complimentary outlet to his great tea room and craft centre.

So here we are at a moment in time, the past few weeks are behind us and the future is ahead. Getting upset or cross about what has happened isn’t going to help and can make things a lot worse. The knock on effect of a grumpy outlook only knocks back everyone else around you when they are probably only a short step from grumpiness themselves. I try to pick on a few positives to get my brain pumping out the right hormones and get me out of bed and off to a good start. If I make it upright from the bed without putting my back out, the turbines are turning when I draw back the curtains, the tea bag goes straight in the cup from the other side of the table, I pour the juice in the glass and not on the cereal, the cat hasn’t pooped in the tray, life’s full of little plusses when you look.

I did a bit of NLP training a few years ago and one of the exercises I had to do was to list a few things I had done that I was proud of or pleased with, big or tiny, from today or from the distant past, it didn’t matter. As I was unprepared for the question it took a while to think of much to write down and just as I got into a flow he stopped me. I then had to get a notebook to keep by my bed and each night I was to write one positive or groovy thing I had done. After a year or two you would have a book full of ace facts and whenever you woke up in the morning feeling a little down then you could turn to the book and it helps you remember lots of good stuff about yourself. It’s just chemistry really, the brain releases different chemicals when stimulated by good stuff, it can act like a switch and turn the start of the day from going down to going up. It worked for me, I just have to catch sight of the note book (I got one with quite a distinctive cover) by the bed, the hair stand up on the back of my neck and I get a boost. Now I’m not the sharpest tool in the box, I never actually got round to writing anything in the book, but an empty notebook still works as a trigger for better thoughts for me.

Great pictures from Cornwall this morning of the Olympic torch relay, it’s lovely to see people get so excited about carrying a small gas canister 300m. I hope the positive mood keeps growing, the jubilee isn’t far away and there will be lots to cheer about all summer long. Hurrah. I see the first torch went on Ebay today for £3,250. Bargain.

Eco News

Cold weather has slowed up the biological controls a bit, we have just released our third input of a wide range of predators and my beetle breeding bucket seems to contain quite a lot of life, whether it is all the right sort I’m not all together sure. I will keep up the weekly feeding and we will see if they keep the pest numbers down.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries