Morning all,

Aaah, check out the date. Better pick up a nice plant to take home as it is our wedding anniversary today . I did get a reminder on Friday when a card arrived from mum. Still, 29 years on and neither of us ever seems to remember so we are at least even, besides every day is special so why pick on one. Ok you can be sick now. Perhaps a bit more effort next year.

An exciting day in store as Caroline has to seal 25,000 cottage cheese tubs and lids into bags for sterilising (we use them to grow the micro-propagated plantlets in). They are going off for treatment first thing Monday so no rush. I have a pile of things to do, all left over from this week when we were so busy that we had little time to do much else than pick up orders, hurrah.

It is quite a relief to see what an impact a bit of nice weather can have after over a year of disappointments, roll on more good gardening conditions. We are desperate that things continue to pick up for everyone, we all have a long way to go to recover our losses but at least the confidence starts to flow back with a bit of exciting sales activity.

A hard frost last night will have knocked back any over optimistic gardeners getting their summer stuff out too quickly, I hope not too many were caught out. There were certainly plenty of over optimistic people getting their stuff out last week on the streets when I was out delivering, shorts and skimpy tops all round and that was just the chaps, it looked like mid -summer. Personally I am happy to discard the electric generating fleece lined trousers but I won’t go much further than that just yet. We have actually booked a day off on the 1st June to go to the Watercombe Festival. It is a mini music festival in Ben Waters back garden in deepest Dorset as far as I can make out. My music festival experience revolves around lying in bed watching Glastonbury on the box which I thoroughly enjoy, I get a nice comfy seat, clean loo and lovely shower and we can turn it off and snuggle into soft linen when we have had enough. I’m sure in reality this will be just as good, at least it is only a short one and we know the music will be brilliant. Anyone could pitch up to play with Ben you just never know, he tours with a lot of great and sometimes famous musicians. Tickets are nearly sold out so you will have to be quick if you fancy a day out www.benwaters.com

Availability

Fantastic looking chunky Aquilegias looking full of life and vigour, all with flower spikes showing, the best we have ever grown.

Geranium Samabor is the first Geranium in flower this year and looking good. The delicate Geranium nodosum is also about to flower too.

Polemonium Heaven Scent are SO attractive in this early period and the first flowers are already there.

Pretty pink flowers of Erodium ‘Bishops Form’ are already showing with loads to follow. Symphytums (Ornamental Comfrey) in colour and looking great.

The Sedums look so fit at this time it is a wonder they don’t burst out and run about.

Erysimums Bowles Mauve already has plenty of bud and the first colour is showing. It will flower endlessly throughout the summer, a great garden favourite but there are only a few left.

The border bulbs are looking strong, buds are showing on the Alliums and some of the Camassia varieties.

A couple of the Verbascums are showing their first flower shoots and looking chunky. Thalictrum aquilegifolium showing strong flower shoots already.

Veronica gentianoides throwing up strong flower shoots now, full of vigour prior to showing its delightful pale blue flowers.

Nature stuff

The House Martins called in yesterday, just 3 or 4 we think. They had a quick check out of the last years nest sites, a bit of a chatter and then seem to have gone off for a bit of R and R which I vaguely remember them doing last year. I must remember to keep the yard puddle topped up as usual through the summer to assist in the nest building activities. I’m not sure if it is the clay content of the yard surface or the nice open site but this one puddle is popular all summer with the Swallows and House Martins for collecting their bricks.

Eco news

Just a couple of days in the month to go and we are already 12% up on the turbine output for the whole month so that very nearly catches up on our YTD estimate and puts us 10,000 units up on last year.
Availability List availability!

www.kirtonfarm.co.uk/assets/perennialsherbs.pdf

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries