Morning All

Where does all the time go? Only two days until Caroline’s birthday and I’m as well prepared as I was for the recent anniversary. Still the shops are open tomorrow so I will have to try hard to extricate myself from the nursery and get some retail therapy before I need physiotherapy.

Another little dose of very pleasant weekend weather bodes well for stretching out the gardening season another few weeks which would be very welcome. Still a bit nippy in the mornings I saw Exeter registered 0C last night and snow flurries still pester the more northerly areas, so not quite beach time just yet. Great TV coverage of Chelsea this week should inspire some extra gardening activity. Well done to all those exhibiting it looked great despite the horrendous challenges of getting the plant production just right this season. It is certainly an added stress I am glad to leave to others.

A lovely Bank Holiday feel to things at the moment, it is always nice to have that extra time off and relax a bit. Managed to get a nice bit of potting done yesterday and the availability lists updated and a bit of spraying and feeding done today. Monday looks busy with a short shop, the next seed batch to sow and the orders (hopefully) to start sorting out so we are ready to make a flying start on Tuesday. We had a lovely surprise yesterday when our nephew Tom pitched up with a young lady visitor who we had not met before. Tom has just returned from a work exchange on a farm in New Zealand so was catching up a bit. He works for us as time and studying allow and was showing Emily where he worked. He was slightly disappointed to show off a slumbering nursery rather than a busy one so we made up for it by getting them to finish off the day’s potting which I had given up thinking we were going to finish. What a lucky girl. Naturally I made a great impression of the seasoned professional like what I am. I still haven’t had the hair cut that worried the man in the lift a few weeks ago and it had been a while since I got very close to the razor. To top it off just as we were to be introduced I managed to hold a leaking watering lance in front of me for long enough to give the front top half of my trousers a really good soaking. Caroline seemed to think it very amusing although everyone else understandably seemed a little embarrassed.

Christmas lunch today on the farm (Tom missed his) as there was a spare turkey in the freezer. Off to knock up some crackers now.

Availability

Incarvillea are showing buds and flower, looking chunky, an exotic but hardy surprise to many in the garden.

Another delightful unusual one is the Primula viallii, the Chinese pagoda primrose which is now shooting and showing buds.

Primula bulleysiana just started showing buds, great chunky plants. Campanula glomerata Acaulis in bud and showing colour, short and bushy.

Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic and featured on Chelsea last week.

Delicate ferny foliage of Thalictrum diptocarpum with strong flower shoots thrusting through, a beauty.

The dwarf Polemonium Bambino Blue is looking great, strong chunky growth with bud showing and colour about to burst. Strong Aquilegias still look full of life and vigour, stonking flower spikes showing bud and colour, the best we have ever grown. Long spurred flowers of A. Mckana’s Hybrids looking very impressive in a great colour range but not man left now. Striking large blue flowers of A. Alpina, Short stems of the Winky range are very colourful holding their heads up to show off the colour. Then there are the taller Barlow types, strong stems with more subtle more hanging flowers. A great show.

Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers

More Geraniums showing flower as spring blooms. G.s. striatum (lovely clear pink), Brookside and magnificum showing buds.

Pretty deep pink flowers of Erodium ‘Bishops Form’ are already showing with loads to follow although only a few left. Dainty but striking red flowers of Heuchera Ruby Bells and Firefly look delightful.

Salvia’s are all beginning to bud up, still lovely chunky plants with that promise of colour round the corner.

Verbascum Phoeniceum Hybids and the white form V.p. Album are showing their first flower shoots and looking chunky.

The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen are also just beginning to throw up the odd flower shoot and looking strong.

Geums have plenty of bud coming now.

Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking great.

Nature update

Very active house martins collecting mud/clay from the yard puddle and repairing last year’s homes. Swallows first brood hatched so hopefully they can keep warm enough and find enough food.

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries