Morning All

Morning All,

Just a quickie this morning as we are due at a big family lunch very soon and I need to revive some sort of resemblance to a civilised being before being unleashed into more refined circles of life off site. I’m hoping I will get away without wearing a tie although that part of the deal has yet to be negotiated. Unfortunately I have put myself at an even greater disadvantage than usual for a social event by starting on a round of ear drops which have succeeded in making me completely deaf in one ear. I now need the subtitles on the telly and everything repeated at least once before it gets through. I reckon the best tactic will be to get Caroline to sit to my right as I must by now had heard all she has to say and I can then concentrate on the left side only. It does bring home how difficult things become when a disability appears, perhaps I should appreciate more the senses I still possess with bit less use of tactical deafness and the like. Mum says the common sense never really existed anyway which might explain the nursery life we live.

We had our quarterly NBIS (Nursery Business Improvement Scheme) meeting last week which is an invaluable catch up and support system for the production nursery members. We all swap figures and latest money saving updates to try and keep ahead of the game as well a providing an excellent therapy session when things get tricky. Luckily the figures showed nicely how the better weather in late spring have helped partly rescue the dire situation at the end of March. Looking back it is difficult to believe how bad things could have been after the long wet 2012 season and long cold winter and spring of 2013. The better weather hasn’t made things right but it has given us all some hope. One of the next challenges is to hope that not too many nurseries now go under as cash-flow going into the winter falls short. The knock-on effect on the remaining vulnerable nurseries of unpaid invoices could easily destabilise the situation further. It’s a case of hanging on in there at the moment which isn’t a particularly comfy position for anyone.

On a brighter note the potting for next year is going well with tunnels filling up again frighteningly quickly. Where does th e year go? We had thought about a few days off in the summer but it’s not that long until our annual November break now so it hardly seems worth it, especially when there is so much to do on the nursery. We are a couple of summer workers down this year which we are covering with extra efficiencies but it does keep the pressure on everyone to keep things bowling along. What a good job we enjoy what we do so much!

Availability

Aster Purple Dome is about to burst forth with its short height and big purple flowers. The first colour is now showing on some. Mildew resistant and showy, a great plant for any garden.

Still stunning Hemerocallis are showing plenty of bud with colour. The dark flowered varieties Crimson Pirate and Pardo n Me looking great, and the two-tone striking blooms of Frans Hals and Pandora’s Box are nicely open. The deep colour of Pink Damask contrast beautifully with the deep gold of Aten.

Stunning foliage colours of Heuchera Melting Fire, Marvellous Marble and Palace Purple alongside the fresh strong green of Malachite, all great additions to any garden.

The grasses are coming into their own at the moment. Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic and the silver variegated Miscanthus Morning Light is very strong this year with the first delicate flower heads just appearing. Panicum Prairie Sky looks great too with its upright elegant blue/grey foliage.

Eco news

The turbines got their annual service this week. A perfect, still, sunny day for the chaps to dangle about greasing, oiling a nd checking stuff. They changed a couple of the little vibration sensors that are part of the safety set up as they were looking a bit suspect but otherwise all looked well. Caroline did some interrogating about their harness and climbing equipment as we have only another year of free warranty visits to do things like pop the blade tips back in if they come out. This has happened a couple of times this year and we do lose a bit of generation while we wait for the repairers to come to put them back. It is just a case of climbing up, positioning the blade and hitting the tip with a boxing glove on a stick. I’ve done the blade positioning bit but not the climbing as we don’t have the kit. Well, by the end of the week we should have two special harnesses and all the necessary clips, straps and helmets to do it ourselves. Shockingly expensive but easily covered by a couple of paid visits in a year’s time plus the saved generation time we will gain by getting them back in quickly. Just need the boxing glove now.

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries