Morning,

Welcome to the Marie Celeste. What a difference a week makes. The end of last week saw the end of the summer work fest with the orders slowing up a bit and most of the potting complete. We sadly saw 3 of our regular seasonal agency chaps and 2 seasonal locals finish for the winter and several people take some well earned holiday on top of hours beginning to fall back for our regular part-timers. We had one return for a week and a day before she pops of to India for a WI event and tour for a few weeks and another two starting holidays next week so it is going to get even quieter. Slightly scary, although the work load is falling there seems still so much to get done and now it takes so much longer to get it completed. I have a long list of things I would love to see worked on over the next few months before the spring arrives bright and early next year (please), but needs must and the fall in the wage bill over the next few months is going to make getting through the winter much more achievable. Having a really tough season is hard enough when margins are tight but having two on the trot is potentially crippling for the whole plant production industry and I wonder how many more casualties there are going to be over the next few months. Luckily we have managed to adapt and respond quickly to many of the challenges and having things like the reusable display boxes and ever improving quality and efficiency, fab staff and customers means we should come o ut of this much stronger, assuming the weather doesn’t kick us again next season. Roll on the spring.

The ‘Harvest 2013’ programmes on the BBC was really good last week. A great taste of growing and farming and a glimpse of the passion of the people behind the production of a few of our crops grown in the UK. Reading a bit between the lines it was evident that the supermarkets had the market well under their control with tiny profit margins for suppliers if all went well and memories of the previous disastrous year pushed to the back of the mind, although not forgotten. The main survival technique appeared to be huge scale production to minimise costs which on paper looks sensible to an outsider but can be devastating for the large numbers of people involved like us in smaller scale operations.

Is there still room for us? In the last couple of weeks I have been hearing tales of big buyers throwing their weight about again, visiting class leading nurseries demanding price cuts plus price freezes for the next 3 years, the trouble is that this impacts on so many others like the plant propagators, wage levels of all staff in the industry, nursery suppliers of pots, labels, composts etc let alone any thought of a profit margin. If the answer is larger scale production, which one or two companies are already heavily investing in, then we are going to see a fundamental change in the supply chain especially as more independent garden centres and nurseries are bought up by the big boys. Or perhaps we might see a more sustainable solution

going hand in hand with the trend for more local suppliers with centres retaining some local identity and specialism in an effort to keep ahead of the competition. It may not be long before specialism, local transport costs and service efficiency become so valuable that keeping supply local could become a real economic incentive. At the moment most delivery costs are incorporated into the plant cost but this means the local customers are subsidising the longer distance ones which isn’t really fair or sensible. The tricky bit is at what point does the industry bite the bullet and separate the two parts, it would be a shock to some and a delight to others if you happen to be closer to your supplier.

Availability

Fresh Asters coming on song with loads of bud showing. Furthest advanced of those we have left are the pretty dwarf Starlight and Lady in Blue which are just starting to open the first flowers. Loads of other colours close behind including some of the ever popular Monch and a fresh batch of the stunning Purple Dome.

We also have a fresh batch of Anemones coming into their own. Strong plants with flower stems appearing.

The short Verbena bonariensis Lillipop is in flower and a fresh batch of Verbena bonariensis is looking very strong and chunky. Panicum Prairie Sky looks great too with its tall, upright, elegant blue/grey foliage and flower stems bursting forth.

There are some late summer blooms appearing on the new bushy Salvia which will brighten the border.

Winter and early spring favourites are coming beautifully with strong late growth on the Helleborus, Pulmonaria, and Bergenia varieties. There are even a few stray flowers on the Primula vulgaris having a quick practice for their spring performance.

Box returns

Thanks for the great response to the email appeal I sent out last week for the return of as many boxes as you can lay your hands on. Don’t worry if you are still using them for display of our stuff we just need to track down the spares of which there appear to be a scary number out there! It is really very important we get these boxes returned or accounted for, so we can maintain a good looking and sustainable delivery and display system. Please do drop us an email to update us on the current position if you haven’t already done so. Cheers.

Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries