Not very sunny this weekend, but a nice drop of rain and cooler temperatures keep most of the plants in good condition which is great for us and hopefully keeps things ticking along in the plant sales areas around the country. A steadily warming drier week coming up so a nice start for the tennis.
We had a quieter week on the sales front although quite a few more holes appeared in the stock so things are looking more positive than a few weeks ago. Flowering stock seems to be the flavour of the season this year which is not too surprising given the competition for space. Most lines that have come into colour have sold through well but we have definitely seen a lack of demand for those items we usually only sell in leaf which does limit plant diversity in the border but you can’t argue against sales volumes.
Mega couple of weeks went to see Elvis Costello in Basingstoke on Thursday. Just brilliant. No support, just the band for nearly three hours. Just like the last time I saw him over 30 years ago, before most of you were born I suspect. Not the most dynamic audience I’ve seen but everyone had a good time and lots of memories were captured on various personal devices. I still prefer the personal device fitted between my ears despite its unreliability and its habit of crashing when saturated with beer. This week we are going to see Marcus Bonfanti in Portsmouth www.marcusbonfanti.com/ who is a brilliant young blues chap. Check out the website and the great new album, look past the long hair and listen, it’s really real unmanufactured talent.
Availability
Fantastic Salvia’s are all very well budded and showing great colour, still lovely chunky plants. Numbers dwindling quickly, get them at their peak.
Campanula carpatica short and chunky with masses of buds coming. Available in blue or white.
Echinacea has sold really strongly this year. We still have a few left and they are now producing buds on strong stems. B oth the White Swan and Magus (magenta/purple) are looking good but watch out the stock won’t be here for long.
Summer must be here as most of the Hemerocallis are showing bud with some colour on the ever-flowering Stella de Oro. The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are showing colour and looking strong.
Anthemis EC Buxton has masses of chunky bud ready to open into their stunningly pretty daisy flowers.
Plenty of bud coming on the Garden Pinks Dianthus. Gran’s Favourite and Cranmere Pool are the most advanced on the flowering front.
The bright tiny scrambling flowers of Dianthus Brilliancy and Flashing Light are now shouting.
The perennial purple cornflower Centaurea deabata is showing off its first flowers and looking strong.
Exotic Oxalis is up and in bud. Purple foliage and pale pink flowers of O. triangularis are stunning. The short pretty pale yellow Digitalis Carillion is showing colour.
Just a few Catananche left. The first buds are opening into the lovely sky blue summery flowers. Very strong Tradescatia plants in many colours with bud and flower colour in abundance.
The ever popular Geums have plenty of bud and colour coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants. Hadspen Abundance is showing signs of flowering already and looking great.
Campanula glomerata Acaulis in bud and showing colour, short and bushy. Dicentra spectabilis is showing a second flowering flush and looks nice.
The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do!
Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic.
Nature notes
A very exciting couple of days on the local bird spotting front. In all my years in Hampshire I’ve not heard let alone seen Turtle Doves. The local paper a couple of weeks ago mentioned how scarce they are becoming locally yet yesterday Caroline heard one in the garden. We sat and listened to it for 20 minutes but couldn’t see it in the tree branches. It moved from one side of the garden to the other unobserved despite three of us watching. Then this morning, while walking the nursery updating the lists, I heard it again. Luckily I had the binoculars in the office but still couldn’t see it. A bit later it called again and it was in the one small tree in the yard, but still hidden. I kept a watch on the tree and after a few false alarms it flew out. I followed it down to the bottom of the nursery where it landed on a branch next to a second one! A great view of these stunners for a minute or so before they disappeared into the branches again. They are still calling. New visitors for the summer maybe.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 24 June 2013
Monday 17 June 2013
Just a quick one this morning as we are off out to inspect some house decorating and partake of a full Sunday lunch . At least that what I’ve been promised. I seem to have moved from carbohydrate overload last week with Eden’s stunning breads, to protein overdose this week. Great BBQ on Friday night with so many meaty offerings there was little room on the plate for anything remotely green. Last night was the local village barn dance with similar offerings and today’s roast should see me through for my entire quota for the summer. I’m never quite sure about barn dances, I wouldn’t rush to book one up and when I get there I’m never sure I will enjoy it but as usual once dragged up onto the floor it is a good laugh. Luckily my mum used to teach a bit of barn dancing to the parents when I was at primary school back before the age of TV etc, and we kids were used as guinea pigs to walk through the routines before she set off. Three of us making a set of 8 was a challenge but something must have rubbed off as I can pick up the callers instructions reasonably quickly. The chaos of some of the more complicated ones actually adds to the enjoyment, it is something no-one really looks cool doing so just get up there for a laugh. By the end I had quite sore muscles, just above my ears, not used to so much laughing.
Nursery is filling up already with quite a lot of next year’s plants arriving already, where does all the time go. Still got quite a bit of stock to keep sales moving along through the summer so hopefully this gardening kind weather keeps going and the tills keep ringing. Things have brightened recently but the cold spring is still being felt. I can feel my laughter muscles relaxing already!
Availability
Fantastic Salvia’s are all very well budded and showing great colour, still lovely chunky plants.
Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers.
The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are showing colour and looking strong. Anthemis EC Buxton has masses of chunky bud ready to open into their stunningly pretty daisy flowers.
Plenty of bud coming on the Dianthus. The bright tiny flowers of Brilliancy and Flashing Light are now shouting.
Summer must be here as some of the Hemerocallis are showing bud with some colour on the ever-flowering Stella de Oro.
The short pretty pale yellow Digitalis Carillion is showing colour. Dicentra spectabilis is showing a second flowering flush and looks nice.
Strong white flowers about to burst open on the two dwarf Leucanthemum varieties, Snowcap and Silver Princess.
The perennial purple cornflower Centaurea deabata is showing off its first flowers and looking strong. Exotic Oxalis is up and in bud, but a huge number in stock.
Very strong Tradescatia plants in many colours with bud and flower colour in abundance. Geums have plenty of bud and colour coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants. Hadspen Abundance is showing signs of flowering already and looking great.
Primula bulleysiana showing colour, but very few left.
Campanula glomerata Acaulis in bud and showing colour, short and bushy.
The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do!
Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic.
Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking rampant.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Nursery is filling up already with quite a lot of next year’s plants arriving already, where does all the time go. Still got quite a bit of stock to keep sales moving along through the summer so hopefully this gardening kind weather keeps going and the tills keep ringing. Things have brightened recently but the cold spring is still being felt. I can feel my laughter muscles relaxing already!
Availability
Fantastic Salvia’s are all very well budded and showing great colour, still lovely chunky plants.
Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers.
The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are showing colour and looking strong. Anthemis EC Buxton has masses of chunky bud ready to open into their stunningly pretty daisy flowers.
Plenty of bud coming on the Dianthus. The bright tiny flowers of Brilliancy and Flashing Light are now shouting.
Summer must be here as some of the Hemerocallis are showing bud with some colour on the ever-flowering Stella de Oro.
The short pretty pale yellow Digitalis Carillion is showing colour. Dicentra spectabilis is showing a second flowering flush and looks nice.
Strong white flowers about to burst open on the two dwarf Leucanthemum varieties, Snowcap and Silver Princess.
The perennial purple cornflower Centaurea deabata is showing off its first flowers and looking strong. Exotic Oxalis is up and in bud, but a huge number in stock.
Very strong Tradescatia plants in many colours with bud and flower colour in abundance. Geums have plenty of bud and colour coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants. Hadspen Abundance is showing signs of flowering already and looking great.
Primula bulleysiana showing colour, but very few left.
Campanula glomerata Acaulis in bud and showing colour, short and bushy.
The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do!
Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic.
Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking rampant.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 10 June 2013
Morning all,
Great news with yet another very nice weekend and still not too hot. We had a nice drop of rain during the week and there is a bit more forecast for the middle of next week so hopefully that will keep everything in the garden fresh and push any thoughts of drought away for a bit. Sales are still bowling along, gradually whittling away at the deficit of the earlier ‘spring’ so cheers all round for that.
More young plant material due to arrive this coming week, so we are well into sticking it out for another season. The team of ladies in Sri-Lanka have made and packed our next shipment of pots so they will be with us in a few weeks when the ship docks in Southampton. We are not keeping them a busy as they would like but hopefully they will get by and continue developing their lovely pots in the hope that things will pick up and maybe they can find other markets. It is quite a responsibility this end to keep them gainfully employed as they don’t have the support out there that we get if things don’t work out. I suspect other more savvy business people would have high tailed it out of this job by now without a second thought but there is so much more than money invested in this enterprise.
Missed out on my Saturday morning Waitrose experience this weekend as I had to pop out on a delivery to the Eden Project. I was able to replace the usual Saturday delights with a carbohydrate binge session instead. They make and bake fantastic breads down there and after an early lunch of coffee, toasted teacake with Eccles cake for dessert I cleared out a large section of the shop with a collection of goodies to bring home. Having distributed a few bits to some of the family, I wasn’t quite sure where to start on getting back so tea ended up as slices of rye fruit loaf, the crust from the end of the white loaf, a lump of rosemary, onion and sundried tomato speciality loaf and a fruit scone with fresh clotted cream and jam washed down with a big mug of tea. So much pleasure from such a small outlay, who needs millions? Couldn’t move for the rest of the day.
Availability
Primula bulleysiana showing colour, great chunky plants.
Storming Salvia’s are all very well budded, still lovely chunky plants with colour now showing.
Incarvillea are showing buds and flower, looking chunky, an exotic but hardy surprise to many in the garden.
Campanula glomerata Acaulis in bud and showing colour, short and bushy. Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic.
Delicate ferny foliage of Thalictrum diptocarpum with strong flower shoots thrusting through, a beauty but only a handful left.
The dwarf Polemonium Bambino Blue is looking great, strong chunky growth with colour just bursting through, very few left. Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers
Dainty but striking red flowers of Heuchera Ruby Bells and Firefly look delightful.
The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are also just beginning to throw up their flower shoots and looking strong.
Geums have plenty of bud and colour coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants although flowering is still a little way off. The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do! We use the organic and pet/wildlife safe Ferramol pellets to protect ours as well as encouraging the natural predators.
Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking rampant.
Nature notes
In the local paper they are reporting house martin numbers down by two thirds over recent years. They still don’t know where they migrate to over the winter and are hoping to track them with tiny devices to see if they can l ocate ay issues. I was wondering if the missing 2/3’s are on our house. We are very lucky to have plenty nesting under the eaves and their numbers are building over the years. A new batch arrived this week boosting numbers to maybe 8-10 pairs. I will have to survey the nests carefully once they settle on a home and see how many are occupied. They fly so fast it is very difficult to count them on the wing, the best spot is by our house martin puddle in the yard where we have seen 14 on the ground at once. Little heads are popping out of the swallow nest and hopefully the weather improvement will make food supply abundant for them. We have had over the past 2 or 3 years a dusky backed Greater Spotted Woodpecker feeding on the suet and seeds along with the normal smarter pair. The washed out version is likely to be a European incomer apparently making the best of our generosity and we are honoured to have him around.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Great news with yet another very nice weekend and still not too hot. We had a nice drop of rain during the week and there is a bit more forecast for the middle of next week so hopefully that will keep everything in the garden fresh and push any thoughts of drought away for a bit. Sales are still bowling along, gradually whittling away at the deficit of the earlier ‘spring’ so cheers all round for that.
More young plant material due to arrive this coming week, so we are well into sticking it out for another season. The team of ladies in Sri-Lanka have made and packed our next shipment of pots so they will be with us in a few weeks when the ship docks in Southampton. We are not keeping them a busy as they would like but hopefully they will get by and continue developing their lovely pots in the hope that things will pick up and maybe they can find other markets. It is quite a responsibility this end to keep them gainfully employed as they don’t have the support out there that we get if things don’t work out. I suspect other more savvy business people would have high tailed it out of this job by now without a second thought but there is so much more than money invested in this enterprise.
Missed out on my Saturday morning Waitrose experience this weekend as I had to pop out on a delivery to the Eden Project. I was able to replace the usual Saturday delights with a carbohydrate binge session instead. They make and bake fantastic breads down there and after an early lunch of coffee, toasted teacake with Eccles cake for dessert I cleared out a large section of the shop with a collection of goodies to bring home. Having distributed a few bits to some of the family, I wasn’t quite sure where to start on getting back so tea ended up as slices of rye fruit loaf, the crust from the end of the white loaf, a lump of rosemary, onion and sundried tomato speciality loaf and a fruit scone with fresh clotted cream and jam washed down with a big mug of tea. So much pleasure from such a small outlay, who needs millions? Couldn’t move for the rest of the day.
Availability
Primula bulleysiana showing colour, great chunky plants.
Storming Salvia’s are all very well budded, still lovely chunky plants with colour now showing.
Incarvillea are showing buds and flower, looking chunky, an exotic but hardy surprise to many in the garden.
Campanula glomerata Acaulis in bud and showing colour, short and bushy. Carex Evergold and Ice Dance both look fantastic.
Delicate ferny foliage of Thalictrum diptocarpum with strong flower shoots thrusting through, a beauty but only a handful left.
The dwarf Polemonium Bambino Blue is looking great, strong chunky growth with colour just bursting through, very few left. Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers
Dainty but striking red flowers of Heuchera Ruby Bells and Firefly look delightful.
The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are also just beginning to throw up their flower shoots and looking strong.
Geums have plenty of bud and colour coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants although flowering is still a little way off. The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do! We use the organic and pet/wildlife safe Ferramol pellets to protect ours as well as encouraging the natural predators.
Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking rampant.
Nature notes
In the local paper they are reporting house martin numbers down by two thirds over recent years. They still don’t know where they migrate to over the winter and are hoping to track them with tiny devices to see if they can l ocate ay issues. I was wondering if the missing 2/3’s are on our house. We are very lucky to have plenty nesting under the eaves and their numbers are building over the years. A new batch arrived this week boosting numbers to maybe 8-10 pairs. I will have to survey the nests carefully once they settle on a home and see how many are occupied. They fly so fast it is very difficult to count them on the wing, the best spot is by our house martin puddle in the yard where we have seen 14 on the ground at once. Little heads are popping out of the swallow nest and hopefully the weather improvement will make food supply abundant for them. We have had over the past 2 or 3 years a dusky backed Greater Spotted Woodpecker feeding on the suet and seeds along with the normal smarter pair. The washed out version is likely to be a European incomer apparently making the best of our generosity and we are honoured to have him around.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Sunday 2 June 2013
Another very nice weekend, sunny and dry but not too hot, perfect for getting out in the garden and popping down to the local nursery to exercise the credit card. The weather looks like running into next week so hopefully the current momentum will keep growing. Although the cold late spring is beginning to fade in the memory it is still very apparent in the overdraft so let’s keep those sales motoring.
We are starting to see some significant gaps appearing around the nursery which is very encouraging especially as this week we saw the first delivery arrive of some of the young plants for next seasons sales and we start trying to work out where to pot them. We are hoping that last year’s investments in new bed covers will make the clearing up operation quicker but we won’t really know until we get stuck into it all. Keeping the production costs in check is always a challenge especially when all the ingredient costs keep creeping up. It always seems to need more investment to make a saving which can be a tricky balance to make. Last summer we spent a lot on the bed refurbishment and lean training and the results are looking good. We have 16 people with nice NVQ certificates and smarter tunnels but we still need to convert that investment into savings over the coming years. Another of last year’s investments was in the peat free compost we are now using. After many trials we settled on the current supplier and peat free mix which we have found to have made even further improvements to the plant growth and quality above our previous peat reduced mixes. This year we are tweaking the mix slightly to incorporate a higher rate of long term slow release fertiliser as the peat free mix seems to be locking the nutrients up a little more than anticipated.
We are also now adding a second biological control additive. We already incorporate the bio-insecticide Met 52 (Metarhizium anisopliae) a fungus that attacks Vine weevil for up to two years and for 2013 we are adding the new bio-fungicide T34 (Trichoderma asperellum) which protects against a range of root attacking diseases. Although this adds to the compost cost we should more than cover its addition in the improved output from each batch. The first load of bio -control predators arrive this week after a delayed start due to the low temperatures. These will help control the bulk of the insects attacking the crops from above and below compost level so greatly reducing any emergency spraying needed. It’s all go.
Feeling the after effects of a decadent day at the Watercombe Music Festival. A sell-out ‘crowd’ of 500 saw 12 hours of great and varied music in the sunshine in Dorset. I’m a little pink nosed this morning for several reasons but mostly the sun. Got lots of locally sourced purchasing done, Dorset Knob and Jurassic were very good and all locally recycled too. Very civilised picnic and chauffeured back to my own bed by 2.30am, just right. Funnily enough I wasn’t envious of the campers on -site, it was really very cold by then despite multiple layers and winter fleeces all round. That has cured me of any romantic idea of doing a Glastonbury trip, give me my own loo, shower and bed anytime.
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.
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 colour just bursting through. Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers Geramium sang. striatum (lovely clear pink) look stunning and G magnificum are showing buds.
Dainty but striking red flowers of Heuchera Ruby Bells and Firefly look delightful.
Salvia’s are all well budded, still lovely chunky plants with colour just showing on many.
The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are also just beginning to throw up the odd flower shoot and looking strong.
Geums have plenty of bud coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants although flowering will be a little way off .
The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do! We use the organic and pet/wildlife safe Ferramol pellets to protect ours as well as encouraging the natural predators.
Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking great.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
We are starting to see some significant gaps appearing around the nursery which is very encouraging especially as this week we saw the first delivery arrive of some of the young plants for next seasons sales and we start trying to work out where to pot them. We are hoping that last year’s investments in new bed covers will make the clearing up operation quicker but we won’t really know until we get stuck into it all. Keeping the production costs in check is always a challenge especially when all the ingredient costs keep creeping up. It always seems to need more investment to make a saving which can be a tricky balance to make. Last summer we spent a lot on the bed refurbishment and lean training and the results are looking good. We have 16 people with nice NVQ certificates and smarter tunnels but we still need to convert that investment into savings over the coming years. Another of last year’s investments was in the peat free compost we are now using. After many trials we settled on the current supplier and peat free mix which we have found to have made even further improvements to the plant growth and quality above our previous peat reduced mixes. This year we are tweaking the mix slightly to incorporate a higher rate of long term slow release fertiliser as the peat free mix seems to be locking the nutrients up a little more than anticipated.
We are also now adding a second biological control additive. We already incorporate the bio-insecticide Met 52 (Metarhizium anisopliae) a fungus that attacks Vine weevil for up to two years and for 2013 we are adding the new bio-fungicide T34 (Trichoderma asperellum) which protects against a range of root attacking diseases. Although this adds to the compost cost we should more than cover its addition in the improved output from each batch. The first load of bio -control predators arrive this week after a delayed start due to the low temperatures. These will help control the bulk of the insects attacking the crops from above and below compost level so greatly reducing any emergency spraying needed. It’s all go.
Feeling the after effects of a decadent day at the Watercombe Music Festival. A sell-out ‘crowd’ of 500 saw 12 hours of great and varied music in the sunshine in Dorset. I’m a little pink nosed this morning for several reasons but mostly the sun. Got lots of locally sourced purchasing done, Dorset Knob and Jurassic were very good and all locally recycled too. Very civilised picnic and chauffeured back to my own bed by 2.30am, just right. Funnily enough I wasn’t envious of the campers on -site, it was really very cold by then despite multiple layers and winter fleeces all round. That has cured me of any romantic idea of doing a Glastonbury trip, give me my own loo, shower and bed anytime.
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.
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 colour just bursting through. Catananche have started pushing up their flower spikes ready to show off yummy sky blue summer flowers Geramium sang. striatum (lovely clear pink) look stunning and G magnificum are showing buds.
Dainty but striking red flowers of Heuchera Ruby Bells and Firefly look delightful.
Salvia’s are all well budded, still lovely chunky plants with colour just showing on many.
The dark flowering Verbascum Cherry Helen and the Pink Petticoats are also just beginning to throw up the odd flower shoot and looking strong.
Geums have plenty of bud coming now.
We have our best Japanese Anemones ever at the moment, stonkingly bushy plants although flowering will be a little way off .
The Hostas are very chunky and yummy this year too, get them before the slugs do! We use the organic and pet/wildlife safe Ferramol pellets to protect ours as well as encouraging the natural predators.
Fresh batches of Delphiniums and Lupins looking great.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
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