Kirton Looking Sharp

Good morning all.

Looks like a reasonable holiday weekend weather-wise. Let’s hope that plant buying doesn’t waiver just yet, we still have a nursery full of lovely stuff to ship out over the next few months! I can’t believe it is May already, where does all the time go? Summer is well on the way, I spotted my first swift of the season gliding about over Stockbridge High Street as I waited to pick up a curry, another high culture night out for me.
As ever it’s monster busy , too much to do and not enough hours in the day or days in the week. Getting the orders out is always the priority as we never know what’s coming in from week to week or even day to day, it’s always a bit of a juggle as we respond to customer demands. I always have grand plans of all the jobs we are going to get done in the coming week but it rarely goes to plan as the day to day readjustments happen. It can be frustrating if you let it, but to be honest we are just grateful at the moment for some steady sales in the good weather, we can adjust other stuff as we go. Nothing is ever going to go perfectly when we are so in the hands of what nature and plant buyers are going to throw at us.
A lot has been happening this week on top of the workload, with a couple of funerals, a staff member moving on and our 30th wedding anniversary. A time for a bit of reflection, but of looking forward too, lots of stuff still to improve on and get ex cited about. Caroline took revenge on the lack of anniversary surprises by giving me a rather sharp haircut on Tuesday evening. She says she ‘misread’ the clipper comb, I normally have a grade 3 (9.5mm), tidied up with a grade 2 around the edges but she ‘misread’ the 3mm (grade 1) for grade 3 before leaping in with a long run up the back of my head. ‘Oh, that’s a bit short’ and after a second go, ‘yes, something’s not quite right’. Mistake identified, there was no going back and I now only have to buff my head in the morning. Still at my age I’m lucky to have enough to cut, there was a definite shortage in the audience at the excellent Robert Cray concert we went to on Friday.

Availability
Stunning flowers on the Primula japonica Millers Crimson and a good show on the Primula vialli too.
Early buds are plentiful on most of the bushy Salvia varieties this week. Astilbe varieties are now in bud and looking fresh and vigorous.
Buds are appearing on the Centaurea dealbata, stonking plants ready to roll. Erigeron Azure Beauty has its first purple buds appearing on strong plants.
Fresh and chunky Papaver Garden Gnome are showing plenty of bud, but there is limited stock.
Veronica gentianoides has loads of flower shoots appearing, beginning to display their delightful pale blue flowers. Almost impossible to photograph as the flowers always look white in the picture, missing out on the subtle beauty of the real thing. Trollius Golden Queen is a late emerger but rushes up to bud once it is up, and here they are.
Lots Geraniums are showing bud and first colour, Brookside with the first flowers opening and lots of bud and flower colour on
the cant. Cambridge (deep pink), Biovoka (near white) and Karmina (very dark pink) . The clear pink flowers of sang. Striatum are just beginning to open together with the purple sanguinium, the stunning white form will be a week or two later. Campanula glomerata varieties are showing plenty of bud and some early colour.
New batches of short fresh bushy Lupins are looking fabulous. If you would rather have the strong older stock which is in bud just let us know.
Fresh short bushy Delphs raring to go but won’t hang around long.
The first of the Salvias are throwing up their first flower stems and buds, with the promise of lots more to come.
White Armeria maritima have plenty of buds and the odd dab of colour, always a popular neat pot full, but only a few left. Fabulous, good looking, very strong and very popular non-flowering plants at the moment include, Alchemilla, Sedum, Rudbeckia and Echinacea varieties, don’t miss out.
Purple foliage colour of Lychnis Firecracker and Ligularia Desdemona are both impressive and striking pot full’s.

Nature rambling
Robins have hatched. Still only 4 House Martins so far, a bit disappointing after seeing 40 or 50 leave in the autumn.

Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries