Hairy Holidays

Good morning all.

A scorcher of a week. Thankfully it looks like a cooler few days ahead, it’s certainly slightly fresher today and more cloud cover. Luckily the irrigation system (touch wood) has kept up with the extra demand despite the drying breeze as well as the heat. Sales are still rolling along but the range is slipping a bit as we run out of some lines. The summer potting is now we ll underway so fresh stock for some of those late summer and autumn sales will be with us before you know it.
My work load plans for the week never seem to quite all come right at this time of year, as holiday breaks start to suddenly materialise. The realisation hits home that all the cut backs of the past couple of seasons means we don’t always have the back up of a few years ago and the thought of a day or two off ourselves will have to wait until the autumn. Good job the idyllic life of a nurseryman is so much like a holiday, all that fresh air, sunshine and trug carrying. On the bright side we do have a couple of extra youngsters coming in to help for a few weeks this summer which will be great.
Most of the stock for the 2015 spring sales is now on the nursery with another couple more plug deliveries this week, despite the fact that a lot of stock won’t actually get potted for several weeks. We like to create really chunky stock to give that extra level of value to the gardener and we find that we can get this by planting the little plugs we buy in now, into a much bigger plug before finally potting them. This keeps the plants actively growing and building up a strong framework before an extra level of trimming/grading and potting. Although this adds an extra layer into the production cycle it helps us produce monste r plants with less waste in the more expensive final stages, so hopefully we all win out.
Are you doing enough on the recycling front? Just a quick reminder to check out your local facilities to keep up to date with what you can sensibly recycle. We have had a pretty good system here where one waste company, at a relatively low cost, would take away most of our card, plastic, cans etc in one mixed recycling bin. This was great as previously we had to separate a lot of it out for separate disposal, which usually meant a bit of extra labour, confusion and separate waste containers. The contract has just been taken over by Biffa and I was a bit anxious that we would have to return to separation but in fact it was the opposite. They were happy to take all plastics mixed in with everything else in the one bin. That is a great service and allows few excuses not to make the most of it and recycle all over the place. Things move on, promote your sustainable image, provide great and inspirational customer service, get recycling. The Eden Project make a fantastic, very positive feature of their waste management but this idea isn’t patented, use it to your advantage. Also don’t forget that ‘To make recycling work you have to buy (and sell) recycled’.
Great effort by the Commonwealth Games and UNICEF with their ‘Put the children first’ appeal on the opening night. It is shocking how many thousands of children are still dying each day around the world and what deprived lives many millions more lead. It is not a comfortable thing to think about it too much but we can surely all do a bit more to help. Even if it is only to question how the supermarkets are able to put out a ‘full school uniform’ for £4. I saw in a Primark window yesterday an offer, for 8-13 year olds, to buy 3 T-shirts, a pair of jeans and a pair of trainers for a total of £10!
Looking forward to visiting the Ball-Colgraves show garden this coming week to see if there are any plants we are missing out on and to take a few snaps to add to the portfolio. Hoping it isn’t too bright, as my old fart mastery of digital camera settings is limited and bright sun I always find a bit of a handful when taking flower pictures.
If you are off on your summer break soon, have a splash for me.
Availability
Last few Crocosmia’s left, both golden yellows and with buds just beginning to open (Sunglow and George Davidson).
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and the occasional open flower, a great range of colours. Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good.
The short Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are very strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy but taller V. bonariensis are also in bud.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Short bushy Thalictrum are showing a second flower flush of the summer but only a few left.

Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries