Good morning all.
It’s still so mild down here, doesn’t really feel like November is about to hit us. I hope it will be gentle with me, I’m fee ling a bit fragile at the moment. It’s not just to do with the fantastic casino and cocktail party we went to last night where I lost all my money in an instant (a bit like investing in a nursery), luckily it was only pretend money this time but the cocktails weren’t pretend. It’s also not due to the previous weekend break we had, on a package deal to Tresco, which proved to be just as eventful as predicted. All flights cancelled on Friday due to low cloud and high winds, got soaked to the skin in a deluge while walking along Whitesands bay before an overnight stop in Sennen and an early start Saturday only to find no flights again and seats on the ‘Big White Stomach Pump’ (Scillonian 111) booked for our pleasure. We checked-in on the quay side as waves crashed over the harbour wall and news filtered through that the ship had not returned from the Islands the day before as it was too rough! Nearly came straight home. In the end it was all very exciting, a bit like a very long roller coaster ride as we crashed through the huge swell. Although there were a lot of very ill people the staff were great at keeping everything clean and fresh and luckily our group of 4 were fine which was a relief as I usually feel sick on the tea-cup ride. Over the next 30 hours we did some walking, a lot of eating with a little something to wash it all down, bird and red squirrel spotting (6 Water Rails which we had never seen before), 3 party/gigs, two trips round Tresco Abbey Gardens and a very quick plane ride back to the mainland. A real adventure of a weekend, meeting some lovely new faces and a destination thoroughly recommended for a refreshing break. Tip number one has to be to take the plane!
The bigger fragility is being felt with the usual impending dip in cash flow combined with not very positive news in the ornamental nursery sector. Hort Week is full of lots of ‘Garden Centres’ revealing their true colours as ‘Home and Leisure centres’ with greatly diminished emphasis on plants and gardens. To be fair, you could see this coming and hopefully it will open some opportunities for some retail plant specialists but for the plant producers it seems to point to a continuous fall in range grown and market availability. On the back of this we are seeing many nurseries being sold off, closed or getting into difficulties (at least one big one is currently trying to take up a CVA arrangement with its creditors to avoid the final crunch), this is after two years of rubbish weather and then a nicer year of disappointing sales for most. Thin or non-existent margins even when times are better, are bringing about the inevitable consequences, what a good job we do this for love and life style! We are just thankful that next season looks so much more positive for us, with plenty new developments and demand building up, just need to batten down the hatches until a busy new year arrives.
Why, when it says ‘Speed up browsing by disabling add-on’s’ does it give you three options none of which allow you to do it? Send me back to Tresco, they were looking for a new propagator.
Availability
A new strain of hardy Cyclamen coum (Cyberia) is coming into colour, three colours which are due to flower from November to April. Nice chunky, tidy plants with lots of potential.
We have several new Saxifraga urbium varieties coming out of the micro-prop lab of which we have a few in flower already. They are named varieties but at the moment those names are under review and they may well be renamed by the breeder in the near future to something more attractive!
Erysimum varieties are coming on stream already and the Red Jep have already started producing bud.
Hellebourus are just starting to come ready with a few new additions to the range. We are trying a new H. orientalis selection called Crown Dark Purple which is reported to flower after its first winter, it is certainly coming on nicely at the moment. We have a few H. niger Praecox to try out and three great new H. viridus varieties which are looking very smart and distinctly different from each other. ‘Silver and Rose’ has attractive solidly silvered foliage, ‘White Green’ has deep green leaves with strong cream veining, and ‘Rose Green’ has a more glaucous green leaf with pretty flush of pink in the stems and some leaf veining. Nice short varieties looking enthusiastic in their pots.
Flowers still showing on the Erodium Bishops form which never seems to stop once it starts.
Evergreen Bergenia’s are now making a tidy pot ready to produce their early spring colours. Ajuga’s looking smart, nice pot full’s of coloured foliage.
Wooden Box Collections
We have had a really good round up of trays over the last few weeks but if anyone still has any of our wooden boxes ready for collection please do drop us an email and we will try and pop in sometime and retrieve them. We can then prepare ourselves for some winter whittling and repairs. Thanks.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 27 October 2014
Monday 13 October 2014
Hairy Hat Trick
Good morning all,
Things getting a bit quieter here now as the temperatures fall away. Just rushing round now trying to make the most of the remaining warmth. There is the usual autumnal burst of plant growth from all the perennials before things start going dormant. Always nice to see the heart of the young stock build up before the winter, ready for that early strong spring burst of growth and sales. Looking forward to that.
Relief all round as we got three more tunnels re-clad last week which just leaves one little one to do and we need to do some constructional repairs on that one before covering so that might take a while.
I’m now getting stuck into ordering young stock for potting next spring which is always an interesting exercise. On one hand I know the cash-flow is about to dive in the wrong direction along with the temperature so it feels like time to batten down the hatches. But in reality I really need to prize open my jar of optimism and assume we will sell some stock again when the days lengthen and with demand looking really strong for 2015 we are going to need plenty to sell. There is always that scary unknown factor of the weather to work into the equation, but hopefully we will get a good run at some point through the season to pull it all together.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the stock next season resplendent behind our new design of label. I’ve always been quite jealous of those nurseries big enough to run with their own bespoke labels creating a smart coordinated look, even if they might sometimes be a bit overpowering. Recent changes in digital printing means the size and cost of minimum print runs has come down, together with the ability to print our own short runs on site to the same design, which makes having our new look economically viable. The added bonus with our new labels is the really practical and innovative design providing so many extra benefits to us, the producer, and you, the customer. It all helps add to my excitement. It does take much!
Talking of excitement, we are off very soon for our weekend trip to Tresco. The build up has already begun with the successful purchase of new holiday socks last weekend. The weather however, looks pretty scary for our little airplane ride across from Land's End, just wondering if new holiday underwear might have been a wiser purchase. Just wonder if the venue might change to Penzance Tesco’s after all.
Just wondering if things are beginning to turn in our favour again, the signs are there I feel. If I can ignore IS and Ebola for a minute and look a bit closer to home, things are beginning to look a bit rosier. The nursery is looking promising, holidays are close and one of our long standing staff is moving into the cottage by the nursery gate which will help us both out, we get the added security and help and he can move out of Mum and Dad's place, win, win. On top of it all, after 44 years playing club hockey I scored my first hat-trick on Saturday, just hoping I don’t have to wait that long again.
Availability
Hellebourus are just starting to come ready with a few new additions to the range. We are trying a new H. orientalis selection called Crown Dark Purple which is reported to flower after its first winter, it is certainly coming on nicely at the moment. We have a few H. niger Praecox to try out and three great new H. viridus varieties which are looking very smart and distinctly different from each other. ‘Silver & Rose’ has attractive solidly silvered foliage, ‘White Green’ has deep green leaves with strong cream veining, and ‘Rose Green’ has a more glaucous green leaf with pretty flush of pink in the stems and some leaf veining. Nice short varieties looking enthusiastic in their pots.
Flowers showing on the Erodium Bishops form which never seems to stop once it starts. Evergreen Bergenia’s are now making a tidy pot ready to produce their early spring colours. Ajuga’s looking smart, nice pot full’s of coloured foliage.
Another winter interest group are the Pulmonaria’s. We have extended the range this winter with the white edged leaves of David Ward (pink flowers) and the pretty white spring flowers of Sissinghusrt White (sold out for now) held above white spotted leaves. The regular stunners are still there, Blue Ensign (pale leaves but the best blue flowers), the fabulously variegated/white blotched leaves of Opal with its lovely delightful pale blue flower in spring and the narrow spotty leaved E.B. Anderson.
Wooden Box Collections
We have had a really good round up of trays over the last few weeks but if anyone still has any of our wooden boxes ready for collection please do drop us an email and we will try and pop in and retrieve them. We can then prepare ourselves for some winter whittling and repairs. Thanks.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Things getting a bit quieter here now as the temperatures fall away. Just rushing round now trying to make the most of the remaining warmth. There is the usual autumnal burst of plant growth from all the perennials before things start going dormant. Always nice to see the heart of the young stock build up before the winter, ready for that early strong spring burst of growth and sales. Looking forward to that.
Relief all round as we got three more tunnels re-clad last week which just leaves one little one to do and we need to do some constructional repairs on that one before covering so that might take a while.
I’m now getting stuck into ordering young stock for potting next spring which is always an interesting exercise. On one hand I know the cash-flow is about to dive in the wrong direction along with the temperature so it feels like time to batten down the hatches. But in reality I really need to prize open my jar of optimism and assume we will sell some stock again when the days lengthen and with demand looking really strong for 2015 we are going to need plenty to sell. There is always that scary unknown factor of the weather to work into the equation, but hopefully we will get a good run at some point through the season to pull it all together.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the stock next season resplendent behind our new design of label. I’ve always been quite jealous of those nurseries big enough to run with their own bespoke labels creating a smart coordinated look, even if they might sometimes be a bit overpowering. Recent changes in digital printing means the size and cost of minimum print runs has come down, together with the ability to print our own short runs on site to the same design, which makes having our new look economically viable. The added bonus with our new labels is the really practical and innovative design providing so many extra benefits to us, the producer, and you, the customer. It all helps add to my excitement. It does take much!
Talking of excitement, we are off very soon for our weekend trip to Tresco. The build up has already begun with the successful purchase of new holiday socks last weekend. The weather however, looks pretty scary for our little airplane ride across from Land's End, just wondering if new holiday underwear might have been a wiser purchase. Just wonder if the venue might change to Penzance Tesco’s after all.
Just wondering if things are beginning to turn in our favour again, the signs are there I feel. If I can ignore IS and Ebola for a minute and look a bit closer to home, things are beginning to look a bit rosier. The nursery is looking promising, holidays are close and one of our long standing staff is moving into the cottage by the nursery gate which will help us both out, we get the added security and help and he can move out of Mum and Dad's place, win, win. On top of it all, after 44 years playing club hockey I scored my first hat-trick on Saturday, just hoping I don’t have to wait that long again.
Availability
Hellebourus are just starting to come ready with a few new additions to the range. We are trying a new H. orientalis selection called Crown Dark Purple which is reported to flower after its first winter, it is certainly coming on nicely at the moment. We have a few H. niger Praecox to try out and three great new H. viridus varieties which are looking very smart and distinctly different from each other. ‘Silver & Rose’ has attractive solidly silvered foliage, ‘White Green’ has deep green leaves with strong cream veining, and ‘Rose Green’ has a more glaucous green leaf with pretty flush of pink in the stems and some leaf veining. Nice short varieties looking enthusiastic in their pots.
Flowers showing on the Erodium Bishops form which never seems to stop once it starts. Evergreen Bergenia’s are now making a tidy pot ready to produce their early spring colours. Ajuga’s looking smart, nice pot full’s of coloured foliage.
Another winter interest group are the Pulmonaria’s. We have extended the range this winter with the white edged leaves of David Ward (pink flowers) and the pretty white spring flowers of Sissinghusrt White (sold out for now) held above white spotted leaves. The regular stunners are still there, Blue Ensign (pale leaves but the best blue flowers), the fabulously variegated/white blotched leaves of Opal with its lovely delightful pale blue flower in spring and the narrow spotty leaved E.B. Anderson.
Wooden Box Collections
We have had a really good round up of trays over the last few weeks but if anyone still has any of our wooden boxes ready for collection please do drop us an email and we will try and pop in and retrieve them. We can then prepare ourselves for some winter whittling and repairs. Thanks.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 6 October 2014
Hairy Socks
Good morning all.
Very busy week, squeezed on 3 more tunnel covers before the weather turned and shipped out plenty of lovely plants. Lots of boxes here now, all spaced out and stacked up to dry out before winter storage. We just have a few more to hoover up, so if you find any more needing collection do drop me an email and I will add you to the list. I know we still have a couple of pick- ups in the Wiltshire direction as well as some towards London.
Last week’s surprise expenditure completed its third instalment with an odd incident when the plastic mounting bracket that holds our little Dosatron diluter on it's trolley broke while no one was on site, unfortunately it then landed on its hose tail and snapped it off so had to buy two specialist new parts. They were delivered brilliantly quickly via Fargro only for me to discover on reassembly that there was a hairline fracture of the top casing as well. Fiddle de dee!
Wood store full of old conifer hedge trunks all seasoned, cut, split and ready for winter, just the nursery store to fill now and there is plenty of scrap wood to fill that too. Chimney swept too, bring it on. Keep those oil deliveries down. Wind turbines have been a bit slow over the past couple of months in the good weather but at least our electric consumption continues to fall too which is good to see (wouldn’t know if we didn’t measure it. Dull but true).
Off to the shops to see the outside world today, very excited as I’ve got to do my holiday shopping (nearly out of hole-less socks, thought I might struggle through till Christmas but no such luck). Rock on.
Availability
Fresh stock is growing well ready for the autumn surge!
Asters are showing bud and flower and looking great. Particularly good are Rosenwitchel, Starlight, Lady in Blue and Snowsprite.
Hellebourus are just starting to come ready with a few new additions to the range. We are trying a new H. orientalis selection called Crown Dark Purple which is reported to flower after its first winter, it is certainly coming on nicely at the moment. We have a few H. niger Praecox to try out and three great new H. viridus varieties which are looking very smart and distinctly different from each other. ‘Silver & Rose’ has attractive solidly silvered foliage, ‘White Green’ has deep green leaves with strong cream veining, and ‘Rose Green’ has a more glaucous green leaf with pretty flush of pink in the stems and some leaf veining. Nice short varieties looking enthusiastic in their pots.
Flowers showing on the Erodium Bishops form which never seems to stop once it starts.
Evergreen Bergenia’s are now making a tidy pot ready to produce their early spring colours. Ajuga’s looking smart, nice pot full’s of coloured foliage.
Another winter interest group are the Pulmonaria’s. We have extended the range this winter with the white edged leaves of David Ward (pink flowers) and the pretty white spring flowers of Sissinghusrt White (sold out for now) held above white spotted leaves. The regular stunners are still there, Blue Ensign (pale leaves but the best blue flowers), the fabulously variegated/white blotched leaves of Opal with its lovely delightful pale blue flower in spring and the narrow spotty leaved E.B. Anderson.
We have had a really good round up of trays over the last couple of weeks but if anyone still has any of our wooden boxes ready for collection please do drop us an email and we will pop in and retrieve them. We can then prepare ourselves for some winter whittling and repairs. Thanks.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Very busy week, squeezed on 3 more tunnel covers before the weather turned and shipped out plenty of lovely plants. Lots of boxes here now, all spaced out and stacked up to dry out before winter storage. We just have a few more to hoover up, so if you find any more needing collection do drop me an email and I will add you to the list. I know we still have a couple of pick- ups in the Wiltshire direction as well as some towards London.
Last week’s surprise expenditure completed its third instalment with an odd incident when the plastic mounting bracket that holds our little Dosatron diluter on it's trolley broke while no one was on site, unfortunately it then landed on its hose tail and snapped it off so had to buy two specialist new parts. They were delivered brilliantly quickly via Fargro only for me to discover on reassembly that there was a hairline fracture of the top casing as well. Fiddle de dee!
Wood store full of old conifer hedge trunks all seasoned, cut, split and ready for winter, just the nursery store to fill now and there is plenty of scrap wood to fill that too. Chimney swept too, bring it on. Keep those oil deliveries down. Wind turbines have been a bit slow over the past couple of months in the good weather but at least our electric consumption continues to fall too which is good to see (wouldn’t know if we didn’t measure it. Dull but true).
Off to the shops to see the outside world today, very excited as I’ve got to do my holiday shopping (nearly out of hole-less socks, thought I might struggle through till Christmas but no such luck). Rock on.
Availability
Fresh stock is growing well ready for the autumn surge!
Asters are showing bud and flower and looking great. Particularly good are Rosenwitchel, Starlight, Lady in Blue and Snowsprite.
Hellebourus are just starting to come ready with a few new additions to the range. We are trying a new H. orientalis selection called Crown Dark Purple which is reported to flower after its first winter, it is certainly coming on nicely at the moment. We have a few H. niger Praecox to try out and three great new H. viridus varieties which are looking very smart and distinctly different from each other. ‘Silver & Rose’ has attractive solidly silvered foliage, ‘White Green’ has deep green leaves with strong cream veining, and ‘Rose Green’ has a more glaucous green leaf with pretty flush of pink in the stems and some leaf veining. Nice short varieties looking enthusiastic in their pots.
Flowers showing on the Erodium Bishops form which never seems to stop once it starts.
Evergreen Bergenia’s are now making a tidy pot ready to produce their early spring colours. Ajuga’s looking smart, nice pot full’s of coloured foliage.
Another winter interest group are the Pulmonaria’s. We have extended the range this winter with the white edged leaves of David Ward (pink flowers) and the pretty white spring flowers of Sissinghusrt White (sold out for now) held above white spotted leaves. The regular stunners are still there, Blue Ensign (pale leaves but the best blue flowers), the fabulously variegated/white blotched leaves of Opal with its lovely delightful pale blue flower in spring and the narrow spotty leaved E.B. Anderson.
We have had a really good round up of trays over the last couple of weeks but if anyone still has any of our wooden boxes ready for collection please do drop us an email and we will pop in and retrieve them. We can then prepare ourselves for some winter whittling and repairs. Thanks.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
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