Monday 26 June 2017

Hairy Rejoicing

Morning all,
Lots in flower so not much room for waffle this week. Such a relief to get away from that heat, just need a splash of rain now to get back to sanity. Cooled off just in time for the release of this month’s predators, We were getting a bit anxious that they would fry up in the heat earlier in the week but in the end conditions were perfect. Now just got to release those 1,000 million nematodes tonight and tomorrow night to complete this month’s release programme. Nice and cool so should be ok.
Took a couple of hours off yesterday to collect our Green Impact Bronze award from the mayor at lunchtime. Nice sandwiches, a cup of tea and general wellness all round. We also picked up special local awards for the environmental improvements achieved and a local environmental hero award which was a bonus. Then an extra special surprise when it was announced that someone who shall remain nameless won the Green Impact National Environmental Hero award for 2017 too. Locally sourced cream cakes all round I think.

Availability highlights
Fantastic looking Monarda. We don’t have a huge number, but the Balmy Pink and Barmy Purple have loads of bursting buds sat on strong, short, bushy plants. I can see the nice bright colour appearing and more will quickly follow. The exotic Eucomis are starting to show their pretty columns of pale yellow flowers. Masses of bud coming on the two deep pink flowered Lythrums.Buds and flowers are appearing on most of the very popular Sage Hot Lips. Don’t forget that this variety does produce pure red and pure white flowers on occasions but the ‘proper’ red and white lippy ones will prevail throughout most of the summer. The flower spikes of Liatris are looking great with the odd flash of purple beginning to show. The short Campanula varieties, carpatica White and Blue and posharskyana are all showing bud.
The first Crocosmia are showing bud. Lucifer is usually the first to get going and sure enough it’s there again. Rhodanthemum is deservedly proving very popular. Low growing silver foliage with pretty flowers all summer long. The gold leaved Tradescantia Blue and Gold is in bud and flower. A standout plant if ever I saw one. The ever popular Dianthus in bud or holding up their first flower or two. The scented compact range (Scent First (SF)) are really coming into their own. I have plenty of Passion but you probably don’t want to know that. If you do, it is a new one to us this year, a fabulous rich deep passionate red, very aptly named and beautifully scented too.
Fresh batches of Salvia nemerosa in a range of colours are now back on stream with plenty of bud showing. Most Echinacea are now in bud and selling well, Strong and bushy the hardy Fuchsia range is doing its thing. We have some lovely batches of increasingly popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone in bud with the odd flower opening. Fresh batches of the Digitalis Dalmation range are ready to roll. Now showing their flower shoots and a bit of colour. Exotic Oxalis are both in bud and colour now. The purple foliaged triangularis has delightful contrasting pale pink flowers, while the Iron Cross looks quite different with its greener dark spotted leaves and deep pink/red flowers. Summer has arrived, in case you hadn’t noticed, with bud rushing up in the Hemerocallis varieties. Nice fresh batches of Veronica are now bushy and in bud. There are fresh batches of Achillea Paprika and the Desert Eve series now in bud again. Loads of Leucanthemum in bud now. The Shasta daisy has always been a garden favourite. The Polemonium Bambino Blue looking very neat and showing some colour, but only a few left. Coreopsis Illico, a really compact form with masses of sunshine yellow blooms over a long period. Loads of bud already and the odd flash of colour. Sunray and Sunfire are in bud and back on the list too.
Buds are now appearing on a fantastic fresh batch of Phlox, monster bushy plants in the new Sweet Summer range of colours. Don’t hang about with these we don’t have huge numbers available this year. A couple of colours sold out already. A fantastic range of foliage sizes and colours in our Hosta range, all showing off well. To see the colours check out the hosta pages in our flip book catalogue. The compact Eryngium Blue Hobbit is just about to do its thing with flower shoots erupting from the centre of the leaf rosettes. The variegated Eryngium varifolium is showing signs of flowering too. A pretty spiky flower stem, quite dramatic.
Dinky Erodium varieties are back again, low growing and flowering for ages. Fresh young stock of Erysimum Red Jep are looking good (in bud). The Rudbeckia Goldsturm is looking great, very strong bushy plants with the first buds forming now, always a popular plant.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

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