Morning all,
What a lovely morning and all looks set fair for a bright and springy weekend. It’s a bit breezy down here but that is good news for the turbines which are having a good run with two months on the trot above estimate, making back some of the lost output with the previous rather slack months. This week proved as challenging on the van front as expected although we did benefit from a few unexpected bonuses. The big van did get going on Monday, the replacement water hose for the transit came in a day early and the comedy van repair was only in the hundreds and not as feared a lot more. Naturally this was balanced out with a cracked windscreen, two new tyres and a broken wing mirror, but we finished the week off on a high, the new van is ready, just got to pop round the corner to Lincoln to pick it up!
Potting is well under way with a weekend crew in trying to keep on top of the growing list of spring jobs to get done and orders are flying out which is a relief. We are at that money juggling stage of the year, just reaching the peak stress point on the winter cash-flow. Hopefully at the end of March the payments coming in reach a pace that matches up with the rate the money is vacating the bank account in the opposite direction. Can be a bit tense but it looks manageable this year, so fingers crossed for no more surprise bills over the next month!
Last weekend I managed to complete our Green Impact assessment and submitted it just a couple of days before the deadline, although I see they have extended that a couple of weeks to try and get a few more completed sets of entries in. Just got to wait and hear when our audit will be which I am assured will be a fun, groovy and positive experience. To be honest I’m not too worried about it as entering the scheme has rejuvenated our overall sustainability efforts which is all we really wanted anyway.
Must go, the potters are one short on the machine this afternoon and for once I am needed.
Availability highlights
Growth is bursting forth, spring is in the air and the sap is rising.
The snakes head lily (Fritillaria) are produced their first few flowers, looking great with plenty to come as spring rolls on Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing. Don’t hang about on this one, they aren’t available for very long, but we have our spring crop of Lathyrus verus in bud and showing some colour. A really charming little plant that deserves a wider audience for its spring flush of blooms.
Dicentra spectabalis in both forms have burst through, their flower buds and colour already showing well. Really chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise. Allium Purple Rain is showing early short bud now, three in a pot and looking fine.
The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also present on Apricot Twist, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep. Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, and colour showing. Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, the delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now.
The short orange varieties of Geum Cooky and Koi are flushing into growth nicely, and have flower shoots and buds too. The spring flowering Euphorbia are coming into their own now, lovely plants just watch out for the irritating milky sap. The Pulmonaria are coming on well with bud and delightful pale blue flowers on the Opal, Mageste and EB Anderson all looking smart with bud and colour showing well.
Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum Little Leo is bursting forth and the sunshine yellow flowers are now appearing. Just a few Narcissus WP Milner left in bud with a few of their petit pale yellow flowers showing off nicely. A real spring beauty. Narcissus Thalia is a late bloomer and the buds of the pretty white flowers are now showing Some of the Aquilegia varieties are thrusting up their flower buds, they won’t be around long. A lovely flush of bud on the Heuchera Firefly looking strong.
The dainty Foam Flower (Tiarella) has burst into growth with their first flush of buds well on show.
Spring must be here, most of the Hostas have all suddenly shot out of the compost. A lovely range, with Sea Thunder and Winsome the earliest to unravel their first leaves, most of the others are still at the ‘candle’ stage but looking chunky and full of promise.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Tuesday 28 March 2017
Sunday 19 March 2017
Overheated and Hairy
Morning all,
What a very busy week that was, a definite spring feel in the air. I see that the first flocks of sand martins are appearing over parts of Cornwall with the odd house martin and swallow, it just goes to show how close the summer is. Can’t wait to hear their chattering outside the bedroom window, it’s usually the first indication of their arrival back here.
The frogspawn in the nursery pond is developing well, not a huge quantity but we should get another good addition to the local population. I’m not sure if we are actually short of lady frogs but we had a pond full of males hanging about for a couple of weeks and the one lady we did spot was I suspect loved to death judging by the attention she received. The birds are all singing away especially a particularly vocal Song Thrush which must be exhausted by now. It’s all go.
Nursery life rushes from one priority to another. Most of this week seems to have revolved around non-plant issues which is frustrating. I’m not sure if everyone is running much closer to the edge on stock levels but we have had quite a few deliveries delayed through unavailability, restructuring or overwork, pots, compost, tubs for the micro-propagation, wooden boxes, even the new van seems elusive. Even when I’m organised enough to order well in advance it doesn’t seem to help but hey ho that’s how it is. To be honest these issues pale into insignificance when the day to day hiccups challenge you. This week it was our vans, which have always been so reliable, but a combination of missing drivers and mechanical issues nearly scuppered the weeks planning. With the big van off the road until next Tuesday we relied on a transport company that worked brilliantly other than they turned up 24 hrs early to pick up the trolleys (luckily we were nearly ready) and the ‘comedy van’ plus the farm transit. The comedy van started flashing up its engine management light followed by periodic loss of power gradually getting worse as the week went on. Trips and advice from the garage just about kept us on the road and it is now in the garage being assessed for mending. Hoping it’s not bad news, it’s done a few miles (270,000) but seems pretty sound overall, no smoke, sounds fine and doesn’t use any oil or water which always used to be good indicators of plenty of life to come. We’ll see. Meanwhile on the last trip home on Friday the transit stated to overheat, luckily quite close to home so limped in. Water all over the place but still some left and a split in a tiny little bit of hose the culprit. Naturally you can’t get the part off the shelf and it won’t be in until Tuesday. Ace. At least all the orders got done, but Monday is going to be an exciting day to see how things unfold!
It’s a lifestyle choice you know, trundling around with my trowel in hand enjoying the fresh air.
Availability highlights
Growth is bursting forth, spring is in the air and the sap is rising.
Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing. Don’t hang about on this one, they aren’t available for very long, but we have our spring crop of Lathyrus verus in bud and showing some colour. A really charming little plant that deserves a wider audience for its spring flush of blooms. Dicentra spectabalis in both forms have burst through, their flower buds and colour already showing well. Really chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise.
The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also present on Apricot Twist, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep. Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, and colour showing. Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, the delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now. Helleborus Crown Purple are now throwing up their flowers, we have limited stock so don’t miss out. The other colours are in shorter supply and selling through quickly, there are a few buds appearing now on some of these too, but not enough for us to guarantee a full tray.
The little orange Geum Cooky are flushing into growth nicely, and now have flower shoots and buds too. The spring flowering Euphorbia are coming into their own now, lovely plants just watch out for the irritating milky sap. The Pulmonaria are coming on well with bud and delightful pale blue flowers on the Opal, Mageste and EB Anderson all looking smart with bud and colour showing. The snakes head lily (Fritillaria) are produced their first few buds, looking good with plenty to come as spring rolls on. Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum is bursting forth and the buds of the yellow flowers are now appearing.
Just a few Narcissus WP Milner left in bud with a few of their petit pale yellow flowers showing off nicely. A real spring beauty. Some of the Aquilegia varieties are thrusting up their flower buds, they won’t be around long!
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
What a very busy week that was, a definite spring feel in the air. I see that the first flocks of sand martins are appearing over parts of Cornwall with the odd house martin and swallow, it just goes to show how close the summer is. Can’t wait to hear their chattering outside the bedroom window, it’s usually the first indication of their arrival back here.
The frogspawn in the nursery pond is developing well, not a huge quantity but we should get another good addition to the local population. I’m not sure if we are actually short of lady frogs but we had a pond full of males hanging about for a couple of weeks and the one lady we did spot was I suspect loved to death judging by the attention she received. The birds are all singing away especially a particularly vocal Song Thrush which must be exhausted by now. It’s all go.
Nursery life rushes from one priority to another. Most of this week seems to have revolved around non-plant issues which is frustrating. I’m not sure if everyone is running much closer to the edge on stock levels but we have had quite a few deliveries delayed through unavailability, restructuring or overwork, pots, compost, tubs for the micro-propagation, wooden boxes, even the new van seems elusive. Even when I’m organised enough to order well in advance it doesn’t seem to help but hey ho that’s how it is. To be honest these issues pale into insignificance when the day to day hiccups challenge you. This week it was our vans, which have always been so reliable, but a combination of missing drivers and mechanical issues nearly scuppered the weeks planning. With the big van off the road until next Tuesday we relied on a transport company that worked brilliantly other than they turned up 24 hrs early to pick up the trolleys (luckily we were nearly ready) and the ‘comedy van’ plus the farm transit. The comedy van started flashing up its engine management light followed by periodic loss of power gradually getting worse as the week went on. Trips and advice from the garage just about kept us on the road and it is now in the garage being assessed for mending. Hoping it’s not bad news, it’s done a few miles (270,000) but seems pretty sound overall, no smoke, sounds fine and doesn’t use any oil or water which always used to be good indicators of plenty of life to come. We’ll see. Meanwhile on the last trip home on Friday the transit stated to overheat, luckily quite close to home so limped in. Water all over the place but still some left and a split in a tiny little bit of hose the culprit. Naturally you can’t get the part off the shelf and it won’t be in until Tuesday. Ace. At least all the orders got done, but Monday is going to be an exciting day to see how things unfold!
It’s a lifestyle choice you know, trundling around with my trowel in hand enjoying the fresh air.
Availability highlights
Growth is bursting forth, spring is in the air and the sap is rising.
Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing. Don’t hang about on this one, they aren’t available for very long, but we have our spring crop of Lathyrus verus in bud and showing some colour. A really charming little plant that deserves a wider audience for its spring flush of blooms. Dicentra spectabalis in both forms have burst through, their flower buds and colour already showing well. Really chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise.
The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also present on Apricot Twist, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep. Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, and colour showing. Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, the delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now. Helleborus Crown Purple are now throwing up their flowers, we have limited stock so don’t miss out. The other colours are in shorter supply and selling through quickly, there are a few buds appearing now on some of these too, but not enough for us to guarantee a full tray.
The little orange Geum Cooky are flushing into growth nicely, and now have flower shoots and buds too. The spring flowering Euphorbia are coming into their own now, lovely plants just watch out for the irritating milky sap. The Pulmonaria are coming on well with bud and delightful pale blue flowers on the Opal, Mageste and EB Anderson all looking smart with bud and colour showing. The snakes head lily (Fritillaria) are produced their first few buds, looking good with plenty to come as spring rolls on. Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum is bursting forth and the buds of the yellow flowers are now appearing.
Just a few Narcissus WP Milner left in bud with a few of their petit pale yellow flowers showing off nicely. A real spring beauty. Some of the Aquilegia varieties are thrusting up their flower buds, they won’t be around long!
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 13 March 2017
Old and Hairy
Morning all,
Just a quick note this weekend as I have a monster list of tasks to tackle this weekend, Spring is upon us and suddenly everything needs doing at once. We have our first overtime Saturday today and what a lovely day for it, just one slight complication is that the compost delivery got delayed until Monday so no happy potters. Instead we are getting stuck into spacing plants to give them a bit more elbow room. The trouble with growing such chunky stock is that it gets greedy for space so quickly, but it looks fantastic so I can’t really complain.
Added another annual ring this week, I think that’s why I’m struggling to get my belt done up. I can’t believe where the time goes. Had a very nice night out at another birthday party, meeting lots of old friends all of us looking disbelievingly at all the grown up kids and their own offspring. One day I will feel grown up I’m sure, I still can’t really get my head round handing over a piece of plastic and taking away goodies, how do I get away with that? Don’t knock it if it works.
Great meeting with the local Sustainable Business Network last week, held at the local council offices, learning lots about sustainable building stuff. It was a bit out of our league in sophistication but lots of bits still apply. It was shocking to hear that award winning big green buildings often end up performing no better than a normal building after a year or so, because no one explains to the users how the building works. There is a scheme/process call Soft Landings that has been put together to try and sort this out and appears to be pretty successful, although a lot of it is just good sustainable housekeeping, read the meters and try to understand your patterns of energy use. Small pat on the back for us after mentioning our LED installation and the Good Impact workshop afterwards recognised that we had already filled in all our Bronze criteria so good to see we are getting noticed. Still a few days to go before we actually officially submit our data so might slip in a few more updates to make sure we sail through the audit which follows.
Sending me out into the real world is never a good idea. At the SBN meeting I arrived in time to grab a tea from the usual array of kit presented on these occasions. Got my mug and tea bag and fill it from the container marked ‘hot liquid’ which naturally contained ready brewed coffee. Why me? I should have been looking for one saying ‘hot water’, what’s wrong with labelling it coffee. Now I’ve got half a cup of coffee, a floating tea bag and nowhere to dispose of it without making it obvious that I don’t get out much. By this time there is a queue behind and I abandon ship. Later I did overhear Caroline saying what an idiot I was and I felt compelled to bring this up when we got home. To be fair she did apologies but she hadn’t realised it was supposed to be a secret!
Availability highlights
Growth is bursting forth, spring is in the air and the sap is rising. Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, really chunky and bushy, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing.
They aren’t available for very long, but we have our spring crop of Lathyrus verus in bud and showing some colour. A really charming little plant that deserves a wider audience for its spring flush of blooms.
Dicentra spectabalis in both forms have burst through, their flower buds already showing well.
Really chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise. The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also present on
Apricot Twist, Variegated Peach, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep. Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, and colour showing.
Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, the delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now. Helleborus Crown Purple are now throwing up their flowers, we have limited stock so don’t miss out. The other colours are in shorter supply and selling through quickly, there are a few buds appearing now on some of these too, but not enough for us to guarantee a full tray.
We have a few more bulbs coming into bud as you will see from the list, but we are short on numbers for many as this was another trial run, more next year if all goes well. Anemone blanda White are really good but won’t hang about long. The Pulmonaria are coming on well with bud and stunningly blue flowers on the Blue Ensign which is the most forward and the variegated Opal, Mageste and EB Anderson all looking smart with bud and colour showing. The snakes head lily (Fritillaria) are produced their first few buds, plenty to come as spring rolls on.
Both colour forms of Campanula persicifolia Takion are already throwing up flowering stems. Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum is bursting forth and the buds of the yellow flowers are just appearing.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Just a quick note this weekend as I have a monster list of tasks to tackle this weekend, Spring is upon us and suddenly everything needs doing at once. We have our first overtime Saturday today and what a lovely day for it, just one slight complication is that the compost delivery got delayed until Monday so no happy potters. Instead we are getting stuck into spacing plants to give them a bit more elbow room. The trouble with growing such chunky stock is that it gets greedy for space so quickly, but it looks fantastic so I can’t really complain.
Added another annual ring this week, I think that’s why I’m struggling to get my belt done up. I can’t believe where the time goes. Had a very nice night out at another birthday party, meeting lots of old friends all of us looking disbelievingly at all the grown up kids and their own offspring. One day I will feel grown up I’m sure, I still can’t really get my head round handing over a piece of plastic and taking away goodies, how do I get away with that? Don’t knock it if it works.
Great meeting with the local Sustainable Business Network last week, held at the local council offices, learning lots about sustainable building stuff. It was a bit out of our league in sophistication but lots of bits still apply. It was shocking to hear that award winning big green buildings often end up performing no better than a normal building after a year or so, because no one explains to the users how the building works. There is a scheme/process call Soft Landings that has been put together to try and sort this out and appears to be pretty successful, although a lot of it is just good sustainable housekeeping, read the meters and try to understand your patterns of energy use. Small pat on the back for us after mentioning our LED installation and the Good Impact workshop afterwards recognised that we had already filled in all our Bronze criteria so good to see we are getting noticed. Still a few days to go before we actually officially submit our data so might slip in a few more updates to make sure we sail through the audit which follows.
Sending me out into the real world is never a good idea. At the SBN meeting I arrived in time to grab a tea from the usual array of kit presented on these occasions. Got my mug and tea bag and fill it from the container marked ‘hot liquid’ which naturally contained ready brewed coffee. Why me? I should have been looking for one saying ‘hot water’, what’s wrong with labelling it coffee. Now I’ve got half a cup of coffee, a floating tea bag and nowhere to dispose of it without making it obvious that I don’t get out much. By this time there is a queue behind and I abandon ship. Later I did overhear Caroline saying what an idiot I was and I felt compelled to bring this up when we got home. To be fair she did apologies but she hadn’t realised it was supposed to be a secret!
Availability highlights
Growth is bursting forth, spring is in the air and the sap is rising. Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, really chunky and bushy, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing.
They aren’t available for very long, but we have our spring crop of Lathyrus verus in bud and showing some colour. A really charming little plant that deserves a wider audience for its spring flush of blooms.
Dicentra spectabalis in both forms have burst through, their flower buds already showing well.
Really chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise. The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also present on
Apricot Twist, Variegated Peach, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep. Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, and colour showing.
Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, the delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now. Helleborus Crown Purple are now throwing up their flowers, we have limited stock so don’t miss out. The other colours are in shorter supply and selling through quickly, there are a few buds appearing now on some of these too, but not enough for us to guarantee a full tray.
We have a few more bulbs coming into bud as you will see from the list, but we are short on numbers for many as this was another trial run, more next year if all goes well. Anemone blanda White are really good but won’t hang about long. The Pulmonaria are coming on well with bud and stunningly blue flowers on the Blue Ensign which is the most forward and the variegated Opal, Mageste and EB Anderson all looking smart with bud and colour showing. The snakes head lily (Fritillaria) are produced their first few buds, plenty to come as spring rolls on.
Both colour forms of Campanula persicifolia Takion are already throwing up flowering stems. Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum is bursting forth and the buds of the yellow flowers are just appearing.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Tuesday 7 March 2017
Light and Hairy
Morning all,
Spring is definitely upon us and the stock is bursting forth, now we could just do with some pleasant weather to boost the throughput and get the lovely stock here into everyone’s garden. Although it can look very pretty in our net sided tunnels the bank balance will look ugly later if we don’t ship it out at some point. Not panicking yet but the spurt of growth put on over the last few days makes you realise things are really on the move.
I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear I completed the hat-trick of mechanical meltdowns last week after the potting machine died on two fronts. There was a quiet lull in the weather last Sunday so I got the sprayer out for a quick splurge on a few patches of weed around the edges of a couple of tunnels before we potted into them this week. A nice quick job to fit in around the others lined up for a well planned productive day. As I filled the sprayer with water and tested the electric pump, water ran out from where it shouldn’t. A whopping split in the spray-line pipe just where it goes into the motor housing. An obvious point of stress, it always bends at that point and it was bound to happen one day. Spent an hour on-line finding the part number and sourcing a replacement by which time I had recovered my cool and returned to the offending kit and set about dismantling. It took a while, going down several blind alleys, taking out the wrong bolts and odd bits dropping off, but eventually I was able to disconnect it all, shorten the line and reassemble, with hardly any parts left on the bench at the end. All now working perfectly and just the one day lost!
The new LED lights are doing wonders for our electric consumption, February was down 27% and March so far 36%. That’s £204 towards the £10,000 cost! Smugness all round. The daily meter reading hasn’t been this exciting for ages. I’m off to our sustainable business network meeting next week so looking forward to some back slapping there. We also have a session due on helping us through our Green Impact entry which is due in on 24th March ready for assessment and auditing. We have completed all the Bronze level stuff and made a start on the Silver so just need to check we are on the right track. I’m even looking forward to the audit, the young folk running it are so enthusiastic and up for it, I am hoping to soak some of it up.
2017 Catalogue
Links for the 2017 flipbook catalogue (and a pdf version should you need to print it out) with lots of pictures of most of the perennials we grow are;
Flipbook http://online.1stflip.com/dpyl/367v/ (Best viewed on desktop or laptop but not currently on mobile phones)
Pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/nasnx3xy8r1nfdy/Catalogue%202017%20complete.pdf?dl=0 (This is a big file due to the large numbers of images in it. We would encourage you to use the flipbook instead saving more of the world’s resources)
Availability highlights
A lovely flush of growth on many lines showing how life in the garden is returning after the winter break. Chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise.
The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also appearing on Apricot Twist, Fragrant Sunshine, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep.
Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, a bundle of colour in the making. Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, buds of those delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now.
Helleborus Crown Purple are now throwing up their flowers, we have limited stock so don’t miss out. The other colours are in shorter supply and selling through quickly, there are a few buds appearing now on some of these too, but not enough for us to guarantee a full tray.
Dicentra spectabalis have burst through, their flower buds already in evidence. The white form has arrived now as well.The Pulmonaria are coming one well with bud and stunningly blue flowers on the Blue Ensign which is the most forward and the variegated Opal and Mageste both looking smart with bud and colour showing. Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, really chunky and bushy, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing.
Both colour forms of Campanula persicifolia Takion are already throwing up flowering stems. A compact and early flowering selection, it will flower on into the summer if old shoots are removed.
Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum is bursting forth and the buds of the yellow flowers are just appearing.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Spring is definitely upon us and the stock is bursting forth, now we could just do with some pleasant weather to boost the throughput and get the lovely stock here into everyone’s garden. Although it can look very pretty in our net sided tunnels the bank balance will look ugly later if we don’t ship it out at some point. Not panicking yet but the spurt of growth put on over the last few days makes you realise things are really on the move.
I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear I completed the hat-trick of mechanical meltdowns last week after the potting machine died on two fronts. There was a quiet lull in the weather last Sunday so I got the sprayer out for a quick splurge on a few patches of weed around the edges of a couple of tunnels before we potted into them this week. A nice quick job to fit in around the others lined up for a well planned productive day. As I filled the sprayer with water and tested the electric pump, water ran out from where it shouldn’t. A whopping split in the spray-line pipe just where it goes into the motor housing. An obvious point of stress, it always bends at that point and it was bound to happen one day. Spent an hour on-line finding the part number and sourcing a replacement by which time I had recovered my cool and returned to the offending kit and set about dismantling. It took a while, going down several blind alleys, taking out the wrong bolts and odd bits dropping off, but eventually I was able to disconnect it all, shorten the line and reassemble, with hardly any parts left on the bench at the end. All now working perfectly and just the one day lost!
The new LED lights are doing wonders for our electric consumption, February was down 27% and March so far 36%. That’s £204 towards the £10,000 cost! Smugness all round. The daily meter reading hasn’t been this exciting for ages. I’m off to our sustainable business network meeting next week so looking forward to some back slapping there. We also have a session due on helping us through our Green Impact entry which is due in on 24th March ready for assessment and auditing. We have completed all the Bronze level stuff and made a start on the Silver so just need to check we are on the right track. I’m even looking forward to the audit, the young folk running it are so enthusiastic and up for it, I am hoping to soak some of it up.
2017 Catalogue
Links for the 2017 flipbook catalogue (and a pdf version should you need to print it out) with lots of pictures of most of the perennials we grow are;
Flipbook http://online.1stflip.com/dpyl/367v/ (Best viewed on desktop or laptop but not currently on mobile phones)
Pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/nasnx3xy8r1nfdy/Catalogue%202017%20complete.pdf?dl=0 (This is a big file due to the large numbers of images in it. We would encourage you to use the flipbook instead saving more of the world’s resources)
Availability highlights
A lovely flush of growth on many lines showing how life in the garden is returning after the winter break. Chunky Lupins and Delphiniums are looking great, full of vigour and promise.
The ever popular Erysimum Bowles Mauve are already showing bud and the odd splash of colour. Bud also appearing on Apricot Twist, Fragrant Sunshine, Pastel Patchwork and the lovely Red Jep.
Pulsatilla have shot up in the last couple of weeks with masses of bud now showing, a bundle of colour in the making. Brunnera are fattening up quickly and looking cracking, buds of those delightful forget-me-not blue flowers are appearing now.
Helleborus Crown Purple are now throwing up their flowers, we have limited stock so don’t miss out. The other colours are in shorter supply and selling through quickly, there are a few buds appearing now on some of these too, but not enough for us to guarantee a full tray.
Dicentra spectabalis have burst through, their flower buds already in evidence. The white form has arrived now as well.The Pulmonaria are coming one well with bud and stunningly blue flowers on the Blue Ensign which is the most forward and the variegated Opal and Mageste both looking smart with bud and colour showing. Polemonium Heavenly Scent are looking great, really chunky and bushy, attractive burnished foliage and with the first flower shoots and bud showing.
Both colour forms of Campanula persicifolia Takion are already throwing up flowering stems. A compact and early flowering selection, it will flower on into the summer if old shoots are removed.
Vibrant green and lush foliage of Doronicum is bursting forth and the buds of the yellow flowers are just appearing.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
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