Morning all,
It's still all go. We seem to have missed out on the rain this week and today which is a shame, we are getting bit dry down here it hasn't rained for ages and the garden soil is getting very dry. After such a long cold early spring we are very grateful for a good run of near perfect weather for plant sales and I know you should be careful what you wish for but a couple of decent nights rain would be appreciated.
It's been a week of breaking and mending stuff this week. Some more exciting than others but all having an impact on performance. The electric buggies that stopped last week needed the mending man to take a look and see why the new batteries hadn't cured the lack of go. Luckily he was fairly close by on another job so a full trip from Oxford hadn't been required. Just as well because he had spotted the problem within a minute of looking at it. A small wire had come adrift from the starting solenoid, it must have got knocked out while the old very heavy batteries were being manoeuvred out of their cradle. A simple push back on was all that was needed and problem solved. Then on to the second buggy to find exactly the same fault, the same wire knocked off. How we laughed. Quite a relief that it wasn't something more serious or costly and it was good to touch base with a friendly new supplier who can supply us with the odd specialist part and help to fit it.
Another new contact was a local engineer who popped in on the off chance of picking up the odd mending job, we gave him our two broken metal hose trolleys which have been waiting for specialist attention for a couple of years. They went away for a couple of days and are back again, even better than before with a sturdier hose carrying central mesh cylinder and mount which had rusted away. One of our main printers died this week and was quickly replaced with a new one, an updated model which for the first ever actually did plug and play. Still a bit of fine tuning needed but very pleased with that.
The final break of the week was a bit more dramatic with Caroline managing to over bend her arm last Saturday night. A backwards tumble and a hand down to try and break the fall was all that was needed for a late night visit to casualty and an operation on Wednesday to pin it all back together. Ouch. A combination of a 'good' night out, live music, over excited dancing on the edge of a sloping and slightly overcrowded dance-floor tipped her over that edge (quite literally). There was no blame attached to me, the fact that I didn't catch her coming out of a spin was hardly mentioned at all! Luckily it was her left arm so many tasks are still within her scope with just a bit of extra help needed for those two handed jobs. Things were a bit more chaotic than usual as a result this week, but we got there in the end thanks to lots of help from friends and family doing plenty of ferrying about and donkey duties, so thanks go out to you all.
Availability highlights
The purple spikes of Liatris spicata won't be long, buds are there on stonking plants. More purple and rosy spikes are showing on the Lythrum varieties. We are into a fresh batch of Catananche which are just starting to send up their flower stems. The papery blue flowers are a delight, one of my favourites.
We are trying out another couple of short new Achillea varieties, Milly Red and Milly Rose, both are looking short and strong with bud and colour showing. We also have fresh short batched of the Achillea Dessert Eve varieties too. We have a chunky batch of Persicaria Inverleith coming into bud, don't hang about they won't be here long.
On the theme of striking foliage, Tradescantia Blue and Gold is doing its thing. Blue flowers are opening among the bright yellow strappy leaves. Very sunny. The dinky little flowers of Dianthus deltoidies Flashing Light are bursting open, don't miss out, masses of bud and the odd flash of cerise flower. We have fresh batches of Dalmation Digitalis on sale, the Purple variety is showing flower stem growth but still a little way from colour and the others (Peach and White) can only be a week behind. Very strong plants but not a huge number in stock. Gaillardia showing plenty of bud and colour now, very summery although only a few left.
The garden pinks Dianthus are all in bud, showing some colour and smelling delicious. We have a few of the taller old favourites, Doris, Gran's Favourite and Haytor White as well as the more compact Scent First range.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting flower buds, full of promise and the odd open flower. Both little tidy Erodiums are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Summery yellows are coming out now with Coreopsis in bud. Subtle cream flowers of the pretty Foam Flower (Tiarella) are showing nicely with plenty of bud to come. All the knockout dwarf Leucanthemum are holding swelling buds. The pale yellow Broadway Lights is now opening
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 18 June 2018
Tuesday 12 June 2018
Hairy and Hectic
Morning all,
Another good week, lots done and loads sold which is quite a relief after the long cold start to the year. We are just about caught up on the sales front but the workload is perhaps still a little chaotic. The cold delayed the start of the creation of production space and consequently the early potting plans went out of the window. The chickens are now coming home to roost as the plants leap into growth and we struggle to make up that lost time. The young plant tunnels are getting a bit too overgrown for my liking, there will be a lot of cutting back going on over the next few weeks which will make for lovely bushy plants but a less efficient process which when you are short of time and margin is doubly frustrating. Still at least the weather is with us now and we are very grateful for that.
The trolley and shelf panic of last week has subdued with a drop off of quite a few during the week, still quite a few missing but I know we are getting more arriving in the next few days so feeling a bit more relaxed. I just have to find the time to thank and return those shelves we borrowed from the hero's at the local nurseries who helped out during the crisis. This week's fun was to be had with both electric buggies giving up the ghost. The batteries where really old, really showing their age and I knew that new sets were just on the horizon, I just didn't expect both to go at the same time. We had the first replacement set arrive on a next day delivery only to find the new set still wouldn't make either one go. So we have been towing our trolley trailers around with the forklift which is not great as not everyone is qualified to drive it making it even less efficient. We are awaiting help from a man who knows and hoping the solution isn't too expensive or slow to resolve.
Anyway despite all of life's many challenges next year's young plants are already arriving so that must mean we have to do it all again for another year, It adds a bit of more urgency back into production again, as if there wasn't enough already, to try and deal with the fresh input in the best way while still juggling with this summers output and the current sales excitement. Ace.
Availability highlights
Many of the Echinacea are beginning to bud up now, still a week or two from flower but well on the way. The purple spikes of Liatris spicata won't be long, buds are there on stonking plants.More purple and rosy spikes are showing on the Lythrum varieties. Robin and Robert are showing a splash of colour now with Dropmore Purple in bud but a week or two later into colour. We are into a fresh batch of Catananche which are just starting to send up their flower stems. The papery blue flowers are a delight, one of my favourites. We are trying out another couple of short new Achillea varieties, Milly Red and Milly Rose, both are looking short and strong with bud and colour showing. We have a chunky batch of Persicaria Inverleith coming into bud, don't hang about they won't be here long. On the theme of striking foliage, Tradescantia Blue and Gold is doing its thing. Blue flowers are opening among the bright yellow strappy leaves. Very sunny.
The dinky little flowers of Dianthus deltoidies Flashing Light are bursting open, don't miss out, masses of bud and the odd flash of cerise flower. We have fresh batches of Dalmation Digitalis on sale, the Purple variety is showing flower stem growth but still a little way from colour and the others (Peach and White) can only be a week behind. Very strong plants but not a huge number in stock. Gaillardia showing plenty of bud and colour now, very summery although only a few left. The garden pinks Dianthus are nearly all in bud and smelling delicious. We have a few of the taller old favourites, Doris, Gran's Favourite and Haytor White as well as the more compact Scent First range.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting flower buds, full of promise and the odd open flower. Both little tidy Erodiums are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Summery yellows are coming out now with several Coreopsis in bud, including the more upright and feathery foliaged Zagreb. Summer arrives with bud appearing on the Rhodanthemums. Subtle cream flowers of the pretty Foam Flower (Tiarella) are showing nicely with plenty of bud to come. Astilbe's are suddenly all there and coming into bud. Looking great although not many left.
All the knockout dwarf Leucanthemum are holding swelling buds, not long before they start to open. Two pale yellows Broadway Lights and Banana Creme, the white frilly Lacrosse and the bright white of Snow Lady and Silver Princess. Big bold blue flowers are about to appear on the Stokesia. It always surprises me how big they are, not many left now. Hostas are showing well now, a fab range from our own home propagated stock. There is a jolly splash of colour to be had with a couple of the Viola's back in flower.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Another good week, lots done and loads sold which is quite a relief after the long cold start to the year. We are just about caught up on the sales front but the workload is perhaps still a little chaotic. The cold delayed the start of the creation of production space and consequently the early potting plans went out of the window. The chickens are now coming home to roost as the plants leap into growth and we struggle to make up that lost time. The young plant tunnels are getting a bit too overgrown for my liking, there will be a lot of cutting back going on over the next few weeks which will make for lovely bushy plants but a less efficient process which when you are short of time and margin is doubly frustrating. Still at least the weather is with us now and we are very grateful for that.
The trolley and shelf panic of last week has subdued with a drop off of quite a few during the week, still quite a few missing but I know we are getting more arriving in the next few days so feeling a bit more relaxed. I just have to find the time to thank and return those shelves we borrowed from the hero's at the local nurseries who helped out during the crisis. This week's fun was to be had with both electric buggies giving up the ghost. The batteries where really old, really showing their age and I knew that new sets were just on the horizon, I just didn't expect both to go at the same time. We had the first replacement set arrive on a next day delivery only to find the new set still wouldn't make either one go. So we have been towing our trolley trailers around with the forklift which is not great as not everyone is qualified to drive it making it even less efficient. We are awaiting help from a man who knows and hoping the solution isn't too expensive or slow to resolve.
Anyway despite all of life's many challenges next year's young plants are already arriving so that must mean we have to do it all again for another year, It adds a bit of more urgency back into production again, as if there wasn't enough already, to try and deal with the fresh input in the best way while still juggling with this summers output and the current sales excitement. Ace.
Availability highlights
Many of the Echinacea are beginning to bud up now, still a week or two from flower but well on the way. The purple spikes of Liatris spicata won't be long, buds are there on stonking plants.More purple and rosy spikes are showing on the Lythrum varieties. Robin and Robert are showing a splash of colour now with Dropmore Purple in bud but a week or two later into colour. We are into a fresh batch of Catananche which are just starting to send up their flower stems. The papery blue flowers are a delight, one of my favourites. We are trying out another couple of short new Achillea varieties, Milly Red and Milly Rose, both are looking short and strong with bud and colour showing. We have a chunky batch of Persicaria Inverleith coming into bud, don't hang about they won't be here long. On the theme of striking foliage, Tradescantia Blue and Gold is doing its thing. Blue flowers are opening among the bright yellow strappy leaves. Very sunny.
The dinky little flowers of Dianthus deltoidies Flashing Light are bursting open, don't miss out, masses of bud and the odd flash of cerise flower. We have fresh batches of Dalmation Digitalis on sale, the Purple variety is showing flower stem growth but still a little way from colour and the others (Peach and White) can only be a week behind. Very strong plants but not a huge number in stock. Gaillardia showing plenty of bud and colour now, very summery although only a few left. The garden pinks Dianthus are nearly all in bud and smelling delicious. We have a few of the taller old favourites, Doris, Gran's Favourite and Haytor White as well as the more compact Scent First range.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting flower buds, full of promise and the odd open flower. Both little tidy Erodiums are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Summery yellows are coming out now with several Coreopsis in bud, including the more upright and feathery foliaged Zagreb. Summer arrives with bud appearing on the Rhodanthemums. Subtle cream flowers of the pretty Foam Flower (Tiarella) are showing nicely with plenty of bud to come. Astilbe's are suddenly all there and coming into bud. Looking great although not many left.
All the knockout dwarf Leucanthemum are holding swelling buds, not long before they start to open. Two pale yellows Broadway Lights and Banana Creme, the white frilly Lacrosse and the bright white of Snow Lady and Silver Princess. Big bold blue flowers are about to appear on the Stokesia. It always surprises me how big they are, not many left now. Hostas are showing well now, a fab range from our own home propagated stock. There is a jolly splash of colour to be had with a couple of the Viola's back in flower.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Saturday 2 June 2018
Hairy Stones
Morning all,
Another quick report in. An extremely busy week has past with a challenging one to come. We are a driver and van down for the week but at least we have five days again. This might mean a few of our longer distance customers may have a delivery via a trolley carrier rather than ourselves, so please bear with us while we juggle as necessary. 'Normal' service should resume the following week if all goes to plan.
On top of just being very busy, the case of the missing trolleys has caused some anxiety back at base. Our carrier has been under pressure with the slow return of the trolley stock (not from our customers I hasten to add) and our pool of equipment on site has been dwindling over the last few hectic weeks. We are now missing over half our equipment at our busiest time with hopeful promises of its imminent return never seeming to materialise. We have been dismantling all sorts of storage areas where we have utilised the trolleys over the years and it was just enough to see us by. I think we got down to our last 5 or 6 shelves at one point (out of nearly 500) but just scraped through. We had a few returned on Friday which should alleviate the pressure although Caroline wants 60 just for one microprop module order over the weekend. It all adds to the fun and I know we are not the only casualties in this case.
Added to the 4 day manic mix this week was an evening trip out on Tuesday to see a band. We had asked if the date could be moved to later in the week but apparently the Rolling Stones were just too busy themselves to accommodate us. We made it anyway thanks to a big effort to make Tuesday very efficient by getting a gang in on Monday and getting all the labels etc sorted on Monday night. Well worth it from all angles, we couldn't get over how good it was, a fantastic atmosphere, stunning visuals and great music. It's only Rock and Roll but I like it. It's the first time I have ever woken up in the middle of the night after and still been too excited to get back to sleep. The only slight cock up was the catering, I queued for over half an hour in a line of only a few people for a drink and missed the opening two numbers. To cap it all I then forgot where we were sat and spent several minutes scanning the vast crowd looking for Caroline. She was waving along with most of the row by now, but it was still a while before I picked them out. Great hilarity for all but me, still it's nice to bring some extra jollity into the world.
Availability highlights
Many of the Echinacea are beginning to bud up now, a week or two from flower but on the way. The purple spikes of Liatris spicata won't be long, buds are there on stonking plants. Oxalis Iron Cross is showing a smattering of red flowers and bud among it's striking two tone foliage and now the purple foliaged triangularis has made an appearance too with tight bud already on show. On the theme of striking foliage, Tradescantia Blue and Gold is doing its thing. Blue flowers are opening among the bright yellow strappy leaves. Very sunny.
The dinky little flowers of Dianthus deltoidies Flashing Light are bursting open, don't miss out, masses of bud and the odd flash of cerise flower. Gaillardia showing plenty of bud and colour now, very summery. The garden pinks Dianthus are nearly all in bud and starting to smell delicious. We have a few of the taller old favourites, Doris, Gran's Favourite and Haytor White as well as the more compact Scent First range.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting flower buds, probably a couple of weeks away from colour but full of promise. Both little tidy Erodiums are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Summery yellows are coming out now with several Coreopsis in bud, including the more upright and feathery foliaged Zagreb. Summer arrives with bud appearing on the Rhodanthemums and Salvia Hotlips showing bud and the odd flower. Hearalding a summer of flower, our hardy Fuchsia range is in bud now. One or two already sold out but more on the way. Campanula carpatica Alba bud has also made it's summer debut. Difficult to miss once they open, bright large white flowers on compact plants. Subtle cream flowers of the pretty Foam Flower (Tiarella) are showing nicely with plenty of bud to come. Astilbe's are suddenly all there and coming into bud. Looking great. All the knockout dwarf Leucanthemum are holding swelling buds, not long before they start to open. Two pale yellows Broadway Lights and Banana Creme, the white frilly Lacrosse and the bright white of Snow Lady and Silver Princess. Big bold blue flowers are about to appear on the Stokesia. It always surprises me how big they are, not may left now. Hostas are showing well now, a fab range from our own home propagated stock. We are trying out a small range of Helianthemum this year and the first few are now showing bud, we picked a pink a yellow and a deep cerise to give a good colour spread.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Another quick report in. An extremely busy week has past with a challenging one to come. We are a driver and van down for the week but at least we have five days again. This might mean a few of our longer distance customers may have a delivery via a trolley carrier rather than ourselves, so please bear with us while we juggle as necessary. 'Normal' service should resume the following week if all goes to plan.
On top of just being very busy, the case of the missing trolleys has caused some anxiety back at base. Our carrier has been under pressure with the slow return of the trolley stock (not from our customers I hasten to add) and our pool of equipment on site has been dwindling over the last few hectic weeks. We are now missing over half our equipment at our busiest time with hopeful promises of its imminent return never seeming to materialise. We have been dismantling all sorts of storage areas where we have utilised the trolleys over the years and it was just enough to see us by. I think we got down to our last 5 or 6 shelves at one point (out of nearly 500) but just scraped through. We had a few returned on Friday which should alleviate the pressure although Caroline wants 60 just for one microprop module order over the weekend. It all adds to the fun and I know we are not the only casualties in this case.
Added to the 4 day manic mix this week was an evening trip out on Tuesday to see a band. We had asked if the date could be moved to later in the week but apparently the Rolling Stones were just too busy themselves to accommodate us. We made it anyway thanks to a big effort to make Tuesday very efficient by getting a gang in on Monday and getting all the labels etc sorted on Monday night. Well worth it from all angles, we couldn't get over how good it was, a fantastic atmosphere, stunning visuals and great music. It's only Rock and Roll but I like it. It's the first time I have ever woken up in the middle of the night after and still been too excited to get back to sleep. The only slight cock up was the catering, I queued for over half an hour in a line of only a few people for a drink and missed the opening two numbers. To cap it all I then forgot where we were sat and spent several minutes scanning the vast crowd looking for Caroline. She was waving along with most of the row by now, but it was still a while before I picked them out. Great hilarity for all but me, still it's nice to bring some extra jollity into the world.
Availability highlights
Many of the Echinacea are beginning to bud up now, a week or two from flower but on the way. The purple spikes of Liatris spicata won't be long, buds are there on stonking plants. Oxalis Iron Cross is showing a smattering of red flowers and bud among it's striking two tone foliage and now the purple foliaged triangularis has made an appearance too with tight bud already on show. On the theme of striking foliage, Tradescantia Blue and Gold is doing its thing. Blue flowers are opening among the bright yellow strappy leaves. Very sunny.
The dinky little flowers of Dianthus deltoidies Flashing Light are bursting open, don't miss out, masses of bud and the odd flash of cerise flower. Gaillardia showing plenty of bud and colour now, very summery. The garden pinks Dianthus are nearly all in bud and starting to smell delicious. We have a few of the taller old favourites, Doris, Gran's Favourite and Haytor White as well as the more compact Scent First range.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting flower buds, probably a couple of weeks away from colour but full of promise. Both little tidy Erodiums are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Summery yellows are coming out now with several Coreopsis in bud, including the more upright and feathery foliaged Zagreb. Summer arrives with bud appearing on the Rhodanthemums and Salvia Hotlips showing bud and the odd flower. Hearalding a summer of flower, our hardy Fuchsia range is in bud now. One or two already sold out but more on the way. Campanula carpatica Alba bud has also made it's summer debut. Difficult to miss once they open, bright large white flowers on compact plants. Subtle cream flowers of the pretty Foam Flower (Tiarella) are showing nicely with plenty of bud to come. Astilbe's are suddenly all there and coming into bud. Looking great. All the knockout dwarf Leucanthemum are holding swelling buds, not long before they start to open. Two pale yellows Broadway Lights and Banana Creme, the white frilly Lacrosse and the bright white of Snow Lady and Silver Princess. Big bold blue flowers are about to appear on the Stokesia. It always surprises me how big they are, not may left now. Hostas are showing well now, a fab range from our own home propagated stock. We are trying out a small range of Helianthemum this year and the first few are now showing bud, we picked a pink a yellow and a deep cerise to give a good colour spread.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
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