Morning all,
We're looking for a late September thrust on the potting front to get everything ready for next spring. Orders are slowing up a bit now, so time should be on our side, although this week didn't quite deliver the desired output with 8 team members off all week, for various reasons, and a couple more on odd days. Out of just over 20 people that is a big hole. We should have quite a few back next week so hoping to thrash on and get it done. It didn't help having a couple of extra distractions through the week with the temporary office arriving on Monday and the new one in kit form, arriving on several pallets on Wednesday. Space had to be made in the barn to accommodate all the wooden components to keep them dry ready for pre-construction treatment, which meant a bit of a clearout and reorganisation of stores in there. A very satisfying result in the end but still a distraction. The majority of prep work for construction will now go on hold for a couple of weeks but I'm really looking forward to sitting in a super insulated wooden cabin this winter, rather than watching the world go by through the holes in the wall in the current model. In theory the old one is insulated but with only about two inches of rather sketchy fibreglass and single glazed windows it's not going to win any efficiency prizes. One feature that we will keep is the overhanging beach hedge which we planted over 30 years ago. The branches have spread over most of the roof area providing fantastic cooling shade in the summer and should reduce the use of any air con cooling to virtually zero. We haven't had air con in the office for probably 10 years after the last one died, but we have a newish spare unit that came out of the lab work room last year and it will provide a cheaper heating source than the usual electric heaters (as long as we just set it up just to heat and are not tempted to cool as well).
The one gripe I have with heat pumps and air con units is that the lowest temperature setting is too high, many will not go below 16C which is no good if you just want frost protection overnight. Why heat to 16C when no one is there? Turn it off and you are risking freezing up, so in go extra thermostatic heaters to give you that protection, running less efficiently, but less often.
Apologies if anyone is trying to contact us by phone and finding us hard to get hold of, we are still having issues with our cordless handsets which we use any time when we are not in the office. Please do leave a message or email us and we will get back to you as soon as we are back in the office. Unfortunately we are only a small business and despite the rumours, I don't sit in here drinking coffee playing Candy-Crush all day, I do try to contribute elsewhere. Hopefully we will get another engineer out this week to try again to contact us with the outside world.
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. Over the next two or three weeks we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. Looking and smelling great. The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have a fresh batch of compact and chunky Leucathemum Banana Creme with strong bud showing. Pretty little Tiarella are in bud and flower now. Fresh batches of Salvia Sensation blue are in bud and about to show colour.
We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine. Many of the Asters are in bud or flower. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. If the weather is not too harsh we have had these still flowering at Christmas before now.
Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Brunnera variegata, Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Sunday 23 September 2018
Sunday 16 September 2018
Hairy Tickle
Morning all,
Just seen the weather forecast for next week and Helen says "it's bonkers", so looking forward to that! Hopefully not too mad so we can keep up the nice run we have had, it's fantastic out there today.
Hope it's not too wild as we have a temporary office arriving on Monday and the new replacement on Wednesday. One is ready to go in a metal box, the other in over 500 wooden pieces on a pallet or two. I suspect one will be a bigger challenge than the other to move into.
Just hoping it all goes more smoothly than this week's potting which stalled on Thursday, just as we were looking to go full tilt before the weekend. The call over the walkie-talkie, "Derek the machine has stopped" is never a good sign, with an experienced team on the job they can sort out most issues that crop up and having to call me usually means trouble. At least the machine was nearly empty of compost so we didn't need to dig it out which is usually the first job, but Greg and I spent the next day and a half in it, trying to sort out a complete seizure. Frustratingly we managed to free it up after a few hours but we were left with a suspicious knocking and vibration as it ran. We loaded a bit of compost in it, to see if that might lubricate the process and tested it out for half an hour. It definitely didn't sound right so it was back to the tool shed to dismantle the thing even further, so we could try and identify the issue. After quite a wrestling match we got the crumbling and bent 'compost
gate' off (controls the amount of compost going into the lift conveyor) and discovered the problem behind it. At some point the bars on the lift conveyor, plus probably a foreign body or two, had ripped the metal sheet at the bottom, then later as the chain stretched and got a bit loose, a bar caught it and bent the whole sheet back on itself. It was just the bottom 4 inches so a modicum of judicial trimming and then tickling with the lump hammer got it all back in place and eventually running beautifully. With the compost gate reinforced and reinstalled as well, it is now running so quietly I suspect it was probably damaged quite a while ago and it all just came to a head with one big catch. We are now feeling pretty pleased with ourselves for getting it sorted, just don't remind me about the lost potting time.
A heart warming image accompanies this message, although those of you with a sensitive nature may not want to check out the attached image (Waitrose Doves). It's something we spotted on our way into get the groceries this morning. Someone doing the shelf stacking was either lacking imagination or feeling creative! Nice facial expressions too. "What are you looking at?"
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. Over the next few weeks we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have some stonking September Charm and Honerine Jobert at the moment. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are coming into flower.
We have a fresh batch of compact and chunky Leucathemum Banana Creme with strong bud showing. Pretty little Tiarella are in bud and flower now. Fresh batches of Salvia Sensation in blue; and white are in bud and about to show colour. Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. Looking and smelling great. We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine.
A few of the Asters are beginning to show signs of flowering. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. Starshine, Lady in Blue and Rosenwitchel are both also in bud, nice compact plants with colour showing on some. The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Just seen the weather forecast for next week and Helen says "it's bonkers", so looking forward to that! Hopefully not too mad so we can keep up the nice run we have had, it's fantastic out there today.
Hope it's not too wild as we have a temporary office arriving on Monday and the new replacement on Wednesday. One is ready to go in a metal box, the other in over 500 wooden pieces on a pallet or two. I suspect one will be a bigger challenge than the other to move into.
Just hoping it all goes more smoothly than this week's potting which stalled on Thursday, just as we were looking to go full tilt before the weekend. The call over the walkie-talkie, "Derek the machine has stopped" is never a good sign, with an experienced team on the job they can sort out most issues that crop up and having to call me usually means trouble. At least the machine was nearly empty of compost so we didn't need to dig it out which is usually the first job, but Greg and I spent the next day and a half in it, trying to sort out a complete seizure. Frustratingly we managed to free it up after a few hours but we were left with a suspicious knocking and vibration as it ran. We loaded a bit of compost in it, to see if that might lubricate the process and tested it out for half an hour. It definitely didn't sound right so it was back to the tool shed to dismantle the thing even further, so we could try and identify the issue. After quite a wrestling match we got the crumbling and bent 'compost
gate' off (controls the amount of compost going into the lift conveyor) and discovered the problem behind it. At some point the bars on the lift conveyor, plus probably a foreign body or two, had ripped the metal sheet at the bottom, then later as the chain stretched and got a bit loose, a bar caught it and bent the whole sheet back on itself. It was just the bottom 4 inches so a modicum of judicial trimming and then tickling with the lump hammer got it all back in place and eventually running beautifully. With the compost gate reinforced and reinstalled as well, it is now running so quietly I suspect it was probably damaged quite a while ago and it all just came to a head with one big catch. We are now feeling pretty pleased with ourselves for getting it sorted, just don't remind me about the lost potting time.
A heart warming image accompanies this message, although those of you with a sensitive nature may not want to check out the attached image (Waitrose Doves). It's something we spotted on our way into get the groceries this morning. Someone doing the shelf stacking was either lacking imagination or feeling creative! Nice facial expressions too. "What are you looking at?"
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. Over the next few weeks we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have some stonking September Charm and Honerine Jobert at the moment. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are coming into flower.
We have a fresh batch of compact and chunky Leucathemum Banana Creme with strong bud showing. Pretty little Tiarella are in bud and flower now. Fresh batches of Salvia Sensation in blue; and white are in bud and about to show colour. Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. Looking and smelling great. We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine.
A few of the Asters are beginning to show signs of flowering. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. Starshine, Lady in Blue and Rosenwitchel are both also in bud, nice compact plants with colour showing on some. The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 10 September 2018
Big Hair
Morning all,
Just can't find enough hours in the week at the moment. So many new projects on the go, loads of tunnel clearance and potting to get done, as well as orders to go out. At least the weather seems to be with us at the moment. I had been thinking I might get up to the big Four Oaks trade exhibition last week, but time got the better of me and a holiday exodus meant I might be missed, difficult to believe I know. I would have been interested to see the non-plastic offerings on show as this seems to be flavour of the moment. From the press reports it seems that various different coloured pots is a popular direction and there are a few bio-degradable versions out there too which is good to see. The heightened level of interest from other growers can make me anxious at times as they are all potential extra competition for us, although we have so much more than a non- plastic pot in our package they have a way to go before catching us up. There is plenty of coverage in the current Horticulture Week with a couple of pages devoted to it, including a paragraph on ourselves, buried in the middle, covering our exciting exhibit a few weeks ago at the DEFRA summer reception in the big city. Fame at last.
On the theme of further reducing single use plastics, we have just given the go ahead for a new label cutter to be made so that we can take away the last main bit of plastic in our deliveries. Our range of perennial plant coloured pot labels are already made from 100% recycled plastic and are recyclable, but from next spring we will be ushering in a new era with card labels waterproofed with plant cellulose. The labels, printed for us by Floramedia, will be made from a material called B500 which
can be recycled through paper waste schemes or composted in the garden. The labels aren't quite as indestructible as the plastic version but when used in conjunction with our bamboo skewers which hold the label away from the worst of the damp compost, the label life is pretty good. After trials over the last year we feel it is certainly worth a go.
Another new project is going to be the replacement of the nursery office and print room. As a temporary mobile cabin, it has served us well for over thirty years but the holes and leaks, very thin and poorly insulated walls, bendy floor, broken floor beams and loose walls means that time is up. We spend most of our waking hours in or around here so it will be very exciting to have a cosy and efficient replacement. With a limited budget we are sticking with a similar design to the lab store and the staff rest room buildings we have put over the last few years, twin walled log cabins with extra insulation in the walls, floor and roof. Although not permanent structures they should last for ages and judging by the others we already have, they are very comfortable and the running costs will be minimal. I've started clearing out the old office in preparation, with a massive recycling binge of old records and catalogues. It's scary how much rubbish you accumulate and even scarier when you come across pictures of young people with big hair starting up a new nursery!
Apologies to anyone who may have tried to call us over the last week or two and got cut off, we are still having issues with our cordless handsets playing up. The engineers keep coming out to play but disappear again with them sort of working, but not quite. If you have trouble, do leave a message, or drop us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as we are back in the office using the reliable ones that are tied to the wall.
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. Over the next month or so we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have some stonking September Charm and Honerine Jobert at the moment. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are coming into flower. Fresh batches of Salvia Sensation in blue, rose and white are in bud and about to show colour. Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. Looking and smelling great. We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine. A few of the Asters are beginning to show signs of flowering. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. Lady in Blue and Rosenwitchel are both also in bud, nice compact plants with colour showing on some.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. Both Erodium varieties are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Just can't find enough hours in the week at the moment. So many new projects on the go, loads of tunnel clearance and potting to get done, as well as orders to go out. At least the weather seems to be with us at the moment. I had been thinking I might get up to the big Four Oaks trade exhibition last week, but time got the better of me and a holiday exodus meant I might be missed, difficult to believe I know. I would have been interested to see the non-plastic offerings on show as this seems to be flavour of the moment. From the press reports it seems that various different coloured pots is a popular direction and there are a few bio-degradable versions out there too which is good to see. The heightened level of interest from other growers can make me anxious at times as they are all potential extra competition for us, although we have so much more than a non- plastic pot in our package they have a way to go before catching us up. There is plenty of coverage in the current Horticulture Week with a couple of pages devoted to it, including a paragraph on ourselves, buried in the middle, covering our exciting exhibit a few weeks ago at the DEFRA summer reception in the big city. Fame at last.
On the theme of further reducing single use plastics, we have just given the go ahead for a new label cutter to be made so that we can take away the last main bit of plastic in our deliveries. Our range of perennial plant coloured pot labels are already made from 100% recycled plastic and are recyclable, but from next spring we will be ushering in a new era with card labels waterproofed with plant cellulose. The labels, printed for us by Floramedia, will be made from a material called B500 which
can be recycled through paper waste schemes or composted in the garden. The labels aren't quite as indestructible as the plastic version but when used in conjunction with our bamboo skewers which hold the label away from the worst of the damp compost, the label life is pretty good. After trials over the last year we feel it is certainly worth a go.
Another new project is going to be the replacement of the nursery office and print room. As a temporary mobile cabin, it has served us well for over thirty years but the holes and leaks, very thin and poorly insulated walls, bendy floor, broken floor beams and loose walls means that time is up. We spend most of our waking hours in or around here so it will be very exciting to have a cosy and efficient replacement. With a limited budget we are sticking with a similar design to the lab store and the staff rest room buildings we have put over the last few years, twin walled log cabins with extra insulation in the walls, floor and roof. Although not permanent structures they should last for ages and judging by the others we already have, they are very comfortable and the running costs will be minimal. I've started clearing out the old office in preparation, with a massive recycling binge of old records and catalogues. It's scary how much rubbish you accumulate and even scarier when you come across pictures of young people with big hair starting up a new nursery!
Apologies to anyone who may have tried to call us over the last week or two and got cut off, we are still having issues with our cordless handsets playing up. The engineers keep coming out to play but disappear again with them sort of working, but not quite. If you have trouble, do leave a message, or drop us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as we are back in the office using the reliable ones that are tied to the wall.
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. Over the next month or so we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have some stonking September Charm and Honerine Jobert at the moment. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are coming into flower. Fresh batches of Salvia Sensation in blue, rose and white are in bud and about to show colour. Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. Looking and smelling great. We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine. A few of the Asters are beginning to show signs of flowering. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. Lady in Blue and Rosenwitchel are both also in bud, nice compact plants with colour showing on some.
The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. Both Erodium varieties are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 3 September 2018
Hairy Bats
Morning all,
Looks like a run of late summer sunshine over the next few days which should provide a lovely run in Autumn. The swallows are beginning to head off, I see reports of big numbers flying over Cornwall and we saw several groups over the fields heading south in the last few days. Talking of things flying about we had an exciting moment last night on our walk home. Across the back of the nursery we saw at least three bats all feeding along the hedgerow. We almost always see one (a pipistrelle) in this spot and have done for years, but to see at least three all together was a first. It was pretty dark and there could have been more, we'll try again tonight a few minutes earlier so our ancient eyes work a bit better and I might try with my glasses too! Not sure where they are roosting, probably the barn on the other side of the road, I know they have frustratingly ignored our bat boxes for years.
Apologies to anyone who may have tried to call us over the last week or two and got cut off, it was nothing you said, just our cordless handsets playing up. The engineers keep coming out to play but disappear again with them sort of working, but not quite. We are going to try again next week, but if you have trouble, do leave a message, or drop us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as we are back in the office using the reliable ones that are tied to the wall.
In theory things should be quietening down by now but we seem to be getting busier. Having got our Green Impact entry in last week we find ourselves with another project to get tied up in the next few days. I can't say what this one is at the moment as it was a bit of a last minute suggestion by someone who thought it might be a valuable exercise. Seemed like a good idea at the time!
My experimental hessian pallet/trolley wraps are on hold while we further test the Mark1 version. I am accumulating plenty of hessian samples and awaiting delivery of bigger stronger needles and thread to start Mark2. I also ordered a handy needle threading device to help the visually challenged and impatient with their efforts. It's quite exciting making stuff that might actually be useful and much cheaper than a lot of other pastimes.
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. We already have a few on a list which we are going to drop into next time we are in the area. Over the next month or so we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have some stonking September Charm and Honerine Jobert at the moment. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are coming into flower. We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine.
A few of the Asters are beginning to show signs of flowering. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. Lady in Blue and Rosenwitchel are both also in bud, nice compact plants with colour showing on some. The ever popular Monch is also there with bud showing and the odd open flower.
We have a fresh batch of the pretty Foam Flower Tiarella wherii in bud and flower. They will make an attractive display for several more weeks yet before resting overwinter, ready to do it all again next spring.
Our summer/autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are on the list again this week. They produce masses of small flowers on naturally bushy, fairly compact plants and usually flower until the first frosts. Only a few varieties left now, all in bud with colour about to burst. We have a few trays of fresh Tradescantia (Innocense and Rubra) looking good and having a late summer flush of bud. Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. The pretty Viola Rebecca are showing another flush of bud and flower, looking smart.
We have a few left of our Verbena bonariensis in bud, another one that wants to go tall but we have managed to keep them in check for a bit longer but they won't hang about long. The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. Both Erodium varieties are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Looks like a run of late summer sunshine over the next few days which should provide a lovely run in Autumn. The swallows are beginning to head off, I see reports of big numbers flying over Cornwall and we saw several groups over the fields heading south in the last few days. Talking of things flying about we had an exciting moment last night on our walk home. Across the back of the nursery we saw at least three bats all feeding along the hedgerow. We almost always see one (a pipistrelle) in this spot and have done for years, but to see at least three all together was a first. It was pretty dark and there could have been more, we'll try again tonight a few minutes earlier so our ancient eyes work a bit better and I might try with my glasses too! Not sure where they are roosting, probably the barn on the other side of the road, I know they have frustratingly ignored our bat boxes for years.
Apologies to anyone who may have tried to call us over the last week or two and got cut off, it was nothing you said, just our cordless handsets playing up. The engineers keep coming out to play but disappear again with them sort of working, but not quite. We are going to try again next week, but if you have trouble, do leave a message, or drop us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as we are back in the office using the reliable ones that are tied to the wall.
In theory things should be quietening down by now but we seem to be getting busier. Having got our Green Impact entry in last week we find ourselves with another project to get tied up in the next few days. I can't say what this one is at the moment as it was a bit of a last minute suggestion by someone who thought it might be a valuable exercise. Seemed like a good idea at the time!
My experimental hessian pallet/trolley wraps are on hold while we further test the Mark1 version. I am accumulating plenty of hessian samples and awaiting delivery of bigger stronger needles and thread to start Mark2. I also ordered a handy needle threading device to help the visually challenged and impatient with their efforts. It's quite exciting making stuff that might actually be useful and much cheaper than a lot of other pastimes.
WOODEN BOX RETURNS
If anyone is ready to send back their collection of empty wooden boxes please do let us know. We already have a few on a list which we are going to drop into next time we are in the area. Over the next month or so we would like to collect as many as we can, so we can get them out of your way and cleaned, dried and mended before the cold damp winter arrives. Thanks.
Availability highlights
The late summer flowering Anemones are looking great in the gardens and we have some looking good now, some with bud coming. Anemones are always a tricky one as the natural tendency is for the plants to go tall. looks fab in the garden but not so easy in a pot. We have some stonking September Charm and Honerine Jobert at the moment. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are coming into flower. We have a couple on fresh patches of Achillea in bud on short stems, the red Paprika and silver leaved Moonshine.
A few of the Asters are beginning to show signs of flowering. Fantastic plants of the mildew resistant Asmo are throwing up plenty of bud, compact and chunky, just beginning to open their pale lilac flowers. Lady in Blue and Rosenwitchel are both also in bud, nice compact plants with colour showing on some. The ever popular Monch is also there with bud showing and the odd open flower.
We have a fresh batch of the pretty Foam Flower Tiarella wherii in bud and flower. They will make an attractive display for several more weeks yet before resting overwinter, ready to do it all again next spring.
Our summer/autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are on the list again this week. They produce masses of small flowers on naturally bushy, fairly compact plants and usually flower until the first frosts. Only a few varieties left now, all in bud with colour about to burst. We have a few trays of fresh Tradescantia (Innocense and Rubra) looking good and having a late summer flush of bud. Viola Konigin Charlotte traditionally flowers in the spring with its deep violet colour and stunning scent, but we find it does produce a pretty smattering in the late summer too and sure enough that is what's occurring now. The pretty Viola Rebecca are showing another flush of bud and flower, looking smart.
We have a few left of our Verbena bonariensis in bud, another one that wants to go tall but we have managed to keep them in check for a bit longer but they won't hang about long. The massively popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone is sprouting plenty of flower buds, full of promise and dainty colours. Both Erodium varieties are in bud and showing a few open flowers, neat and floriferous. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Heuchera, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
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