Bracingly Hairy

Morning all
A bit wintery out there, but nothing too nasty down here yet. It can be a bit tricky finding enough warmth for everyone on the nursery when it gets too miserable, but given enough layers most of our hardy crew manage to get through. The tunnels are tidying up nicely in preparation for the coming spring sales, many crops only take a week or two to recover from their overwinter chop, producing that lovely flush of tight fresh foliage promising so much from the growing season ahead. The year has so much potential in January!
Progress on the new log cabin office is being made if not quite as quickly as I had hoped. We were held up a bit by a day or two by the weather and by a few design tweaks made along the way. We have added some risers to the foundation joists which keeps all the wood off the floor which should slow up any base rotting. This gave us a chance to slip in an extra layer of insulation under the floor to top up the slightly stingy layer originally supplied. A bit awkward to fit but would be impossible after construction progressed any further and the extra cost should pay back in reduced heating costs and extra cosiness. Floors are now in and the base logs screwed down, next comes the dramatic bit when the walls go up. It will all happen quite quickly (in theory) then come to a visual halt again while all the internal stuff gets fitted. We have had a bit of a windfall on the refit with the offer of some 'free' second-hand office kit from an office that is undergoing a move and refurb. We are reusing most of our old bits but a few extra shelves, cupboards and chairs will be well received. Exciting times.
All the temporary admin arrangements are spread around a hired site container office, the coffee shack and the pump shed, some cosier than others. I'm bracing myself for a few days in the concrete block, un heated, un-insulated and windowless pump shed for some serious wooden label making sessions. I can't afford to wait for the cosy new facilities, orders are going out and labels are in demand. We set it all up last week so no excuses anymore.

Availability highlights
There are a few vivid purple flowers beginning to show among the super hardy Primula Wanda, there will be loads more as we move towards spring. Our wild primrose (P. vulgaris) are also bursting into flower already. We saved the seed from the wood on top of our hill and it was worth the effort.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few (Crocus Remembrance, and Scilla). Lots more to follow.
We have tried in the past to grow snowdrops (Galanthus) from autumn bulb planting with little joy, so last spring we decided to have a go with some 'in the green' bulbs to establish over the spring and summer, ready for a more natural looking clump to emerge the following spring. It works out as a bit of a long term crop but the clusters appearing now are looking much more as they do in the garden although still not as thick as I would have liked. A real pot-full would be great but we are already stretching the budget to plant the numbers we have in each pot. I suspect they will thicken out more as the spring goes on but then we shorten the season when they are in bud and flower which would be a shame. I have put them on the list this week as they are in bud and we will see how they go. I have a few ideas on how we might get thicker clumps in the future so we will certainly invest in another big batch later in the spring. We have a few other lines we tried 'in the green' and I'm looking
forward to see what emerges from those too.
Helleborus orientalis in a variety of colours are now well under way, for that winter interest and early exotic colour. Stonking bushy plants which are mostly from a strain (Crown series) that has a high percentage of first season flowering. I hardly dare mention it, but there are a few plants in bud already. I haven't put them all on the list as being in bud as there aren't that many yet and stocks are beginning to run a bit low anyway.
The winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum varieties we grow are now showing colour. The strain we grow has an exceptionally long flowering season with colour usually showing from November through to March and even April. They rarely get swamped with masses of flower at any one time, they just keep going on, producing a pretty and dainty show for ages.
We still have a few of the hardy autumn flowering Cyclamen (hederifolium) left with attractive evergreen silvered winter foliage. We have a load planted in the garden by a hedge and they make a lovely winter ground covering.
The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked a few varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there. I'm not sure for how long they will continue flowering but we have late potted batches of Armeria maritima (both the pink and the white forms) which are in flower with more bud still coming. Compact and chunky Leucathemums are evergreen throughout the winter. There are several varieties looking very strong. Foliage starts to be of interest at this time of year and there are some good shows of colour from the Carex Evergold, Ajuga, Lamium and Euphorbia.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.