Morning all,
A great week with lots to do, plenty of orders, a bit of potting, more office fitting and good weather to do it in as well. Can't ask for more. The forecast for the next 10 days doesn't look to scary and every week that slips by means less chance of the appearance of another 'Beast'. Hoping to keep up a steady sales momentum which hopefully will alleviate the cash-flow tension. It's the most challenging part of the year in the office juggling the overdraft limit with a limited income and increasing numbers of bills at this time. Each year we think it will get easier but then someone buys a new office and suddenly any spare cash has disappeared! Brexit preperations haven't helped much either with a few extra early purchases made to make sure we don't get caught out in the middle of the spring and I probably could have picked a better year to lash out on the new plastic-free colour pot labels, but then where would the fun and excitement be if we didn't speculate. If I remember rightly the theory is 'speculate to accumulate', I'm good at the first bit, not so hot on the second. One day.
Just a warning that we may go offline for a few hours over the weekend so the phones and fax may not work on occasions, but the emails should store up in the cloud ready for reconnection. Desperation is building with each passing week to get set up in the new office before we get any busier, otherwise it is just going to get more and more difficult with less time to get it done, I have high hopes of a move late on Saturday or early Sunday but on previous evidence (Mail Chimp etc) my hopes may come to nothing.
It looks like most of you taking stock out there, are selling through pretty well especially for the time of year, we have had lots of repeat orders already, even in the same week! Keep it up, we are very grateful for those early sales.
Must go and have another go at desk construction before it gets too late. Nice to have the uninterrupted evenings to get stuck into these jobs, music on and all the tools out. One of my flexible joints wore out this week and had to be replaced. It was making quite a bit of noise but we were assured it was ok to continue running it. Our friendly wind turbine engineers (Natural Energy) came and fixed it on Wednesday and now we are all quiet again. Luckily keeping the turbine going helped cover some of the repair bill which made me feel a bit better. The turbines have now paid for themselves and their installation (back in 2011) so in theory we are into profit, I wonder where that profit is, the spreadsheet says it's there somewhere.
Hoping that despite advancing years that the rest of my flexible joints hold together.
Availability highlights
Our wild primrose (Primula 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. Bronzed and ferny foliage of the Polemonium Heaven Scent looks great and tight flower buds are adding to their appeal. Primula grandiflora Rosea are sprouting up now and flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface. Spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with Opal even opening the odd flower already. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud and colour is close for many, there is the odd open flower on the Super Bowl Mauve looking very smart.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems just about to produce their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera variegata have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and showing tight bud already.
Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good. The spring flowering and super scented Viola oderata varieties are flushing up well after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a few already showing.
More spring bulbs are emerging, Muscari Blue Magic looking really strong with plenty of young buds showing. A few of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, full of promise. Early flowering Symphytum Wisley Blue are flushing in the little bit of warmth and bud is evident. Subtle pale blue flowers.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 25 February 2019
Saturday 16 February 2019
Warm and Hairy
Morning all,
OK I have to admit I haven't made the progress on Mailchimp that I had hoped for so still on the old system which seemed to work ok again last week. It's been a hectic week and the time has just disappeared.
After the electricians finished last Friday in the new office, the air con folk were here this week to install an air con unit we scavenged from the lab after we installed a more gentle blowing system in there last year. All running nicely now and providing we don't get tempted to use its cooling facility in the summer and have it set on 'heat only' it should workout much cheaper to run than the old little electric heaters and should run at a more comfortable temperature for no extra cost especially with all the insulation installed. Now we've just got to bite the bullet and pack up and move again, I' m hoping to get the printing and basics set up over the weekend and perhaps get the tricky part of the telephone and computer systems move on the following weekend. Having moved into the temporary office just before Christmas I am hoping to have learnt from my mistakes and the next move will all go smoothly with no accidental cutting of phone-lines this time!
The lovely weather has helped all round keeping the orders bubbling along and we even managed to re-clad 4 out of the five tunnels that had split covers which was an unexpected bonus. It swallows up time but is a very satisfying job to get under the belt so early in the year. Just one more tunnel to go and the forecast for next week looks promising to get that done too. We slotted in a bit of potting and propagation for good measure, in among all the other activities, so all in all a good week.
We had our annual review of bio controls this week, making a few final adjustments to the plan of predator introductions. It's always a bit of a leap in faith, releasing hundreds of pounds worth of tiny insects to open ended and open sided tunnels. Aren't they just going to fly away? Overall it seems to work we only have to spray the occasional breakaway pest outbreak during the season where they outrun their foe. The review is a fine tweaking session really. Last year we found that sticking some of the sachets that the predators are held in, onto our bamboo skewers with a bit of double sided tape allows us to position them in much more reliable positions nice and quickly making the installation cheaper and the predator more effective. This year we have changed the encarsia (whitefly predator) from being supplied loose to being supplied with the pupae stuck on little cards. A vile of 15,000 amounts to much less than a thimble full, which are spread over the whole nursery so it's easy to get the distribution wrong and the pupae can land anywhere so a fixed number on a card is much easier to spread evenly. Using our skewer sticking method also holds the cards in a perfect position so the small extra cost should be balanced by more effective application. Well that's the theory.
I see lots of students went on strike on Friday to highlight the need to take action on climate change. Hopefully lots of them used the time usefully and made their voices heard, it would be easy to be cynical about an extra day off school but I find it is encouraging that the next generation are thinking seriously about the future and their role in it. Hopefully we won't have messed it up too much by the time they get to take over.
Availability highlights
Our wild primrose (Primula 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. Primula grandiflora Rosea are sprouting up now and flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far
behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface.
Our spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with Opal even opening the odd flower already. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. 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. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems just about to produce their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and look pretty early in the year too, just in a more subtle way.
Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
OK I have to admit I haven't made the progress on Mailchimp that I had hoped for so still on the old system which seemed to work ok again last week. It's been a hectic week and the time has just disappeared.
After the electricians finished last Friday in the new office, the air con folk were here this week to install an air con unit we scavenged from the lab after we installed a more gentle blowing system in there last year. All running nicely now and providing we don't get tempted to use its cooling facility in the summer and have it set on 'heat only' it should workout much cheaper to run than the old little electric heaters and should run at a more comfortable temperature for no extra cost especially with all the insulation installed. Now we've just got to bite the bullet and pack up and move again, I' m hoping to get the printing and basics set up over the weekend and perhaps get the tricky part of the telephone and computer systems move on the following weekend. Having moved into the temporary office just before Christmas I am hoping to have learnt from my mistakes and the next move will all go smoothly with no accidental cutting of phone-lines this time!
The lovely weather has helped all round keeping the orders bubbling along and we even managed to re-clad 4 out of the five tunnels that had split covers which was an unexpected bonus. It swallows up time but is a very satisfying job to get under the belt so early in the year. Just one more tunnel to go and the forecast for next week looks promising to get that done too. We slotted in a bit of potting and propagation for good measure, in among all the other activities, so all in all a good week.
We had our annual review of bio controls this week, making a few final adjustments to the plan of predator introductions. It's always a bit of a leap in faith, releasing hundreds of pounds worth of tiny insects to open ended and open sided tunnels. Aren't they just going to fly away? Overall it seems to work we only have to spray the occasional breakaway pest outbreak during the season where they outrun their foe. The review is a fine tweaking session really. Last year we found that sticking some of the sachets that the predators are held in, onto our bamboo skewers with a bit of double sided tape allows us to position them in much more reliable positions nice and quickly making the installation cheaper and the predator more effective. This year we have changed the encarsia (whitefly predator) from being supplied loose to being supplied with the pupae stuck on little cards. A vile of 15,000 amounts to much less than a thimble full, which are spread over the whole nursery so it's easy to get the distribution wrong and the pupae can land anywhere so a fixed number on a card is much easier to spread evenly. Using our skewer sticking method also holds the cards in a perfect position so the small extra cost should be balanced by more effective application. Well that's the theory.
I see lots of students went on strike on Friday to highlight the need to take action on climate change. Hopefully lots of them used the time usefully and made their voices heard, it would be easy to be cynical about an extra day off school but I find it is encouraging that the next generation are thinking seriously about the future and their role in it. Hopefully we won't have messed it up too much by the time they get to take over.
Availability highlights
Our wild primrose (Primula 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. Primula grandiflora Rosea are sprouting up now and flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far
behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface.
Our spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with Opal even opening the odd flower already. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. 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. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems just about to produce their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and look pretty early in the year too, just in a more subtle way.
Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Saturday 9 February 2019
Hairy Jenga
Morning all,
A very quick one today.
I had a few issues last week with sending out our lists. Apparently our email server now doesn't like me sending a list out to multiple addresses above a certain number (not sure how many that is yet) and restricted me to a new limited number per hour. The little tyke shut down my address not once but twice over two days and the only way round it is to send out in little batches over a longer time. It has been perfectly happy for the last 10 years but no more, oh the wonders of modern technology. It has been suggested that we do the same task through Mailchimp which we are going to try and get our heads around for next week. We are all signed up but no idea how to actually send out what we want to just yet. Apparently it will be a wonderful thing once we get going, so hang on to your hats for a mega show next week.
Meanwhile we have power and light in the new office which is very exciting, just need to get the floor in and all the kit before unplugging all the computers and phone system and crossing our fingers perhaps next weekend?
We have had a really busy week sending out lots of orders which is great. The warmer air made life a bit more comfortable out in the fresh air, but it has been a tad damp and breezy today. Unpacked all the new non-plastic colour labels yesterday which was a relief. We had the whole lot delivered on one small but quite tall pallet and as we wrestled out those boxes we needed for orders earlier in the week we put them back balanced on the top of the stack. By Thursday it resembled an expensive Jenga stack, in danger of creating a colourful display of spilled labels over the floor of despatch. Got away with it and all now safely put to bed.
Plants for spring potting start arriving next week, can I call it spring potting this early? Office to finish, orders already building up, labels to print, plants to cut back and tidy, it's all go already. Just hoping it doesn't plunge back into anything too cold over the next few weeks so we can get ourselves really up together for what looks like an exciting year ahead.
Don't forget to watch out for us next week under the MailChimp banner. No idea how it will look, but it's progress (I hope).
Availability highlights
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. 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. I suspect they will thicken out more as the weeks pass but then we shorten the season when they are
in bud and flower which would be a shame.
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. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked most varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
A very quick one today.
I had a few issues last week with sending out our lists. Apparently our email server now doesn't like me sending a list out to multiple addresses above a certain number (not sure how many that is yet) and restricted me to a new limited number per hour. The little tyke shut down my address not once but twice over two days and the only way round it is to send out in little batches over a longer time. It has been perfectly happy for the last 10 years but no more, oh the wonders of modern technology. It has been suggested that we do the same task through Mailchimp which we are going to try and get our heads around for next week. We are all signed up but no idea how to actually send out what we want to just yet. Apparently it will be a wonderful thing once we get going, so hang on to your hats for a mega show next week.
Meanwhile we have power and light in the new office which is very exciting, just need to get the floor in and all the kit before unplugging all the computers and phone system and crossing our fingers perhaps next weekend?
We have had a really busy week sending out lots of orders which is great. The warmer air made life a bit more comfortable out in the fresh air, but it has been a tad damp and breezy today. Unpacked all the new non-plastic colour labels yesterday which was a relief. We had the whole lot delivered on one small but quite tall pallet and as we wrestled out those boxes we needed for orders earlier in the week we put them back balanced on the top of the stack. By Thursday it resembled an expensive Jenga stack, in danger of creating a colourful display of spilled labels over the floor of despatch. Got away with it and all now safely put to bed.
Plants for spring potting start arriving next week, can I call it spring potting this early? Office to finish, orders already building up, labels to print, plants to cut back and tidy, it's all go already. Just hoping it doesn't plunge back into anything too cold over the next few weeks so we can get ourselves really up together for what looks like an exciting year ahead.
Don't forget to watch out for us next week under the MailChimp banner. No idea how it will look, but it's progress (I hope).
Availability highlights
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. 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. I suspect they will thicken out more as the weeks pass but then we shorten the season when they are
in bud and flower which would be a shame.
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. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked most varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 4 February 2019
Hairy Excitement
Morning all,
A bit of a cold snap for us southern softies. Snow on the ground and well frozen up over the last few days. Coldest last night at minus 6C but it's the snow that really puts a spanner in the works. Difficult to believe the US had minus 40C or so and still functioned when just under freezing and a snowstorm brings things close to a full stop here. To be fair the gritters have been working hard and most main routes have been fine, especially around us, but just down the road in Basingstoke it was a different story. The M3 was shut for a while, even the next day there were still lane closures and once off the motorway the roads were very tricky indeed. So a good week to have the van in for a starter motor replacement and check over in, you've guessed it, Basingstoke! We didn't get off to a brilliant start when after waiting 10 days to get booked in, they were unable to get another starter motor for a further 10 days. After completing the other checks we arranged to pick it up and take our chances with the starter. We have all here had practice at getting them going, usually with a bit of a rock or roll things get going. So if you see our driver under the bonnet beating the engine with a stick you'll understand what he's up to.
We abandoned picking it up on Friday and even going on Saturday proved pretty challenging but at least it was daylight and very little on the road. Our thanks must go to the chaps at the garage for their assistance in pushing and guiding us off their site and back onto the roads, all very exciting. Glad to get home.
Anyway all that cold looks to be behind us now with a warmer couple of weeks forecast ahead of us down here, not even the occasional frost in there. We'll see. At least it makes it easier to get on with the last of the overwinter plant tidying, it has been a bit nippy out there in the unheated tunnels.
A notable delivery arrived last week, our new plastic free perennial pot labels. Made from fibreboard and waterproofed with vegetable starch they will eventually take over from our old plastic labels as stocks sell through. We will use a few straight away but most will be introduced as the season progresses. They are 100% biodegradable or can be recycled through card recycling and look just the same as our old design to the untrained eye. In the unlikely event that you have plant stock hanging about for over 6 months you may get some degradation of the labels, where they are in a damp environment for a prolonged period, but we can replace these if needed. Naturally they aren't quite as cheap as the previous ones, we are pushing the boundaries again and the first into a new market often pays a higher price often due to the overall volumes of production being low. We are excited, it was something we had to try in an effort to get closer to our sustainability goals.
I've been tucked in the new office in the relative warmth most of the week, finishing off the internal trim of the build and getting the floor started. Really just waiting on the electricians to finish quoting on fitting us out, before getting into the final push. All looking good at the moment, blinds fitted, maybe the floor in today and then the cat-flap to install. I've added a few embellishments to the 'off the shelf' design to improve insulation and overall security which I'm really pleased with, they actually fit in nicely, rather than looking like an afterthought and it adds a bit more confidence to the occupants of what is basically a wooden shed!
With a little more time in warmth of the temporary tin office and the amount of potential the coming year always has at the end of January, I've been shopping for a few more new lines for later in the year and into 2020, nothing earth shattering but some nice trials coming to play with.
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. 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. I suspect they will thicken out more as the weeks pass but then we shorten the season when they are
in bud and flower which would be a shame.
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. 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.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
A bit of a cold snap for us southern softies. Snow on the ground and well frozen up over the last few days. Coldest last night at minus 6C but it's the snow that really puts a spanner in the works. Difficult to believe the US had minus 40C or so and still functioned when just under freezing and a snowstorm brings things close to a full stop here. To be fair the gritters have been working hard and most main routes have been fine, especially around us, but just down the road in Basingstoke it was a different story. The M3 was shut for a while, even the next day there were still lane closures and once off the motorway the roads were very tricky indeed. So a good week to have the van in for a starter motor replacement and check over in, you've guessed it, Basingstoke! We didn't get off to a brilliant start when after waiting 10 days to get booked in, they were unable to get another starter motor for a further 10 days. After completing the other checks we arranged to pick it up and take our chances with the starter. We have all here had practice at getting them going, usually with a bit of a rock or roll things get going. So if you see our driver under the bonnet beating the engine with a stick you'll understand what he's up to.
We abandoned picking it up on Friday and even going on Saturday proved pretty challenging but at least it was daylight and very little on the road. Our thanks must go to the chaps at the garage for their assistance in pushing and guiding us off their site and back onto the roads, all very exciting. Glad to get home.
Anyway all that cold looks to be behind us now with a warmer couple of weeks forecast ahead of us down here, not even the occasional frost in there. We'll see. At least it makes it easier to get on with the last of the overwinter plant tidying, it has been a bit nippy out there in the unheated tunnels.
A notable delivery arrived last week, our new plastic free perennial pot labels. Made from fibreboard and waterproofed with vegetable starch they will eventually take over from our old plastic labels as stocks sell through. We will use a few straight away but most will be introduced as the season progresses. They are 100% biodegradable or can be recycled through card recycling and look just the same as our old design to the untrained eye. In the unlikely event that you have plant stock hanging about for over 6 months you may get some degradation of the labels, where they are in a damp environment for a prolonged period, but we can replace these if needed. Naturally they aren't quite as cheap as the previous ones, we are pushing the boundaries again and the first into a new market often pays a higher price often due to the overall volumes of production being low. We are excited, it was something we had to try in an effort to get closer to our sustainability goals.
I've been tucked in the new office in the relative warmth most of the week, finishing off the internal trim of the build and getting the floor started. Really just waiting on the electricians to finish quoting on fitting us out, before getting into the final push. All looking good at the moment, blinds fitted, maybe the floor in today and then the cat-flap to install. I've added a few embellishments to the 'off the shelf' design to improve insulation and overall security which I'm really pleased with, they actually fit in nicely, rather than looking like an afterthought and it adds a bit more confidence to the occupants of what is basically a wooden shed!
With a little more time in warmth of the temporary tin office and the amount of potential the coming year always has at the end of January, I've been shopping for a few more new lines for later in the year and into 2020, nothing earth shattering but some nice trials coming to play with.
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. 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. I suspect they will thicken out more as the weeks pass but then we shorten the season when they are
in bud and flower which would be a shame.
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. 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.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
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