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.