Hairy Mondays

Hi,
Wow that was an eventful week. I can't believe how much has happened over such a short time.
Started off with slight panic as we organised ourselves to leave the nursery for an afternoon and overnight. So much to sort out and prepare, surely it would be easier just to stay here. However a 60th birthday do, hog roast, farm cider and live music, as well as meeting a few old friends was too good to miss and so it proved to be. Did a lot of catching up, emptied a few barrels (it was a big do) and rolled out a bit of dad dancing, a perfect evening. Bit of a sore head the following morning,
I think it must have been the sun, and an easy drive home meant we could get the nematodes irrigated onto the crops and spend a few hours preparing for Mondays excitement.
So Monday morning dawns to welcome us back with a failed water pump (good job it's not too summery), two broken down electric buggies, 4 staff missing (found them now), hi-fibre installation day, and lots of orders to get sorted. Now that is an exciting start to the week. Mondays are already pretty chaotic with getting all the deliveries organised for the week as they come in, while starting to process some at the same time, and then 'extras' added a certain frisson to it all.
One of the buggies has been not charging well for a while but for the second to go down with the same issue was really frustrating. We ended up towing the trailer around with the forklift which isn't ideal but it did the job. Meanwhile I organised a specialist buggy man to visit at vast expense and he nailed the issue down very quickly to failed onboard computers that control the charging process. New ones ordered and should be fitted sometime next week. New water pump ordered too which also should get fitted next week and Hi-Fibre successfully installed (tested at over 200mbps compared with about 6 currently) to be usable in a couple of weeks. And that was just Monday!

Availability highlights
Erigeron kerv. Stallone are looking good with lots of bud and the odd open flower too.
We have been asked before if we could grow some Cosmos which we are having a go at. I have just a few of the more compact and bushier Chocamocha left. There are definitely buds forming on many of the Chocamocha, not long to wait for those dark velvety flowers and the famous chocolate scent.
We have another batch of Nepeta Junior Walker coming into bud and ready to roll. A great compact and neater habit when compared with its larger more spreading relatives.
Another compact form of a classic cottage border plant is Rudbeckia Little Goldstar. We still sell lots of the taller classic Goldsturm which is a fabulous garden plant but this is dramatically shorter and neater. The flowers are bold but not quite as big but it carries a lot of them, to give an impressive black and gold display.
Just for a couple of weeks we will have Verbena bonariensis in bud. I know it will romp away in height in a minute and we will have to cut them back but at the moment they are manageable.
The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages.
Summer seaside flowers abound, with Armeria maritima back on the list, bud showing on both the white and pink forms. Masses of bud on upright stems of Catananche caerulea . The occasional flower showing a flash of its papery sky blue petals. Our summer crop of Oxalis are up and running. Both are in bud and looking perky. Iron Cross has dramatic green and black foliage under deep pink flowers while triangularis is equally showy with its purple leaves under pretty pale pink flowers.
Salvia Hot Lips is now in bud with the some flower open. The full red and white petal display is now showing.
Another popular summer special are the Platycodon which are on available this week for the first time. A new variety to us is Twinkle Blue, it is slightly more compact than the Astra Blue, both are now showing buds. Mixed pastel coloured flowers of Lewisia Elise are showing well with plenty more bud to follow. This one flowers all summer. Rhodanthemum Casablanca and Marakesh are showing well with bushy grey foliage and lots of bud on show and the odd open daisy flower. They will go on all summer long, producing so many delightful blooms.
Lots of fab Salvia nemerosa varieties now back on line with most in bud and showing flashes of colour. The new Marvel Blue hold much bolder flowers which I think are pretty impressive, I will get more of these next year. We have three short Campanula currently in bud, carpatica Blue with their domed habit and large single cupped flowers are neat and chunky with masses of bud. Another is the prolific scrambler posharskyana with its smaller lilac blue bell flowers, and a new one for us Clockwise is another scrambler but neater growth habit and strongly coloured violet-blue flowers. Dianthus Scent First varieties are selling through quickly. Buds are thrusting through on all varieties and the flowers opening. The warmer weather adds to the delightful scent levels.
We have gone to town on Scabiosa this season, Lots potted ready for summer flowering, Butterfly Blue and Mariposa Blue are budding up nicely now in good numbers, these beauties will keep flowering all summer.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.