Hairy Neptune's wrath

Hi,
Yet another marathon week. I don't know where all the fun comes from.
The 'simple' installation of the phone system went as all new tech projects go. It took from Saturday until Tuesday lunchtime to get operational, with a further visit on Thursday for some fine tuning and fitting of another base station. Rerouting of calls covered most of the down time ok we think, so I hope no-one missed us early in the week. Really impressed with the new system , much better kit with rugged outdoor, easy to use cordless handsets with much better nursery coverage, hi-fibre broadband and the monthly charges which were substantially less than our previous supplier was asking for. I'm still slightly peeved that we were forced off our old system by escalating maintenance costs but we do have a system that is better. We did bite the bullet and buy it outright rather than leasing it, we have been stung too many times before on paying way over the odds on long-term leasing options which the phone company reps are very keen to sell.
Other expensive mending went on this week with new inverters and a pressure vessel fitted onto the irrigation pumps which means they are running perfectly again. Both pumps were misbehaving apparently which doubled the repair but at least they are talking to each other again and running much more efficiently and reliably which is a huge relief. The engineer did a lovely job with the minimum of fuss, it was a joy to part with the dosh.
Monday saw the cold water tank overfill in the loft where the ball-cock failed, no damage just a quick replacement needed, then today we sprang a leak below one of the nursery taps and in the sink water heater. Not sure what I've done to upset the water gods but they are lining up to have a pop at the moment.
On top of all that, the old mans elasticated trousers have let go, the strain was just too much.

Availability highlights
I have just a few of the more compact and bushier Cosmos Chocamocha left. Buds are visible on most and the odd dark velvety flower is open giving off that famous chocolate scent. Several Coreopsis varieties (Sunfire, Sunkiss and Illico) are showing great colour. A bright show with lots of flower to come.
The first batches of our mini Chrysanthemum (Garden Mums) are growing away well. Lovely bushy plants with lots of bud already showing and more to come. The odd splash of colour so far, but they will soon be showing off nicely. I've put Liriope muscari as in bud at the moment. They are only just beginning to appear but they are definitely on the way and on strong bushy plants too. I doubt they will hang about long they tend to disappear on landscaping projects pretty quickly. Geum Lady Stratheden and Mrs Bradshaw are putting up a nice flush of fresh bud.
Fresh batches of the Monarda Barmy series are looking good, nice and bushy with bud in evidence, colour just a week away. Rudbeckia Little Goldstar is now coming into bud We still sell lots of the taller classic Goldsturm which is a fabulous garden plant but Goldstar is dramatically shorter and neater. The flowers are bold but not quite as big but it carries a lot of them. Autumn must be on its way with a few Sedum in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still going to make a great show. Autumn Joy is the most popular and looking full of promise with Matrona and its rosy-purple flush looking good too.
Just for one more week we will have Verbena bonariensis in bud. It is getting quite tall now but still upright. We have another fresh batch of the compact Verbena Lollipop in bud with a splash of colour.
The classic summer flowering Montbretia (Crocosmia) are fast approaching flowering with the bold Emberglow was the first to show its young flower buds but now Carmine Brilliant, Babylon and George Davidson are showing too.
The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. Our summer crop of Oxalis are up and running. Both are in flower 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 in full flow. The full red and white petal display is now showing although there aren't many left.
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. Rhodanthemum Casablanca are showing well with bushy grey foliage and lots of bud and flower on show. Lots of fab Salvia nemerosa varieties now back on line with most in bud and showing flashes of colour.
We have short Campanula currently in bud, 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. Achillea are still putting on a good show. A new compact form called Little Moonshine is on for this week, not many there but looks like a good one.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.