Another busy week with the potting now flying along. Once the orders where picked up we managed to have a good run on both the bed clearing and potting machine despite a bit of a shortage of bodies. We are really getting the hang of the bed cleaning beast now as our technique improves and experience accrues. We took delivery of a couple of monster double bladed floor squeegees early in the week for clearing the loosened muck from the bed surface, what a difference they made. We had been shovelling and brushing before, but the squeegee is much more effective, saving a bit more time and leaving an 'eat your dinner off that' finish. We have added a second pass of the beast after the initial debris clearance to achieve that near polished finish, very satisfying.
Plants are still pitching up to pot each week just to keep the pressure on, I think it's just the spring flowering bulbs and Erysimums to come now and both of those won't come until early October. The Erysimum are an amazing crop, they just keep growing throughout the autumn and winter despite the lower light levels and short day-length, assuming that is we can keep the rots at bay, we always loose a few. If we make the mistake of potting too early they are just too lanky in the spring, rather than the lovely pot full of bud we usually manage to achieve. Then we have the fun and games of finding enough trolleys and shelves to pot the bulbs onto. We keep them on trolleys away from the mice for as long as we can, but with my over enthusiastic ordering this year I wonder if we will have enough shelf stock to cope. It has been noticeable that the quality of shelf stock has deteriorated over the last year, we have stacks of broken stock with only a reduced small quota being allowed back to base for repair under our maintenance contract. We are going to have to get creative!
With the season beginning to show signs of slowing up we are able to retrieve a bit more personal time by reducing the working week to under 75 hours and it looks like we are in for a treat, heading for a whole day off on Sunday. A walk with friends near Oxford along the river and a pub lunch beckons, sounds great. Not quite as exciting as one customer who was lucky enough to see Ed Sheeran recently, supported by the Darkness who's lead singer apparently was wearing nothing but a black lace body suit. That must have been a sight to behold. Reminds me a bit of, no let's not go there, it was a long time ago. It'll be a hectic weekend with a gig tonight in Wimbourne to see our favourite boogie-woogie pianist Ben Waters who is approaching the end of his farewell retirement tour. I suspect there will be a few comeback special appearances over the coming years but we'll miss him. You never know who will pop up on stage with him, we've seen Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Chris Jagger (Mick's brother!) and a host of Jools Hollands big band players but even if he is on his own it will be an entertaining and sweaty night. If I'm fit enough there is a freestyle jive night at the Guildhall in WInchester on Saturday, but I suspect I'll be needing a lie down by then, especially as I've got about £250 worth of taps and fittings to plumb into the nursery on Saturday too.
Availability highlights
Autumn evergreen coloured foliage seems to be a popular theme among the remaining stock in flower, We have fab looking Ajuga in an attractive range along with the lovely Euphorbia's. Winter interest lines in evergreens bowls along too, with a few Hellebores in stock and the Bergenia's coming back on line. Coreopsis Sunkiss and Illico are showing great colour. A bright show with more flower to come.
Classic summer flowering Montbretia (Crocosmia) still showing good bud and colour. Just Carmine Brilliant and Babylon left. Yet another fresh batch of Erigeron Stallone is coming into colour, it just goes on and on. Pale yellow Leucanthemum's Banana Creme are looking stunning, very strong, lots of bud and showing good colour. The next 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, but they are showing off nicely.
We have a few varieties of Phlox in bud and flower after a late haircut, looking fresh, full of promise and not too tall. The Soft Pink and Violet White are showing the best colour. The short orange Geum varieties Koi and Cooky are coming up with another batch of bud and flower.
Autumn must be on its way with a Sedum Autumn Joy in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still making a great show. The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. Rhodanthemum Casablanca are showing well with bushy grey foliage and lots of bud and flower on show. We have another flower flush on the ever popular Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. It just keeps on going. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are on the way. A few flowers showing but not quite enough to highlight it on the list.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
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