Hairy picnics

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick one as I'm pushed for time with all the pre-Christmas stuff going on. Lights are up in despatch and on the coffee shack, all looking very festive. Lashed out on some new light strings which have three colours in each LED bulb head. All programmable with infinite colour variations and patterns on the Wifi controls, very jolly and bright enough to see in daylight as well as at night. The usual Christmas pub lunch is off, so we have been organising something a bit different. We are still all having socially spaced breaks under the all the new little heaters in dispatch, so we have ordered fancy individual picnic boxes and mugs of hot soup for everyone. It's all coming from a local events catering company who are having to do a lot of thinking outside the picnic box to keep busy. We have quite a few long card tubes knocking about the nursery so we are working on a design for some 4ft crackers, so we can all really get in the mood on the day.

Meanwhile my nursery investment excitement continues, with the delivery of our first clicker press last week and a new computer coming on Monday. The new loo development took a major step forwards this week with the old unit being craned off site onto the back of a lorry. There were a few tense hours with everyone holding on until the arrival of the temporary block, especially as it was three hours late arriving! It ended up being unloaded in the dark and plumbed into all the necessary drains, water and power. Wrestling with refitting soil pipes and altering trenches in the drizzle under torchlight was not my favourite way to spend a winter evening, but luckily it all went fairly smoothly and normal services were soon returned. Hopefully the weather next week will be reasonably dry as we have to prepare the old site for the arrival of the new unit. Needless to say all the services and concrete foundation pads are in different positions, but is shouldn't take too long. The new unit arrives the following week and we will then be flush with available Covid safe facilities.

I hope all your Christmas sales are going well and your plans for the festive break are coming together. Ours programme has now gone so quiet I'm lining up some printing plate making and printing to occupy me, in an effort to get me off the sofa. I suspect the lure of the wood-burner, an entire turkey to eat by myself and all the mince pies might keep me on my back a bit more than I imagine, but it's always nice to feel I could be productive if I put my mind to it.

We are all getting quite excited about the plant selling prospects for 2021. Demand looks like it is going to be strong from an expanded consumer market, the centres hopefully will be open all season, UK plant suppliers are super popular at the moment and environmental awareness is still growing. We are expanding production to try and cope but like so many others it is all still a bit of a guessing game. We are so lucky to be in this position when so many other industries are still struggling, but at least if we do well we can create more work and jobs for others which must help.

Availability list highlights

A nice range of Helleborous are now on the list, ready to plant out now for a flower show this winter. We have sold out of a couple of lines already but still have some great niger and orientalis on the list, with plenty of bud and the odd open flower showing on the niger Avent Star. We have the longer flowering little Cyclamen coum available now as well. Only a few ready at the moment but they will flower all winter and into the spring. Only available this year in a mixed colour range and only in limited numbers.

Ajuga's are still looking nice, bold fresh foliage. We have a good range of the evergreen Bergenia's in stock. Watch out for the more unusual Dumbo which as it matures produces really big fleshy and rather hairy leaves, but this is a actually deciduous variety. The ever popular  Erigeron Stallone still has some bud on show and the odd open flower. They will often still be in colour at Christmas. Attractive foliage colour on our range of Heuchera. Young and fresh. Those were the days. 

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries