Hairy Thank You

Morning All,

Getting a bit warm now, ready for a mini heat-wave. I am tempted to complain about it as it is my least favourite weather pattern, especially when on the nursery, and I can't remember being anywhere else, but with all that torrential rain in Europe causing such havoc a little bit of heat is suddenly more bearable. Yet another extreme weather event signposting challenging times ahead. After all the upheaval with covid I'm too knackered to even try an 'I told you so'. To be honest I'm too scared we've missed the boat already, which doesn't do a lot for my own motivation to keep up any momentum for change. I might need a day off to recover my enthusiasm!

Plant sales are still rolling along, but my enthusiasm for potting earlier on in the season has led to a few excesses which are now a bit of a headache to manage, incurring extra costs with cutting back and spacing etc, Potting has just about stopped until we are able to clear some decent usable space which hopefully won't be too long away. We always have a few odds and ends unsold and the local fetes and plant sales usually soak them up, but with quite a lot cancelled this year and my over excitement on production output I have had to get a bit more creative so as not to let too much go to waste.

We started this week on a plant 'thank you' gift distribution project to the local surgeries and vaccination centres, A little collection of flowering lovelies for each surgery staff member or volunteer as a thank you for all their dedication over these traumatic months. It has gone down really well, both with the NHS recipients and our team who put in the hours to grow them. A nice positive outcome from potential waste certainly helps soften the blow for us and gives us a chance to show our appreciation at a local level to those who have helped us through this madness.

Good news on the personal health front in that I am walking upright again and able to dress myself like a real person. A combination of pills, stretches and lying on a strategically placed tennis ball got me there in the end. I suspect Caroline would have liked to have placed the tennis ball elsewhere, especially when I was still asking to be dressed when I actually could manage it myself. Sometimes it's nice to feel looked after!

Availability list highlights

Nice range of the scented Phlox Sweet Summer series just coming into bud, Multiple stemmed and looking good. Lavender Spear Blue, very bushy with loads of bud and the odd flash of colour, just perfect for those smelly lavender sales. New hardy Gerbera range in 4 lovely colours, just fab, real impulse plants and flower for ages. Limited numbers this year. Compact Achillea Milly Rock range has loads of bud, with colour Dainty Lewisia Elise in flower. Flowers all summer in a range of pastel colours.

Must be summer because the first of the Crocosmia are showing bud (Emberglow). The other colours will follow on quickly. Tiarella wherrii (Foam Flower) is in flower with its short spikes of tiny creamy blooms. The compact Monarda Balmy range are just beginning to show flashes of colour, strong bushy plants with loads of bud. A popular summer star are the Platycodon which are on the list again and both varieties already in bud.

Two Oxalis varieties up and flowering, Iron Cross with two tone leaves and red/pink flowers and triangularis with its deep purple foliage and contrasting pretty pale pink flowers. Both impressive. All the Hemerocallis varieties are producing flower stems and bud, now with the odd opening flower. Osteospermum Tresco Purple is still selling like hot cakes. We have several batches potted and flowers are opening.. Most of the Lobelia's are coming into bud, the odd flash of colour and attractive foliage to back them up.

Lots of bud and some colour on our ranges of compact Leaucanthemums, Salvia nemerosa and Coreopsis. Summer favourites the Gaura are all coming into bud and flowers opening on many, a nice range of colours bushy plants. Our Dianthus have been in bud a while now and the scented flowers are now opening. Only a few left.

Compact Campanula's (carpatica, Clockwise and posharskyana) are colouring up, about to show off their summer displays. Our two forms of Erodium have lots of tiny open flowers dotted over the plant surface with plenty of bud to follow. We have a nice batch of the stunning little black Viola Molly Sanderson in flower, compact and looking good. Still loads of bud on the Scabious range, which flower for such a long time, although numbers are quite tight.

We are trialling a range of patio Verbena this summer which are showing loads of colour, great if you want to make a colourful impact in your plant display, but numbers are limited as this was only a trial.Other colourful impact plants on trial this summer are stunning compact Helianthus (very dwarf Sunflower!) and the Helichrysum Nevada range with its impressive display of bright papery flowers. Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries