Hairy discovery

Morning!

Coming now into a run of  5 day weeks which will be a relief. I quite like the odd quiet day without the hassle of dealing with the challenges of a full on working day, but despite putting in the hours I can't get through the workload so a full working week will hopefully reduce some of the work backlog. I daren't list the things that need to be done, but we are certainly making more plans again for improvements for next season to try and reduce the peak workload.

I am going to keep this brief this week as I am already late for my dinner and it's pitch black out the office window so it must be getting on. Brief summary of the news. Found my keys after 4 or 5 days, I had dropped them in a tunnel pathway and despite walking up and down it several times I failed to spot them. Someone else kicked them which alerted them to their whereabouts as they must have been fairly well hidden. After a clean up to remove the rust already accumulating, I am mighty relieved to have them hanging on my belt again. The deer got a reprieve this week when our stalker failed to find them on site, which probably means they are just regular visitors rather than resident. They may escape punishment!

Next container of pots arrives next week, sadly the transport costs are still crazy although not quite at their earlier peak. Have a good week out there and please send us some rain.

Availability list highlights

After a long and hectic run we are quite short of stock in bud at the moment. Overall stock levels for the perennials are still ok, just short on flower action. The herb stock is still low for the coming week and is likely to be so for 2 or 3 more weeks as we end the overwintered batches of some stock and await the readiness of the new stock

Fresh batches of the Dreameria series of Armeria are coming on stream now. Selected for their very long flowering period and large flower size they promise to be a great new garden addition.

Some of the Echinacea are running up their first flower stems with the odd bud showing. A little way off showing colour but definite signs of action. Lovely crop of Aquilegia's at the moment in 5 colours. It won't be long before the flower stems appear.

We have fresh crops of Digitalis and Delphiniums on the list this week. Limited numbers of these popular and fast growing lines so don't hang back. Our annual crop of Hollyhocks (Alcea) are just about ready to go. Again a fast growing crop, so we limit numbers to prevent too much waste if the weather is against us, but always a popular line.

Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the first Oxalis. The purple leaved O. triangularis is up and running with even the odd bud already on show and the bicolour leaved Iron Cross will only be a week or two behind.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries