Hairy plumbing

Hi

Looks like a mini heat wave is on the way for Sunday and Monday and then back to more manageable temperatures from then on. Hoping this great growing weather continues as our potting schedule is struggling to keep up with the plan and we could do with all the help we can get. I'm not worried about the plants we pot over the next three weeks or so but as we move towards the end of the month and into September growth rates crash for most plants and we will need a bit of luck to see them through the winter and whatever that throws at us. We are moving small modules into bigger ones to keep them moving so that should give us another couple of weeks grace.

Sales have been bowling along which does help make it all work out economically, but summer holidays and several other unplanned absences have added to the workload and with only just over one day working at the potting machine we didn't catch up much this week. Must try harder.

I had a great weekend with a family get together here, with all the older generations having a jolly good time. Conversations zipped along as we animatedly discussed various soft furnishing options and distant memories triggered by thumbing through old holiday snaps. Oh to be a fly on the wall I hear you thinking!

Sunday morning brought the need for a project to keep everyone occupied before yet another meal pitched up, so it was down to the nursery to glue together the complicated pipe-work associated with a pressurised sand filter I bought a couple of months ago. With two water engineers in the group there were plenty of chiefs to advise on the best way forward which, of course, included adapting/improving the master plan provided with the filter. What could go wrong? We did run out of parts due to the design improvement, but the bulk of the job was completed and I now also understand how it works, so that was two big steps forward for me. Just need to clear the ground near the sump pump, cut the main delivery pipe and plumb it in. That should give us super clean water rather than the muddy soup we currently collect and the system will be fully operational. We replaced the main leaking underground pipe connector we found last week with a special repair joint which worked perfectly without having to uncover too much pipe. It's all quite exciting if you don't get out much.

Availability list.

Lovely compact and well branched batch of Verbena Lollipop now available. Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are just about ready with the some bud and flower already on show. Lots more growth and flower to come.

Tiarella wherrii are back on the list and in flower again, and the premium variety Pink Skyrocket are also ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud. Lovely foliage plants on show with Ajuga, and Euphorbia displaying nicely. The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after most of the new early Alpha range has all but sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display.

Anemone japonica back on the list as summer slips by. Some Bergenia varieties have a late flower flush as is the case with Fire and Ice with its white flowers and red stems. Fresh batches of Scabiosa in bud, green and bushy with masses of bud on the way. Fresh batches of the summer and autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are coming into bud.

Exotic Oxalis Iron Cross in flower now. Summer flowering Crocosmia are now throwing up bud and flower, Summer colour is there with the Gaura range doing it's thing. Just a couple of varieties left The really good bi-coloured Rosy Jane and lovely white Whirling Butterflies, New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and showing good colour and bud.

Salvia's of all sorts are now growing strongly. The hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple are in bud and flower. Excellent bushy stock. Armeria Dreameria series of long season flowering Armerias are still showing plenty of colour with loads more to come. No white this year but a series of three pretty different pinks making a delightful show. The more standard classic Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima) are also in flower and bud but with a shorter flowering period.

Leucanthemum La Creme and La Grande are in strong bud now with flowers open on many. The Balloon Flower Platycodon Twinkle Blue and Twinkle White are now well into bud with the odd flash of colour, So many other lines doing their thing at the moment, Penstemon, Astilbe, Achillea don't hold back make the most of them while they are here.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.