Kirton Hairy Flowering

Good morning all.

Very busy week again, partly down to the shortage of days. Luckily Caroline’s birthday celebrations went well despite a lack of a strategic plan from my end. A meal out with friends, music (and me), lots of cake, cards and presents hit the mark. Big thanks to all those who rescued me!

Not much room for news this week with so much stock coming on song, but just enough to report that the new perennial label designs for 2015 are coming along brilliantly. A new design of bamboo skewer is being discussed which will slot through the bespoke, specifically bar-coded, recycled plastic label, giving it much improved stick-in-ability. The design also uses less plastic and looks like being so flexible it will allow us to top up the range producing small quantities of matching home printed labels. Can’t wait. We should have a sample to show off at the National Plant Show in later in June.

Availability
Early colour and loads of bud on all of the bushy Salvia varieties this week, great pot full’s of colour. The shorter Sensation series all look brilliant, although not many of the white form left now. The dark stemmed Caradonna variety is very dramatic and becoming increasingly popular with trendy garden designers.
Strong, short, fresh stock of Digitalis Dalmation are just starting on flower production, ideal just now.
Fresh stock too of the Digitalis mertonensis, purpurea Sutton’s Apricot and p. Alba. Just ask if you would like them in flower. New Leucanthemum varieties to us (Lacrosse and Banana Creme) are showing their first signs of flowering, as are the pretty pale yellow Broadway Lights and white Snowcap.
A couple of new additions for this summer are a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are budding nicely now and a couple of new dahlia’s who’s dark foliage and bushy habit look great.
Achillea’s are just showing their first buds, including the new delightful compact Desert Eve series of which the pale yellow and terracotta are now showing first colour.
The traditional Dianthus, the garden pinks, are also in bud, the new ‘Scent First’ (SF) series are compact and as the name suggests fantastically scented with some lovely colour combinations. By far the most popular variety has been ‘Slap & Tickle’, way above ‘Romance’, ‘Candy Floss’ and ‘Coconut Sundae’. Is there a message there?
Catananche are coming into strong bud now, their delightful papery blue flowers just a moment away. We have a few of the white form as well this year which is also in bud.
Astilbe varieties are now in bud, looking fresh bushy and vigorous.
Coreopsis Sunfire, Sunray and Corey Yellow have plenty of bud nestling in fresh green foliage. The feathery foliage of Zagreb is also now supporting early buds.
The obedient plant, Physostegia Crystal Peak, is thick and green with bud appearing at the top.
The more unusual Oxalis triangularis are up and displaying their vibrant purple foliage with the first pink flower buds appearing, and now the red buds of Iron Cross are poking through its two tone foliage too.
Another unusual plant is Limonium (Sea Lavender) which, for the first time for us, is throwing up strong flower shoots above its rosettes of flat leaves.
Strong and dramatic are the tall flower spikes of the Thalictrum diptocarpum, an impressive show of early summer vigour.
The classic Alchemilla mollis are showing their first flowers of subtle yellow.
Still plenty of buds and the odd open flower appearing on the Centaurea dealbata, stonking plants ready to roll.
Erigeron Azure Beauty and Pink Jewel have their first buds appearing. The shorter Sea Breeze varieties are poised too, looking verdant with bonkers numbers of flower buds.
Hemerocallis varieties are just beginning to bud up as summer approaches.
New batches of fresh bushy Lupins are looking fabulous, Delphs and Hollyhocks (Alcea) also raring to go but won’t hang around long.
The stunning clear pink flowers of Geranium sang. Striatum are opening together with the striking white form.
Edibles
We are having a play with a couple of new strawberry lines to us, Toscana and Roman, both with strongly coloured red/pink flowers and long flowering and fruiting seasons. They are just starting to flower now and looking great.
Some of the pretty Thymes and Lavender are in starting to flower now and the Basils are getting going as temperatures rise.

Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries