Hairy gossip

Hi. 

What a treat to see so much sunshine, it has been glorious down here. Way too much flesh has been tempted into the fresh air, along with a few regrets when some mornings turned out to be a bit nippier than anticipated! I had forgotten what dry roads looked like, along with the added benefit that we can now see all the potholes so much more easily.  Sales this week jumped reassuringly as gardeners made a reappearance in the plant sales areas, I suspect there may be a lot of pent-up plant purchasing out there, let’s hope it spills out and hangs around for many weeks to come.  We’ve had a few of our seasonal staff returning this week which always adds some exciting social interactions, with everyone catching up on all the latest nursery developments and gossip. We were actually busy enough to have all 5 vans out on Thursday, quite an achievement when at the beginning of the week we only had two drivers and three vans operational. A few minor servicing and repair jobs were completed on the vehicles and drivers, and, touch wood, we are ready to go full steam next week. 

Plenty of potting already underway with the first young plants in modules finding their way into some lovely fresh peat-free compost. The first 80 cubic meter load arrived from the factory in Holland late on Sunday evening and unloaded ready for potting machine loading first thing on Monday. We never know quite when they are going to deliver, we generally get a call from the driver as he is either getting on or off the ferry which gives us a few hours to get ready. I know we could tell him to park-up somewhere and wait until Monday morning but then he would be in the way when everyone is buzzing around picking up the orders, so much better to get him sorted and out of the way. It keeps the driver happy and his tacho hours manageable and efficient, which hopefully will keep costs down for us in the future. 

Having said that it is bound to go up if fuel costs are messed up by the troubles in the Middle East, best not think about that. I am still itching to invest in an electric delivery van and the news looks promising. There are now very strong indications that this summer the rules will be relaxed around van weights and driving rules for EV delivery vans. You can already drive a van up to 4.25t with a standard driving license, if it is electric, but it still needs a speed limiter, tacho (which restricts driving times) and tighter MOT restrictions. A slightly higher weight allowance compensates for the extra battery weight and allows us to still carry an economic payload. Fingers crossed it all goes through parliament ok, but I’m not counting my chickens just yet.  

Summary of the improvements to shelf life for 2026 

We are introducing three changes this season in how we prepare our plants for delivery to our lovely retailers. We know some sites struggle to maintain the quality of our plants once they arrive on the retail plant sales areas. To help provide a longer lasting 'looking good' shelf life we are going to be doing the following: 

1/ Adding a reusable, recycled wool capillary mat in the bottom of each tray which will hold onto extra water for the plants to take up. These are expensive and will need to be returned for reuse with the boxes. 

2/ Adding extra wetting agent at despatch to allow the compost to hold onto more water and rewet more easily if dry. 

3/ Adding a dose of organic slow-release feed as a top dressing to compensate for any leaching of nutrients. Do your 2026 retail prices need changing? If you are still to get started on this year’s hairy pot sales don’t forget to have a think about your retail prices and let us know if you want to adjust them. 

Availability list. 

The warmth in the air and now some sunshine, is pushing on the early plant growth. It must be spring, the Dicentra spectabilis have shot out of the ground, both colours instantly showing flower buds. Another herald of springtime is Brunnera. both the green leaved and variegated varieties have early flower bud among the freshly emerging foliage. Polemonium Heaven Scent are looking great, bushy bronzed bushy foliage with tight bud just appearing. We have a big batch of the delightful Snakes Head Lily (Fritillaria) just beginning to do its spring thing. Buds from the off. The early spring bulbs are showing well with most of the Narcissus now in bud and colour, Don’t hang about, not a lot left. The deep blue Scilla sibirica are showing bud and a good colour and Muscari Blue Magic are now up and in tight bud. Two of the Ipheion have their first buds appearing. Ground hugging foliage and short flower stems they are simply lovely. Pulmonaria varieties are in bud and starting to show colour. Most Erysimum varieties are already showing bud and the odd flash of colour, they stood up to the last frosts very well so should be plenty tough enough for outside life despite it still only being early March. Wild primrose (P. vulgaris) and Cowslip (P.veris) think it’s springtime with expanding foliage, bud and a touch of colour. The first thing the Pulsatilla does in the spring is throw up their first flower buds, even before the leaves come. A few of the winter flowering Helleborus have colour or bud showing. Cyclamen coum Silver-leaved are flowering and will flower from November through to March and April.  

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.