Hairy trepidation

Morning all

Bit tense here about the predicted record temperatures for early next week. It has been tough enough this week keeping everyone healthy, cool and hydrated but mid to high 30's is scary. I'm hopeless in the heat which doesn't help. We do have air-con in the micro-prop lab to control temperatures in the growth room and work area, so that should be fine, but the rest of us are going to have to adapt things to cope. A combination of early starting, time off, working in only shaded and fanned areas will hopefully see some work safely done before we give up and hide in a darkened room. Fingers crossed they might have overhyped the forecast, plus it also is due to cool dramatically on Wednesday, so I'm trying not to panic unduly.

We have had a little extra help this week with a very good work experience young chap called Max from a local school, who has impressed us all with his application, work and communication. It is a shame he has picked the hottest two weeks of the summer to work on a nursery full of polytunnels, but it has worked out very well. We also started a new lady from Ukraine in the lab on a part time basis while she and her family settle into the UK. We luckily had a relative of hers to help on day one with translation, so things got off to  a very positive start. She is massively overqualified to be working for us, but until she gets the language skills up together and moves on, we get the benefit of her efforts. Hearing a little of the recent family background makes our own worries appear rather trivial, but I'm glad to say they appear to be looking at things with a surprisingly positive and bright approach.

This last couple of weeks I have been harvesting Erigeron seed from my little collection of stock plants in the end of one tunnel. This weather has been perfect for ripening the tiny flower heads although they can be a challenge to pick. I can understand now why they charge £100 per gram for this one. They flower continually from one end of the season to the other and the seed heads mature in a similar way with the added 'pear characteristic', one minute they are not ready and the next they've gone past it. The tiny fluffy seed-heads are not only tricky to spot among the flowers but and as you approach them the slightest touch on another stem flicks the whole lot on the floor before I can get finger and thumb to them. It's a good job we are not retail as the language can get a bit colourful. I developed a trick earlier in the year of standing a couple of pots on top of some seed trays so that they sowed themselves directly into the tray. After a bit of rearranging of the deposited seed I left them to germinate. This worked brilliantly for producing plants for late summer and overwintering, but I now need dry seed to sow in the spring, hence the twice daily trip to the stock plants for a bit of swearing.

Availability list highlights

With the predicted heat wave early next week, we are very likely to delay most deliveries until later in the week, for the wellbeing of staff, plants and drivers. Hope this will work out ok.

Plenty of lovely looking stock, don't hold back, get some bud and colour on those benches if it's not too hot!

Erigeron karvenskianus Stallone are back on the list, plenty of bud and flower again and raring to go. Gaura looking fab with lots of buds, as have the Rhodanthemum, both good selling summer favourites. Blue flowered and compact Platycodon are ready to roll. Not got many yet but more to follow.

First summer buds of Crocosmia are just poking through the leaves. Close to colour now and looking good. Time flies and already we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come.

Last batch of Nemesia Wisey Vanilla is ready to go, with bud, colour and best of all that strong vanilla scent. Just a few left. Ever popular summer flowering perennial Salvias are doing their thing,

Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, lots of bud and well scented once the flowers open. Large white daisy flowers of our Leucathemum range are ready to shine. All are compact varieties. Summer flowering hardy Fuchsia looking good with buds on show for most. The tiny white flowered Hawkshead is always popular as are the garden favourite Tom Thumb.

Plenty of bud to come on the little alpine Lewisia, already showing colour in attractive mixed pastel shades. Nice short plants of Achillea Moonshine in bud and looking strong. The compact Milly Rock range has recovered from a nursery hair cut with a fresh flush of compact leaves and buds.

Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in flower with lots to follow. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible,

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hot and Hairy

Morning all,

Back to the punishing hot weather again, who would work on a nursery in this sort of weather? Looks like it might be set in for quite a few days so no point fretting about it really, it is what it is. The rest of the farming side of the family will be pleased, as harvest is about to kick off and moisture levels in the grain look pretty perfect at the moment. The last thing they will be wanting to do this year is burning up any fuel drying the crops before storage,

We had another hectic week getting the orders out, tunnel clearing and potting next spring's crops. All the usual challenges with holidays and illness knocking out nearly a quarter of the team over the week and the newest Fiat van still at the garage awaiting parts from Italy. It is all under warranty which is ok on the cost side, but we have been without it now since the beginning of June and the main part not due for arrival until late next week. In theory we could have hired a van, with all the usual headaches of how to get the trolleys on board securely and the very low payloads, but our decision to keep the old van instead of trading it in worked out well.

As production turns its focus to next season and we start refilling the tunnels again, doubts pop up about how much do we pot? How much is the cost of living crisis going to affect sales in the coming year. All those gains made by the gardening industry during covid could be lost by a lack of consumer cash. We are continuing to be fairly bold in our own outlook while hopefully not getting too carried away. I have been sowing loads of herb seed this week for some of the overwintered crops. It's something I often leave a bit tight, only just leaving enough time to achieve the ideal crop growth before the days get to short for productive growing. Even just a week can make such a difference, one gained in July is worth about 3 in October, so I'm making an extra effort to get them in early this year. Part of the problem is that the summer is much longer in my head than it is in reality, I always think I have plenty of time and consequently get caught out.

My mental activity is definitely suffering at the moment, a combination of great age and being a bit overtired has led to some very frustrating behaviour while tending my seed sowing. I had to bend over to insert some labels in a row of trays and my glasses kept slipping off. Sensibly I removed them and put them down, not on the bed or trolley path where I may tread on them, but on the paths raised lip, out of harm's way. Within 30 seconds I had stood on the path edge straight onto the glasses, I chose a few choice phrases and soldiered on. Live and learn. Apparently not, within another minute I pulled the trolley along catching and running over the doomed specs, I couldn't believe it, who could possibly work with this idiot? 

Availability list highlights

Plenty of lovely looking stock, don't hold back, get some bud and colour on those benches. Erigeron karvenskianus Stallone are back on the list, plenty of bud again and raring to go. Gaura looking fab with lots of buds, as have the Rhodanthemum, both good selling summer favourites.

First summer buds of Crocosmia are just poking through the leaves. A couple of weeks away from colour yet but looking good. Time flies and already we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come.

Last batch of Nemesia Wisey Vanilla is ready to go, with bud, colour and best of all that strong vanilla scent. Ever popular summer flowering perennial Salvias are doing their thing, The Lips series are growing in popularity and are lovely and bushy. Then all the ever popular nemerosa types are great too. Bud and colour on show for most.

Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, lots of bud and well scented once the flowers open. Large white daisy flowers of our Leucathemum range are ready to shine. All are compact varieties. Summer flowering hardy Fuchsia looking good with buds on show for most. The tiny white flowered Hawkshead is always popular as are the garden favourite Mrs Popple.

Plenty of bud to come on the little alpine Lewisia, already showing colour in attractive mixed pastel shades. Nice short plants of Achillea Moonshine and Terracotta in bud and looking strong. The compact Milly Rock range has recovered from a nursery hair cut with a fresh flush of leaves and buds.

Batches of the Dreameria series of Armeria are bulking up on flower numbers. Selected for their very long flowering period and large flower size they promise to be a great new garden addition. Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in flower with lots of follow on bud. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible, Penstemons are coming online now with buds now showing on the Garnet. Fresh batches again of Digitalis and Delphinium but catch them quick before they get too big.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy production

Morning all,

Back to a better time this week with slightly fewer distractions than the previous couple of weeks. Still so busy there are few moments to spare. As soon as sales dip even if only slightly, we are desperate to get space cleared and the potting machine going again. The backlog of young plants at this time of year adds quite a lot of pressure to the workload, we know that the quicker we get things potted the fewer losses we get and the bigger the plants are when we get to the winter. As each week goes by the more young plants arrive and it will be like this for several more weeks to come. Quite a few of the smallest plants we will pop into our big plug trays, to keep them growing and produce a bigger stronger plant by the time they are potted later on, which does spread the load a bit. I'm glad to say that we appear not to have overdone the production numbers as badly as we did last year (I hesitate to admit that should read 'I' and not 'we'). This time last summer we ended up giving away a large number of plants to the local surgeries, vaccination centres and hospitals, which was amvery positive thing to be involved in, but it didn't do the nursery business or productivity many favours, other than clearing some space without getting too depressed. We won't know for a few weeks yet how much I may have overdone things this time, but it looks ok at the moment, we are able clear tunnels as we go through each week, just about keeping ahead of the potting team. We are as usual fairly dependant on the weather and how the consumers are feeling in these economically challenging times. Hopefully a small occasional treat of a plant for the garden will keep things positive for those who can still afford it. Historically smaller plant sales have usually faired very well in times of recession so I am not too downhearted at the situation, we just need to be very careful on our purchasing and cost control.

Had a bit of a shock (electric!) this week when I found out that my brother in law is getting nearly double the rate paid for his exported electricity than we are and to rub salt into the wound he is with the same energy company as us. I phoned the company up to find why this might be and it turned out that it was because he was solar powered and we are wind. The low wind speeds last year (and this one) have meant they have had to buy-in expensive power to cover their shortfall and so they are not paying the wind generators as much, in order to rebalance the books. While I understand the idea, it doesn't seem quite right that our electricity is worth less than 9p/unit when the wholesale rate is well over 20p and the solar customers are being paid over 15p. He was a bit embarrassed by the company strategy and reckoned it would come back up in a year or two but now we have to make a decision as to whether we wait or jump ship for a better offer.

Night off tonight and being taken out to the pub for a meal and just remembered I still haven't replenished the trouser department. It's either the Rupert bear look again or DJ. I know DJ might seem over the top but I can remember, not so long ago, going to Zizzi's in full DJ kit on my way to a ball at the Guildhall. My nephew gave me a lift into town and I repaid him by buying his supper. He joined in the spirit by wearing his DJ too, we caused quite a stir!

Availability list highlights

Plenty of lovely looking stock, don't hold back, get some bud and colour on those benches. Erigeron karvenskianus Stallone are back on the list, plenty of bud again and raring to go. First summer buds of Crocosmia are just poking through the leaves. A couple of weeks away from colour yet but looking good. Time flies and already we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come.

Ever popular summer flowering perennial Salvias are doing their thing, The Lips series are growing in popularity and are lovely and bushy. Then all the ever popular nemerosa types are great too. Bud and colour on show for most. Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, lots of bud and well scented once the flowers open.

Large white daisy flowers of our Leucathemum range are ready to shine. All are compact varieties. Summer flowering hardy Fuchsia looking good with buds on show for most. The tiny white flowered Hawkshead is always popular as are the garden favourite Mrs Popple. Nice short plants of Achillea Moonshine and Terracotta in bud and looking strong. Batches of the Dreameria series of Armeria are bulking up on flower numbers. Selected for their very long flowering period and large flower size they promise to be a great new garden addition.

Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in flower with lots of follow on bud. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible, Gaura looking fab with lots of buds, as have the Rhodanthemum, both good selling summer favourites. Penstemons are coming online now with buds now showing on the Garnet. Fresh batches again of Digitalis and Delphinium but catch them quick before they get too big.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy Entertaining

Morning all,

Sorry, another slightly late list. We had a surprisingly busy week on the sales front and it put us behind on everything else especially with some holidays and several off sick. We had the added excitement this week of a few tours to cope with. One on Tuesday with a group from the local farmers club, a student group visit from Sparsholt College followed by 6 trailer loads from the county farmers group in 3 batches on Friday. It was a chaotic day while trying to juggle potting and tunnel clearing at the same time. Didn't finish the last presentation until gone 20.00 and then we had to socialise at the post tour barbeque back at the farm. With nearly 200 people it turned into a late night.

Now I'm taking a quick break from the potting team to get this away before it gets too late, but I need to get back in there so Caroline can get on with her micro-prop orders that are going out first thing on Monday. There was a time many years ago when our season would be over by now and we could think about a day or two of but no more. The cash-flow benefits as does our fitness which is great, but it would be nice to have a sit down and enjoy the sunshine,

Thankfully it looks like the season overall will be ok, despite the scary cost rises, it's been steady on the sales front which after the previous couple of years is quite a relief and I don't think I've over egged the potting during the spring so no plant give-aways this year! We had our quarterly NBIS meeting last week and it looks like tings are settling back to more pre- covid patterns for most nurseries but those cost and wage increases are going to have an impact on next year's prices, so be warned there is virtually no room any more to absorb these increases, they are just too big. We are going to stick to this year's prices as usual, until January, and we will do our best to keep the increase then, to as little as possible. We only increased this year by about 7% which was pretty modest in the circumstances and when compared to other nurseries price increases. I am ever hopeful that some costs will fall back again in time, but there doesn't look like much hope of that in the short term.

Must go, Caroline is calling for assistance on the radio and I've spent too long doing what I said was a ten minute job!

Availability list highlights

As sales step back from manic levels and spring really gets warmed up we are gaining ground on having a bit more in bud and flower, plus the herbs are becoming more available too.

Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, lots of bud and well scented once the flowers open. Most of the Echinacea are running up their first flower stems with bud showing. Only a little way off showing colour but definite signs of action. Run out of some varieties now but purples of tall Magnus and Purple Splendour are still there.

Large white daisy flowers of our Leucathemum range are ready to shine. All are compact varieties. Summer flowering hardy Fuchsia looking good with buds on show for most. The tiny white flowered Hawkshead is always popular as are the garden favourite Mrs Popple.

Fresh batches of the Dreameria series of Armeria are bulking up on flower numbers. Selected for their very long flowering period and large flower size they promise to be a great new garden addition. Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in flower with lots of follow on bud. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible, Gaura are producing buds now as are the Rhodanthemum both good selling summer favourites.

Penstemons are coming online now with buds now showing on the Garnet. Short buds are appearing on many of the Lupin varieties. They will romp away and produce another flush later when cut back. Fresh batches again of Digitalis and Delphinium but catch them quick before they get too big.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy heat

Morning all,

Apologies for the slightly late arrive of this week's update, but yesterdays heat and events resulted in a failure on my part to update the lists. It was a hectic week as usual, a slightly quieter week on the sales front but still busy, lots of tunnel clearing and potting and introducing three staff onto the team. We had our biggest module delivery of the summer, mostly stock for 2023 but it still needs dealing with and getting into a pot asap if we can squeeze them in somewhere. A sleepless night after their delivery as I had a bit of a panic that I might have over done on the volumes but on reflection I'm sure it will be fine, I can always adjust numbers for next time!

Hoping that the introduction of some new helpers will take off some of the pressure this summer, one full timer, one part and one returning summer casual. All seemed to settle in ok although it was a bit of a scorcher of a week to start them on, fingers crossed they return next week as we are going to need them for all the holiday cover coming up.

Next week may be a bit of a challenge on the delivery front, Phil our big van driver is away for a week as is his van for servicing and check-ups. On top of this our 1 year old Fiat is still in the garage having it's gearbox repaired. It's been away for at least two weeks already and although they have some of the necessary parts in stock, delivery of one part won't be until June 29th and the last part they can't even get a delivery date on. All reliant on Fiat supplies from Europe. It was suggested by the garage (a commercial Fiat franchise/dealer) that we contact Fiat directly ourselves to try and get it rushed over quicker, but the help line won't answer and the email sent hasn't been replied to yet. On top of this, how come it is our job to chase up spares? We are trying to produce, sell plants and save the planet, so don't have time to chase van parts!

So we are down to 2 vans this week but we can use Bleach of Lavant as back up for some trips and we may have to bite the bullet and hire something. I'm never keen hiring a van as they never fit the trolleys and payloads are usually very poor, but if needs must.

Other than the blistering heat yesterday and running short of potting compost I managed to put my back into spasm while shovelling up the last of the compost. Too much trying to help out! It's the first time it's been this bad since before covid and a bit of a shock. I added insult to injury while trying to rescue my back situation. I retired to the house for a big dose of painkillers and anti inflammatories followed by a spasm-breaking lie down on top of a carefully positioned tennis ball. In my effort to relax my back muscles into the ball I thought a little relaxing music might help so fished out the phone to find something suitable. My grip was compromised in the situation and I managed to drop it, which would normally be ok, but being on my back looking up at it at that moment it resulted in a direct facial hit with the corner of a surprisingly heavy device! Still sore but luckily no black eye to have to try and explain away.

Availability list highlights

As sales step back from manic levels and spring really gets warmed up we are gaining ground on having a bit more in bud and flower, plus the herbs are becoming more available too. 

The hardy Gerbera Garvinea series are back this year and in bud or flower already. They are very vigorous so could out grow the pots quite quickly so just a short sales window for us on this one. Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, lots of bud and well scented once the flowers open.

Most of the Echinacea are running up their first flower stems with bud showing. Only a little way off showing colour but definite signs of action. Run out of some varieties now but the ever popular purples of Magnus and Purple Splendour are still there. Large white daisy flowers of our Leucathemum range are ready to shine. All are compact varieties.

Summer flowering hardy Fuchsia looking good with buds on show for most. The tiny white flowered Hawkshead is always popular as are the garden favourite Mrs Popple. Fresh batches of the Dreameria series of Armeria are bulking up on flower numbers. Selected for their very long flowering period and large flower size they promise to be a great new garden addition.

Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in flower with lots of follow on bud. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible, Gaura are producing buds now as are the Rhodanthemum both good selling summer favourites.

Penstemons are coming online now with buds now showing on the Garnet. Short buds are appearing on many of the Lupin varieties. They will romp away and produce another flush later when cut back. Fresh batches again of Digitalis and Delphinium but catch them quick before they get too big.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy juggling

Morning all,

A full working week was a welcome occasion, well for me anyway. I would like to say we have done a lot of catching up, but now the holiday season is kicking in and not everyone made it in. Hey ho.

Sales continue to bowl along, which is just as well as we still have a good dollop of plants growing away out there. The season is certainly sliding by as stocks of young plants and propagation material are already being delivered to the nursery for next year's sales. I can easily get a bit overcome by the continuous needs to juggle the ongoing current sales, trying to clear up after those sales and preparing crops for the next season, it is quite a challenge and there are never quite enough people to get it all done at the perfect moment. After doing this thing for 38 years I always try to remind myself that we will get there in the end, even if we can't actually stop on the production front until October. At that point I can relax, well I say relax, perhaps it's just a change (as good as a rest) as we move into a period of very little income! Can't have everything. Three new folk starting next week, one full time and the other casual or part time. All very exciting and hopefully productive. Still probably need more but let's see how it goes. With the costs going the way they are we are still trying to add to labour efficiencies to try and compensate a bit, but it always seems that to do something better and in a timely manner we need more labour not less. The idea is that the changes to practices and techniques now, will save us time further down the road, it's always jam tomorrow!

Hope you all enjoyed your jubilee festivities last weekend, even if like us you spent most of it at work! Although we didn't do a lot, a family BBQ and a fab alfresco lunch with friends, it was all jolly and very positive, a pleasant change to all the rubbish that has happened over the last couple of years. Loved the Queen and Paddington skit and great to see so many people out on the streets having a good time. Played 'God Save The Queen' quite a bit (Pistols version) just to keep my feet on the ground and moaned a bit about the establishment 'concert' line up, but overall a fun time.

Availability list highlights

As sales step back from manic levels and spring really gets warmed up we are gaining ground on having a bit more in bud and flower, plus the herbs are becoming more available too.

The hardy Gerbera Garvinea series are back this year and in bud or flower already. I don't have a large number in stock as they are so expensive we have to sell almost every one to break even, so we can't afford any wastage. They are very vigorous so could out grow the pots quite quickly so just a short sales window for us on this one.

Large white daisy flowers of our Leucathemum range are ready to shine. All are compact varieties with their own flower variation. Papery blue flowers of Catananche aren't far away with flower shoots in evidence. Summer flowering hardy Fuchsia looking good with buds on show for most. The tiny white flowered Hawkshead is always popular as are the garden favourite Mrs Popple.

Fresh batches of the Dreameria series of Armeria are bulking up on flower numbers nicely. Selected for their very long flowering period and large flower size they promise to be a great new garden addition. Feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is supporting plenty of tight bud, Nice and short. Only a few left.

Most of the Echinacea are running up their first flower stems with bud showing. Only a little way off showing colour but definite signs of action. Run out of some varieties now but the ever popular purples of Magnus and Purple Splendour are still there. Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, lots of bud and well scented once the flowers open.

Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in flower with lots of follow on bud. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible, Gaura are producing buds now as are the Rhodanthemum both good selling summer favourites. Penstemons are coming online too although flower may be a little way off yet.

We have nice fresh batches of the near black flowered Viola Molly Sanderson, plus the Irish Molly flowers are looking good. The next batch of Scabious are now back in bud. More to follow. Helenium Salud Embers are strong, short and budding well. Proved the most popular strain last year with its mottled yellow and orange/red petals and compact habit. The yellow form are not too far behind with the odd bud on show.

Short buds are appearing on many of the Lupin varieties. They will romp away and produce another flush later when cut back. Fresh batches again of Digitalis and Delphinium but catch them quick before they get too big.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy Jubilation

Morning all, 

'Normal' service resumed today with a little bit of time today to gather my thoughts, random though they may be. A bizarre week with overall sales being healthy but all crammed into the early part of the week to try and accommodate the Thursday/Friday Jubilee break as much as we could. It was a manic three days when I made myself mildly unpopular by pulling all the micro-prop lab staff out on Monday to help out in despatch. It worked out ok, we did make a few deliveries on Thursday but managed to tie everything up before today (Friday), so our staff could take part in the celebrations or at least have a break. We had a reasonable turn out for work on Thursday so managed to get a bit of tunnel clearing and potting done and the Saturday crew are in again tomorrow for another go. Looking forward to next week when we get back to 5 days and back under some sort of normality.

We are having a catch up today, sorting out some irrigation stuff, weed spraying, accounts and a couple of customer collections so we don't get bored. Managed to fit in my 10,000 steps by 9.30 (carrying a knapsack) so pleased to get my gym work out of the way so early. One or the highlights on my walk round was disturbing a partridge and her chicks in one of the tunnels. Tiny bundles of fluff bobbing about, they must have only just hatched in the last day or two. There are young birds all over the place at the moment, wagtails, blackbirds, robins, blue tits, spotted woodpeckers, the bird feeders are being topped up twice a day to try and keep up.

No sign of the deer recently thankfully, but we are keeping our pest controller busy with a stubborn small population of rabbits intent on eating all the choicest plants! Luckily over the last year or so a lot of them have been dealt with otherwise we wouldn't have any plants left to sell. The local Red Kites now have us on their radar as they keep an eye open for any carcasses left out for them. What a sight they are as they glide over the nursery. It's difficult to believe that just a few years ago we never used to see them here.

We are managing a bit of socialising over the weekend with a couple of meals out with sympathetic family and friends. The end to my socialising due to severe trouser shortage has been put off after the discovery of an old but unworn pair in the bottom of the wardrobe. They are a bit 'Rupert Bear' in styling for my liking but they cover a multitude of sins and I can get in them which is the priority at the moment. Fashion and cool are fading in favour of practicality and comfort, yes I'm that old!

Availability list highlights

As sales step back from manic levels and spring really gets warmed up we are gaining ground on having a bit more in bud and flower, plus the herbs are becoming more available too. It will be another week before we see any Basils on the list but it shouldn't be long. We don't have the heated facilities to risk growing them any earlier.

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

Feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is supporting plenty of tight bud, Nice and short. Only a few left. Papery blue flowers of Catananche aren't far away with flower shoots in evidence.

Most of the Echinacea are running up their first flower stems with bud showing. Only a little way off showing colour but definite signs of action. Run out of some varieties now but the ever popular purples of Magnus and Purple Splendour are still there. Fresh crops of Dianthus in a good range of colours, bushy, in bud and well scented when the flowers open.

Not a huge number left but the Liatris spicata are showing bud now if you are quick. Last few now.

Summer must be on its way with the appearance of the Oxalis. Both forms are now in bud and showing the odd flash of colour. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible. Penstemons are coming online too although flower may be a little way off yet.

We have nice fresh batches of the near black flowered Viola Molly Sanderson and the metallic sheen of Irish Molly flowers are looking good. The very summery sunshine yellow Viola Etain is in flower now too. The next batch of Scabious are now back in bud. More to come.

Helenium Salud Embers are strong, short and budding well. Proved the most popular strain last year with it's mottled yellow and orange/red petals and compact habit. Short buds are appearing on many of the Lupin varieties. They will romp away and produce another flush later when cut back.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries