Hairy refresher

 Morning all,

A bank holiday weekend coming up like no other I suspect.

We still have so much to get done before the autumn sets in for good, it's difficult to know what to do next. As sales slow up I am always hopeful that the jobs will fly by and we will tick off loads of stuff really quickly, but with cooler weather and talk of ground frosts not far away from us time is slipping by. It's dark when I wake up and dusky when I come in, which seems to have sneaked up on me really fast.

We had an educational week with three of us taking our refresher forklift training on Thursday. An all day session with practical and theory tests in the afternoon, the time flew by. I can't say I enjoy being tested anymore (if ever) especially as I now have the memory span of a gnat, and there were a few quite challenging questions which weren't common sense, they were straight memory recall. Anyway we all passing with (low) flying colours and are refreshed with a flush of righteousness in our updated fork-lifting techniques.

We are still waiting to hear at what level our nursery electric charges are going to be capped, we know it's coming but no idea at what rate. Hopefully it will be at a similar level to the domestic cap, which would still more than double our bill, but not quadruple it, which was on the cards a fortnight ago. Perhaps the caps will calm things down a bit on the inflation front and we can look forward with a bit more positivity, especially as we move into a new era.

We are rapidly approaching the end of the month and the end of our financial year, so stock sheets are being prepared for the big count. I'm pretty sure stock levels are up on last year, due to some earlier late summer potting and several early and large stock purchases chasing the best price deals. Plant sales usually do pretty well in troubled economic times, as people forgo big money purchases but still treat themselves to a little something for the garden or windowsill. Fingers crossed those plant sales are there in the coming spring as we have a lot of stock to get through.

It's been a good week for local wildlife spotting with hedgehogs up and about, Red Kites cruising over the nursery multiple times a day, Pied and Grey wagtails feeding in the tunnels, bats hunting along the hedges and big numbers of frogs, toads and newts being spotted in the tunnels despite the hot summer. But the highlight of the week was a massive flock of feeding house martins and swallows diving about over the house and nursery. There must have been way over 100 birds but impossible to count as they moved so fast, chaotically and over quite a big area. They hung about for an hour or two then headed off south. Hopefully one day they will return and breed here again. We used to get loads of house martin nests on the house and the odd swallow nest in the shed and barn but have had nether for two or three years now and we really miss them.

Wooden box returns

We are collecting up lots of our wooden boxes at the moment, so if you have some ready for collection, just drop me a line and I will add you to the list for a visit. It may take a week or three to get round to you as we will be trying to tie them in with deliveries at the same time, to keep those transport costs in check. Thanks.

Availability list highlights

Time flies and we have our dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud, showing flashes of colour. Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already. Erigeron Stallone is back in flower. For us it is often still showing colour at Christmas!

Cyclamen hederifolium are nearly gone already after bumper sales. An autumn flowering type just a few white ones left, Autumns flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud and colour.

We have a range of Helleborus in stock to stretch those Autumn sales. No flower yet but full of winter promise. Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great.

Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages. Gaura looking fab with lots of buds. Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants. Lovely coloured foliage on Ajuga's and Heuchera.

Take care out thrre,

from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy life

Morning all,

We are all in a slight state of shock after the sudden and sad news of the passing of the Queen, so I'm holding back on any flippant reporting of life on the nursery this week while everyone gets their heads round the resulting upheaval this is all going to cause. Hopefully we will be able to quickly focus on all the joyful and positive stuff that resulted from such a long and fulfilled life, rather than be too sad for too long. We are going to have to muster up some positive drive pretty quickly to see us through the next year or two, so perhaps a bit of rejoicing of a life well lived and looking forward with hope to a new era will help in the end.

Normal service should be resumed next week.

Wooden box returns

We are collecting up lots of our wooden boxes at the moment, so if you have some ready for collection, just drop me a line and I will add you to the list for a visit. It may take a week or three to get round to you as we will be trying to tie them in with deliveries at the same time, to keep those transport costs in check. Thanks.

Availability list highlights

Time flies and we have our dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud, showing flashes of colour. Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already. Erigeron Stallone is back in flower. For us it is often still showing colour at Christmas!

Cyclamen hederifolium are nearly gone already after bumper sales. An autumn flowering type both colours are looking good, Autumns flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud and colour. We have a range of Helleborus in stock to stretch those Autumn sales. No flower yet but full of winter promise.

Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great. Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages.Gaura looking fab with lots of buds. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy. Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants. Lovely coloured foliage on Ajuga's and Heuchera.

Take care out there,

from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy positivity

Morning,

Thankfully the grass is greening up again with a little bit of steady rain. No floods yet, but we are still desperate for more to get out of this drought situation. We have been trying to find some positive stuff to focus on to help alleviate all the rubbish in the news, so we have had another man in to take a look at our rain collection installation and the possibility of installing a few solar panels which would move us in a positive cost direction. We are doing some fresh sourcing of timber to try and keep our wooden box costs in check after huge rises over the past couple of years and I have signed up again with our pot makers with a schedule for next year's deliveries, which should give them the confidence to keep up their good work in these challenging times. We have our fingers crossed that container costs continue to fall over the next 12 months which should happen if world trade falters as expected (every cloud and all that). 

We are approaching the winter with a lot of lovely things tucked under our belts. We have good numbers of plants potted and growing away nicely after slightly earlier potting, we have nearly enough pots in stock already to cover all of next year's output (mission critical, they have very long lead times which can lead to nervous waits for any delayed deliveries), There's two years supply of bamboo skewers in the barn (bought in bulk to keep price from going too high) and good stock levels of wooden marketing trays ready for next year's sales. It does all dent the cash-flow a bit but it should all generate cash again in the coming season. We have employed a few more summer staff this year so not only did we start potting earlier but we have also been pot topping earlier, to reduce the amount of liverwort establishing on the compost surface before the winter. This should save us loads of time later and make for tidier plants at despatch in the spring, so improving overall productivity which is going to be so important over the next year.

I used the bank holiday weekend for a little distractive activity, taking on a potential clearout in the house garage. I've not been in there for a long time and now I wish I had left it alone! Our old Standard Pennant (1959) is in there, all covered up and un-started for probably 5 or 6 years, and now covered in a telltale line of sawdust. We have a bad case of woodworm in all the roof supports and window frames which if untreated could have been big trouble for the roof structure. Luckily the walls and floor are concrete and part of the roof support is steel so the wooden components are not a major structural feature. However action was needed so I have cleaned out one half (the side without the car) and treated all the wood I can get a brush onto, Today I volunteered a gang from the nursery to help move the car from one side of the garage to the other. It took 6 of us to move it, pushing it out was easy, but pushing it back up a gravel slope and up over a concrete lip while the tires were soft and the brakes binding was a sweaty and grunty performance. As the responsible and managerial element of the team I took my rightful place at the steering wheel to guide her successfully home. This weekend will now be spent clearing out the other side and treating the timber, what fun. I think we'll leave the car in its new position!

We are starting to collect up quite a lot of our hairy pot wooden boxes now, so if anyone has a batch ready to return please do drop me a reminder. I have a list of a few of you already and we will get round to you over the next few weeks. Next week might be a bit quiet as we seem to have lost nearly everyone to holidays, something to do with the schools going back and prices dropping back to more sensible rates. Roll on November when St Ives rates drop to my kind of level!

Availability list highlights

Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already. Potted an early batch of Cyclamen hederifolium which have surprised me by starting to flower already, An autumn flowering type they are both looking good,

Time flies and we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come. Autumns flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud. Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great. Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages.

Gaura looking fab with lots of buds. Blue flowered and compact Platycodon are ready to roll. Not got many left now. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy. Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants. Lovely coloured foliage on Ajuga's and Heuchera.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy and Reuseable

Morning all,

Bank holiday weekend, hooray. Nearly managed a quiet weekend, but we have a big microprop order to go out Tuesday morning that got delayed from a couple of weeks ago and it all needs tarting up again, loading and labelling, so no feet up just yet. Hoping over the three days for a little down time, especially as the weather looks more manageable, off to the local fancy eating pub tonight for a treat, so looking forward to that. The tiny portions help with calorie intake I'm told!

Sales have been ticking over but have not really recovered from the heat waves and ongoing hosepipe bans, it's a shame but at least it gives us a chance to catch up on tunnel clearing and potting which has been in full swing. I would like to say we are ahead of ourselves on the potting front, but I think it would be more accurate to say we aren't as far behind as usual! Whatever it is, it's better than before, which definitely reduces stress levels as the nights draw in and should give us even chunkier stock next spring.

This week was my quarterly therapy session with our NBIS group, I get off the site, meet up with other nursery folk, have the luxury of a pub lunch and hear about everyone else's woes before inflicting them with mine. It's great to unload to a sympathetic, if sometimes cheekily abusive, audience. As usual I picked up some valuable tips and info plus a general feel of how everyone was managing through these crazy economic times. Sadly the turmoil of the last few years has had its casualties with one of the group last week deciding to close their business before things got too far out of hand. Always a difficult thing to hear about let alone go through, so our thoughts are with all those affected especially the management team and employees who are out of a job at very short notice.

A surprise like that, as a business owner, brings home just how many people are reliant on how well Caroline and I do our jobs. We are going to have to get to grips with how best we handle the current economic chaos to try and keep the business not just afloat but moving forwards. 

Costs are going nuts, not just for the business but for all our staff too and I desperately want to keep prices from racing away to silly levels and denting sales. It's going to be a very difficult balance to make and I think we are going to have to be flexible on all fronts. Despite making efficiency improvements each and every year, we still have a few more tweaks to add in this coming year, which should partially mitigate what I expect will be a significant wage rise in the spring, All our other major costs have increased on a scale we have never seen before, compost, wooden boxes (up 160%), pots (up 22%), young plants, diesel and 3rd party transport costs, heating oil and imported electricity (likely to be up over 400% in January). I am thankful that we have in place so much reusable stuff, we rarely buy any growing/handling trays which must be 25+ years old now, the wooden marketing trays get multiple uses and last ages so only need partial replacement each year, the Danish trolley system works beautifully as a packing system (barring the occasional shelf collapse) and our relatively new transport fleet should keep us going for a few more seasons deliveries without too much more investment (famous last words). The turbines are making an increasingly valuable contribution too and hopefully we might be able to add a few solar panels to our renewable energy mix over the next year. One day some of those huge increases should fall back again to a degree and we can relax a bit but not just yet.

Availability list highlights

Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already. An ongoing flush of buds on the Geum Lemon Drops, don't miss out they won't hang about long. Potted an early batch of Cyclamen hederifolium which have surprised me by starting to flower already, An autumn flowering type they are both looking good,

Time flies and we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come. Autumns flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud. Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great. Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages. The late performing Cerostigma plumbaginoides have their first buds appearing and the odd deep blue flower opening.

Gaura looking fab with lots of buds. Blue flowered and compact Platycodon are ready to roll. Not got many left now. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds and colour are visible. Crocosmia are going well. Showing colour now and looking great but not many left. Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy amphibians

Morning all, 

Relief at last with cooler temperatures and some welcome rain. Luckily we avoided any torrential downpours we just kept catching the edge of everything. Definitely need a lot more but at least the ground is now damp under foot rather than baked hard. The plants are looking happier on the nursery with the moisture from the irrigation hanging around for much longer and reducing stresses all round. Working hours are back to normal and work rates recovering so back to trying to catch up. The race to autumn is on as we try to get on top of the tunnel clearing and get the potting completed in a timely manner, that rule of 'one weeks growth in summer being worth three in the autumn' haunts me at this time of year as we race to get mature enough plants ready to overwinter successfully.

Water levels in the main nursery pond had shrunk to an extremely low level last week, so we took the opportunity to strip out the water weed growth in there which was choking up the open water. A job we had been looking at for a couple of years now. Luckily the frogs, newts and toads have been finding there way in there ok to breed, but the lack of open water definitely reduced the activity of the dragonflies and damsel flies which used to visit and breed every year. Our tunnels make a great environment for the amphibians, loads of insects to feed on and plenty of damp to keep them healthy, especially when you think how dry our chalk gardens and fields are in weather like we have had. We are constantly uncovering and disturbing them as we work through the crops, they can give quite a surprise when they suddenly burst into life especially when you get a good sized frog or toad. The newts go for a completely different tactic, lying on their backs with their legs in the air showing their orange striped bellies and playing dead. Even if you flip them over they don't move, you can watch them for signs of life and nothing shows until you look away, look back and they have gone.

VW have just let us know that our electric car has been delayed again, now due late December, bit bored with it all now after now 4 delays and what will be at least an 18 month wait. Hey ho, worse things happen, but I do wonder about the havoc it must be creating with their finances.

Humming bird hawk moths are about now, I've spotted these amazing moths over the last few days doing their hummingbird impressions around some of the flowers in our trough outside the office. Sometimes you just have to stop and marvel.

Bank holiday coming up next weekend, then it's back to school for all the youngsters, can't believe it's that late in the year already. I had one customer mention preparations were already underway for Christmas! Shoot me now. Mind you I think we had better all be prepared for some budget trimming this time round, things are looking a bit tight on the economic front, although luckily small yummy plants have usually done OK even in the darkest of recessions in the past. Fingers crossed.

Availability list highlights

Still plenty of lovely looking stock despite the heat, don't hold back, get some bud and colour on those benches. An ongoing flush of buds on the Geum Lemon Drops, don't miss out they won't hang about long. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds and colour are visible. Autumn's flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud.

Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already. Potted an early batch of Cyclamen hederifolium which have surprised me by starting to flower already, An autumn flowering type they are both looking good. Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great. Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages. The late performing Cerostigma plumbaginoides have their first buds appearing and the odd deep blue flower opening. Gaura looking fab with lots of buds.

Blue flowered and compact Platycodon are ready to roll. Not got many left now. Crocosmia are going well. Showing colour now and looking great but not many left. Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants. Fresh batch of the cerise/red Penstemon Garnet are in bud again, with colour flashes. Time flies and we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come. Ever popular summer flowering perennial Salvia Amethyst Lips looking good.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy reflections

Morning all,

Just a couple of scorchers to go and then thankfully some cooler weather to follow next week. Looks like a few thunderstorms might be on the cards but still no bog standard rain for the south on the horizon. The weather and water situation has definitely hit both our production and plant sales. We haven't been able to do the work we wanted, hours have been reduced and demand has slipped. Not a lot we can do about it in the short term so just have to do our best.

Sorry the list is a bit late this week, it has been hard to find the time to get out and check what's there! Luckily the irrigation system has just about coped, but I know how quickly it can all go wrong as the odd nozzle blows off or tap gets accidentally turned off, so we are always on tenterhooks and checking how things look as we work around the site.

I have had to start turning the news off as it there seem to be so many pretty catastrophic reports. I know ignoring them won't make them go away, but at least I can try on focus on some more positive aspects of life and get some energy back. The clear skies have meant great night time moon views this past week and hopefully we might get good sightings of the meteor shower due over the next few days. Nothing like some stellar activity to improve marvel levels.

Last weekend before trekking out on my first jive evening for 5 months, I did a bit of research online for a few tips to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing. In the end I picked up some decent thoughts on making the most out of my time here. For someone with a need for a degree of freedom in most things I do, to cope with memory, discipline and balance frailties, being able to adjust what I do on my own whim is a must. Modern jive is a dance which suits me, as I get to, more or less, make it up as I go. There are a vast number of moves (of which I can remember only a few) most of which are fairly relaxed about accurate feet positioning, they just need a good lead from the chap (or lead dancer). My main worry is usually about remembering a selection of different moves during the dance, working out what might come next and how to execute them. I have seen this problem affect the dancing style of many a chap, with the temptation to try and make it an olympic event of a dance, doing the widest variety and the most complex of moves in an effort to look like you know what you are doing. The best advice online I found, was not about the moves, but a reminder that the aim for the lead was to make his partner look and feel good. Each one will be different just as each tune is different, and picking up on what works for each is a key skill. A laugh or smile from a partner on the floor is the best reward, you have provided what they wanted and it encourages you to relax and do more. It definitely works on the dance floor and for many in life too. Aren't many of the happiest and most dynamic people those who are driven by doing things for others. I know the financial situation is pretty scary, but money isn't everything, there are other rewards out there, we just have to recognise and enjoy them. 

Availability list highlights

Still plenty of lovely looking stock despite the heat, don't hold back, get some bud and colour on those benches. A surprise flush of buds on the Geum Lemon Drops, don't miss out they won't hang about long. Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds and colour are visible

Autumns flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud. Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already. Potted an early batch of Cyclamen hederifolium which have surprised me by starting to flower already, An autumn flowering type they are looking good,

Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great. Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages. The late performing Cerostigma plumbaginoides have their first buds appearing and the odd deep blue flower opening.

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 left now. Crocosmia are going well. Showing colour now and looking great. Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants.

Loads of bud and pretty little flowers showing on both Calamintha compact varieties. Fresh batch of the cerise/red Penstemon Garnet are in bud again, with colour flashes. Time flies and we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come. Ever popular summer flowering perennial Salvia Lips series are doing their thing, Amethyst Lips looking the best. Plenty of bud to come on the little alpine Lewisia, already showing colour in attractive mixed pastel shades

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy future

 Morning all,

Having trouble finding very much to be excited about, everything seems to be going wrong, Russia messing about with everything, China now joining in the fun, climate change still looming large, government in turmoil and unfocussed as they slag each other off to become leader, inflation going nuts, and now interest rates stepping up, with warnings of more to come, I am wondering what's next?

We are raring to go now with all three small vans back on the road, after the one new Fiat was held up at the menders for over 8 weeks waiting for parts. Mind you the next day did have the inevitable follow up setback, with two punctures on the other Fiat, one quick, one slow and on opposite sides of the van. All sorted now so no worries.

Struggling a bit at the moment coping with life's realities. All the old looking people on the TV turn out to be younger than me, which can't be right, and I struggle to believe the price of a cup of coffee these days. I suddenly don't recognise any of the names of the hip bands, when we both used to be fairly up together with at least some of the genres Why isn't it proper music anymore and how can Mick Jagger be nearly 80. How come the new millennium started so long ago and why did I waste so much time training to cope with the millennium bug!. Where has all the time gone and what is an exit strategy! Many of our friends have taking early retirement and are swanning about keeping themselves busy, mostly buying caravans it seems. There is still so much to do here, how are we going to fit it all in? I suspect a day off might help, it all gets a bit much by this time of the year.

A replacement pair of elasticated waistband trousers heralds an evening out tomorrow. Haven't been for a jive evening since March when we got so busy and the loss of my only good pair to the nursery has hampered my return. Not sure I can remember how to do it, but I'm told it's as easy as falling off a log, and with my dancing skills looks a lot like it too!

Great England performance last Sunday and some lovely Commonwealth Games coverage, both generating fun and positive vibes. Certainly the men's football game could learn plenty from the ladies, as they could from many other sports (rugby, hockey etc). The lack of respect in the men's game for the officials, the behaviour and attitudes on the pitch and in the stands are so out of line with proper sport and life in the outside world. Given a chance we can be positive and upbeat, yet there is so much pressure to push us in the opposite direction. Now may be the time when we need to harness some of that positivity and fun in order to see us through some tough economic months. Most of us are still very privileged to have what we have and going without a few luxuries is something we can bear with a smile given the right approach.

Availability list highlights

Plenty of lovely looking stock, don't hold back, get some bud and colour on those benches.

Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible. Autumns flowerers are on the march with more and more fresh Asters coming into bud. Japanese Anemones are flushing nicely with the occasional flower stem already.

Potted an early batch of Cyclamen hederifolium which have surprised me by starting to flower already. An autumn flowering type they are looking good. Tiarella with it's pretty and short 'foam flowers' are looking great. Just a few of the purple/pink Erodium Bishops Form left. Neat, tidy and in flower. Goes on for ages.

The late performing Cerostigma plumbaginoides have their first buds appearing and the odd deep blue flower opening. 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. Crocosmia are going well. Showing colour now and looking great.

Verbena Lollipop in flower again on nice compact plants. A surprise flush of buds on the Geum Lemon Drops, don't miss out they won't hang about long. Loads of bud and pretty little flowers showing on both Calamintha compact varieties. Fresh batch of the cerise/red Penstemon Garnet are in bud again, colour flashes.

Time flies and already we have our first dwarf Chrysanthemums in bud. Lots more to come. Ever popular summer flowering perennial Salvias Lips series are doing their thing. Plenty of bud to come on the little alpine Lewisia, already showing colour in attractive mixed pastel shades Summer favourite the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple looks strong and bushy and swelling buds are visible.

Have fun, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries