Monday 24 July 2017

Hairy pud

Morning all,

Just back from dismantling our stage display (decoration only) at the local King Somborne Horticultural show. Our little stab at looking pretty for once in the year. It’s nice to be able to show a bit of support for the local volunteers in the club who work so hard to keep these things going year on year. Despite a pretty damp day first impressions are that entry and stall takings were ok so relief all round. Even the ice creams did ok, just a few Fabs left, I didn’t realise they still made them.
It’s been a whole week of looking presentable, which makes a change for me. Last weekend we hosted a birthday tea for Caroline’s Mum who had a significant celebration which demanded a bit of extra effort and a full on family and friends gathering. Luckily we had lots of help with food provision and house preparation as we were in the usual state of chaos trying keep on top of things elsewhere. We hit on a winner by getting the help of a very local catering company (The Little Kitchen Company) who had been with us picking up an award a few weeks ago in the Winchester Guildhall. They provided us with a few foodie extras including some fab little cakes, the only issue being that we were given twice what we ordered and despite providing the nursery with nutrition for their coffee breaks, I still had to force myself to consume a chocolate brownie, vanilla sponge and coffee and walnut slice with cream and ice cream, for lunch and dinner, for 5 days in order for none to go to waste. The efforts I have to make to reduce that food waste mountain. It’s that sort of dedication that helps win awards you know!
On Thursday evening we hosted a nursery and wind turbine tour for a couple of local sustainable business groups which was quite daunting. When I booked it in back in February I rather naively thought we would be relatively quiet and back on top of things by mid-July, so we did need a little whizz around on Thursday morning to tidy up a bit and make things look a bit more together. I’m not sure whether anyone in the group really noticed as they had not been on a nursery before so it was all a new and ‘exciting’ experience for them. At least I felt it looked pretty good and it was nice to be able to have a bit of a quick sort out after a long season and things to get back to looking professional without too much fuss. The trip round went really well, more or less on time, mainly thanks to Caroline cleverly limiting my endless waffling when I got over excited.
So the house is tidy and the nursery slightly more under control, cue the cats leaving bloodied piles all over the floor. It’s like a challenge I reckon, even to the point of chucking up on the computer keyboard after a good office clean up. First nuthatch seen in the garden, a young one but it has been about all week so with luck and plenty of suet it may hang about. Need to go, I have to beautify myself for the post show pub supper, it’s early so we can all be back home tucked up by 9.30.

Availability highlights
Signs of high summer with most of the Crocosmia now in bud. The gold of George Davidson is always very popular, as is the deep red Emberglow. Star of the East has the biggest individual orange flowers of all the ones I’ve seen, a stunner. A small fresh batch of the pink Armeria are now producing plenty of bud, neat and pretty. A fresh batch of the lovely Anthemis Sauce Hollandaise is short and bushy with bud showing. Buds and some colour the last couple of this year’s batch of Phlox varieties. Buds and flowers are in abundance on the very popular Sage Hot Lips. Don’t forget that this variety does produce pure red and pure white flowers on occasions but the ‘proper’ red and white lippy ones will prevail throughout most of the summer. We have a range of mini garden Chrysanthemums in bud, in a great range of colours. Naturally very bushy (no pinching required), they will produce masses of flower from now until the frosts (these are not fully hardy plants so will not always survive a winter outside). Dinky Erodium varieties are back again, low growing and flowering for ages. Flower stems and bud are appearing on many of the Japanese Anemones already.
A few of the Asters are busting a gut to get into bud, Flora’s Delight is the first to actually show colour, many others are not far behind. Lots more to come in the next few weeks. Best crop ever so don’t miss out.
Verbascums are strong and coming up to bud. Hurry not many left. Masses of bud coming on the two deep pink flowered Lythrums. Robin is the shorter one or the two. The short Campanula posharskyana are all showing bud and looking good but not a huge number left. The ever popular Dianthus in bud and flower. Just a few varieties left. Strong and bushy, the hardy Fuchsia range is doing its thing. Loads of colour. Summer has arrived, in case you hadn’t noticed, with bud and colour showing in the remaining Hemerocallis varieties. There are fresh batches of Achillea Paprika and Terracotta in bud and flower. A fantastic range of foliage sizes and colours in our Hosta range, all showing off well. To see the colours check out the hosta pages in our flip book catalogue.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Sunday 16 July 2017

Hairy Ever After

Morning all,

Little nephew Tom and Emily are married and I am very tired. Everything went beautifully, a fantastic village wedding and dinner, emotional and funny speeches plus beer and dancing in a big tent until late. I can’t remember a couple looking so relaxed and happy at their own knot tying, a monster smooch when invited to kiss the bride in the church (get a room), followed by a big green tractor to drive off in. A great live band in the evening and a few fireworks rounded it all off and resulted in a tough couple of days of catching up with sleep and reality, on returning to base.
Young plants, compost and pots are all piling into the nursery ready to get put together for next year’s output, it’s a job to know where to turn first. Orders are still piling out (thank goodness) and tunnels are ready to clear and clean, the pricking out is building up and those incoming plants demand attention to keep them healthy and growing. We usually get one or two summer workers pitch up to help out and this year is no different but those extra hands just never seem to be enough as others disappear on holidays or summer breaks. Back in the winter we always think that by July/August all will be quietening down
and we can get on with stuff. We delay any nursery visits until then as we think, rather naively, that we will have time for a tidy up and that a nice summer evening nursery tour will be just what we would like to do. In the end it just adds another layer of panic and the nursery ends up not looking quite as perfect as one would hope. Luckily most visitors will not have seen a commercial plant unit before so even if it isn’t quite as commercial as some it can still be quite an entertaining tour. We should be ok on the first one which is next week, as it is the local Sustainable Business Network group and I am hoping that all will be forgiven as long as I take them up the hill so they can have a hug of the turbines! I’m just hoping there will be enough breeze to push them round, forecast looks ok at the moment.

Availability highlights
Signs of high summer with most of the Crocosmia in bud. The tallest variety Lucifer is all gone but the others are looking great and a bit easier to manage as they tend to be more upright in habit. The gold’s of George Davidson and Sunglow are always very popular, as is the deep red Emberglow
Buds are now appearing on a fantastic fresh batch of Phlox, monster bushy plants in the new Sweet Summer range of colours. Don’t hang about with these we don’t have huge numbers available this year. Several colours sold out already. Buds and flowers are appearing on the very popular Sage Hot Lips. Don’t forget that this variety does produce pure red and pure white flowers on occasions but the ‘proper’ red and white lippy ones will prevail throughout most of the summer. Echinacea Prairie Compact are looking great, plenty of bud and colour on strong stems, selling well. The really short dinky variety Nepeta Junior Walker are just coming into bud now. Walkers Low is a great plant and sounds like a short one but it isn’t particularly small, Junior is.
We have a range of mini garden Chrysanthemums in bud, in a great range of colours. Naturally very bushy (no pinching required), they will produce masses of flower from now until the frosts (these are not fully hardy plants so will not always survive a winter outside). Dinky Erodium varieties are back again, low growing and flowering for ages. Flower stems and bud are appearing on many of the Japanese Anemones already. A few of the Asters are already threatening to flower, Flora’s Delight the first to actually show colour, many other busy producing bud. Lots more to come in the next few weeks. The gold leaved Tradescantia Blue and Gold is in bud and flower. A standout plant if ever I saw one.
Persicaria Darjeeling Red is carrying bud and flower now. A great groundcover plant in the garden although it has in the past been a nightmare to keep tethered to a pot. We now have the secret recipe, pot it sideways or upside down! Verbascums are strong and coming up to bud. Hurry not many left.
Masses of bud coming on the two deep pink flowered Lythrums. Robin is the shorter one or the two. The short Campanula posharskyana are all showing bud and looking good. The ever popular Dianthus in bud and flower. The scented compact range (Scent First (SF)) are really coming into their own. Strong and bushy the hardy Fuchsia range is doing its thing. Summer has arrived, in case you hadn’t noticed, with bud and colour showing in the Hemerocallis varieties. There are fresh batches of Achillea Paprika and Terracotta. A fantastic range of foliage sizes and colours in our Hosta range, all showing off well. To see the colours check out the Hosta pages in our flip book catalogue.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Friday 7 July 2017

Hairy Bells

Morning all,

Still lots in flower and big family wedding to get to so dad dancing stories will have to wait till next week. Still madly busy here so looking forward to some extra hands next week. Hopefully I will be re energised after having a day off so that will help too. Harvest has started, the earliest start since 1976, great timing for a family do, First swallows fledged a couple of weeks ago and seem to be buddying up with a gang of other juveniles while mum and dad get on with brood number 2. Last night there were over 40 young ones diving about the yard attracted I suspect by the water feature (puddle) we create each summer in the yard. The gang has been getting bigger each evening and hopefully they will hang about a while and hoover up lots of bugs. Must go and see if I can still get in the suit, part time here we come.

Availability highlights
Buds and flowers are appearing on the very popular Sage Hot Lips. Don’t forget that this variety does produce pure red and pure white flowers on occasions but the ‘proper’ red and white lippy ones will prevail throughout most of the summer. Echinacea Prairie Compact are looking great, plenty of bud and colour on strong stems, selling well. The exotic Eucomis are starting to show their pretty columns of pale yellow flowers. The gold leaved Tradescantia Blue and Gold is in bud and flower. A standout plant if ever I saw one. Persicaria Darjeeling Red is carrying bud and flower now. A great groundcover plant in the garden although it has in the past been a nightmare to keep tethered to a pot. We now have the secret recipe, pot it sideways or upside down! Don’t try this in the garden!
Verbascums are strong and coming up to bud. Pink Kisses is a compact variety with lovely pink flowers, and they are in bud now. Hurry not many left.The really short dinky variety Nepeta Junior Walker are just coming into bud now. Walkers Low is a great plant and sounds like a short one but it isn’t particularly small, Junior is.
We are racing through the Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone batches which is in bud with the flowers opening. Masses of bud coming on the two deep pink flowered Lythrums. Robin is the shorter one or the two. We have fresh batches of the Gaillardia Messa series, the first buds are showing on short chunky plants. Sedums are in early bud already. The short Campanula posharskyana are all showing bud and looking good. Signs of high summer with many of the Crocosmia are now showing bud. Rhodanthemum is deservedly proving very popular. Low growing silver foliage with pretty flowers all summer long. The ever popular Dianthus in bud and flower. The scented compact range (Scent First (SF)) are really coming into their own. Strong and bushy the hardy Fuchsia range is doing its thing.
Exotic Oxalis are both in bud and colour now. The purple foliaged triangularis has delightful contrasting pale pink flowers, while the Iron Cross looks quite different with its greener dark spotted leaves and deep pink/red flowers. Summer has arrived, in case you hadn’t noticed, with bud rushing up in the Hemerocallis varieties.Nice fresh batches of Veronica are now bushy and in bud. Inspire Rose/pink is the looking particularly fresh. There are fresh batches of Achillea Paprika, Terracotta and the Desert Eve series now in bud again. Plenty of Leucanthemum in bud now. The pale yellows of Banana Creme and Real Dream are proving popular. Coreopsis Sunray and Sunfire are in bud and back on the list.
Buds are now appearing on a fantastic fresh batch of Phlox, monster bushy plants in the new Sweet Summer range of colours. Don’t hang about with these we don’t have huge numbers available this year. Several colours sold out already. A fantastic range of foliage sizes and colours in our Hosta range, all showing off well. To see the colours check out the hosta pages in our flip book catalogue.
The variegated Eryngium varifolium is showing signs of flowering too. A pretty spiky flower stem, quite dramatic. Dinky Erodium varieties are back again, low growing and flowering for ages. Fresh young stock of Erysimum Bowles Mauve are looking good (in bud).
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Monday 3 July 2017

Hairy Exposè

Morning all,
Still lots in flower so not much room for waffle again this week.
Nice little spread in the local paper this week featuring the presentation of our Winchester Business Excellence Award for green stuff, might get in next week too with the Green Impact awards yet to hit the headlines. Bit disappointed no one has requested an autograph yet, but maybe I will need to get off the nursery to give them a chance. Fat chance this weekend, another long list of orders to prepare and jobs to get done, mind you it all helps reduce the overdraft a bit, so I won’t complain. Still haven’t managed to replace the favourite work trousers yet, just can’t find the time to get out there. The old ones have finally bitten the dust, a couple of hole enhancing accidents made them even more indecent and they had to go. Getting by on the ones with the failing elastic for the moment. I will need to be careful and keep an eye on their performance or my next exposé in the press might make the front pages for all the wrong reasons.
Started potting some of next Spring’s crops this week, where did that come from? Still at least the St Ives holiday is now booked. Looking forward to November already, it might have quietened down by then.

Availability highlights
Echinacea Prairie Compact are looking great, plenty of bud and colour on strong stems, selling well, The exotic Eucomis are starting to show their pretty columns of pale yellow flowers. Verbascums are coming up to bud. Pink Kisses is a compact variety with lovely pink flowers, and they are in bud now. We have some lovely batches of increasingly popular Erigeron karvinskianus Stallone in bud with the flowers opening. Masses of bud coming on the two deep pink flowered Lythrums. We have fresh batches of the Gaillardia Messa series, the first buds are showing on short chunky plants.  Buds and flowers are appearing on the very popular Sage Hot Lips. Don’t forget that this variety does produce pure red and pure white flowers on occasions but the ‘proper’ red and white lippy ones will prevail throughout most of the summer. The flower spikes of Liatris are looking great with the odd flash of purple beginning to show. The short Campanula varieties, carpatica White and Blue and posharskyana are all showing bud. The first Crocosmia are showing bud. Lucifer is usually the first to get going and sure enough it’s there again. Rhodanthemum is deservedly proving very popular. Low growing silver foliage with pretty flowers all summer long. The gold leaved Tradescantia Blue and Gold is in bud and flower. A standout plant if ever I saw one.
The ever popular Dianthus in bud or holding up their first flower or two. The scented compact range (Scent First (SF)) are really coming into their own. I have plenty of Passion but you probably don’t want to know that. If you do, it is a new one to us this year, a fabulous rich deep passionate red, very aptly named and beautifully scented too. Fresh batches of Salvia nemerosa in a range of colours are now back on stream with plenty of bud showing. Strong and bushy the hardy Fuchsia range is doing its thing. Exotic Oxalis are both in bud and colour now. The purple foliaged triangularis has delightful contrasting pale pink flowers, while the Iron Cross looks quite different with its greener dark spotted leaves and deep pink/red flowers. Summer has arrived, in case you hadn’t noticed, with bud rushing up in the Hemerocallis varieties.
Nice fresh batches of Veronica are now bushy and in bud. There are fresh batches of Achillea Paprika and the Desert Eve series now in bud again. Plenty of Leucanthemum in bud now. The pale yellows of Banana Creme and Real Dream are proving popular, and the very fluffy double flowers of Sante are spectacular.
Coreopsis Illico, a really compact form with masses of sunshine yellow blooms over a long period. Loads of bud already and the odd flash of colour. Sunray and Sunfire are in bud and back on the list too.
Buds are now appearing on a fantastic fresh batch of Phlox, monster bushy plants in the new Sweet Summer range of colours. Don’t hang about with these we don’t have huge numbers available this year. Several colours sold out already. A fantastic range of foliage sizes and colours in our Hosta range, all showing off well. To see the colours check out the hosta pages in our flip book catalogue.
The compact Eryngium Blue Hobbit is just about to do its thing with flower shoots erupting from the centre of the leaf rosettes. The variegated Eryngium varifolium is showing signs of flowering too. A pretty spiky flower stem, quite dramatic. Dinky Erodium varieties are back again, low growing and flowering for ages. Fresh young stock of Erysimum Red Jep and Bowles Mauve are looking good (in bud).  The Rudbeckia Goldsturm is looking great, very strong bushy plants with the first buds forming now, always a popular plant.
Have a good week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.