Happenings at the nursery

As we haven't a show to attend in August, life at the nursery is much calmer.  Bob, Kate & Andrew are potting as much as possible.  As we have had torrential rain this week, quite a lot of potting has been done as the potting shed is one of the few dry places where we can work.  Tidying up and weeding has been going on in the tunnel and greenhouse as plants need to be gapped up when lots of the batch have been sold.  It is rather like dominoes, we need to make room for the newly potted plants as they are moved out of seed trays or from smaller pots into larger ones and so take up much more room.

When the weather has allowed, we have been tidying up beds in the sales and growing areas and throwing out some plants which it is now obvious have not survived the winter.  We never throw out plants too quickly, as last year some Geraniums took until July to start showing new green leaves!

Sales have slowed down as many of our local customers are going on holiday.  However, we do enjoy meeting lots of visitors to the Lake Distrist who come specifically to visit us whilst they are in the area.  I was thrilled to be complimented last week by some visitors who didn't buy any plants but were asking questions.  It was their first visit (they had been recommended by a neighbour) and were impressed because I went to so much trouble to answer their questions.  We have always prided ourselves on being helpful and sharing our knowledge with anyone who is interested in plants.  We have also been packing boxes and sending plants out to those customers who live too far away to visit us.

Stuart and Nicola are still working with us for the next few weeks and Rachel, who joined us last year,  is also working some days during her school holidays.  There is still a lot of colour in the nursery as the later summer plants do their stuff.  Heleniums, Veronicastrums, Acteas are flowering well.  Some of the earlier flowering Asters are showing colour and Achilleas and Astrantias are all repeat flowering as well as Coreopsis(one of my favourites) which is still flowering continually as long as it is regularly deadheaded.  Don't forget to cut down the last two varieties, feed and water, and hopefully you will benefit by two if not three lots of flowers through the season.