Plants looking lovely now!

We have been very busy over the last two weeks trying to keep the sales beds filled up, weeding and potting and sending out orders to our mail order clients.  We just about feel that we have caught up now as after we have been away at a show it takes some time for everything to get back up to speed.

Nicola has returned from University and is happy to come back on board over the summer.  She has been kept busy labelling, cleaning up and putting stock out for sale.  On Tuesday I looked up from working with some plants to see a young male deer standing in the gateway to the nursery.  It seemed totally unafraid as we stood watching but we don't want it to become brave enough to enter the nursery or else we could face total devastation!

On a sadder note, our tame robin seems to have disappeared and has not been seen for the last two days.  All the staff are missing him.  We just hope that one of his young might start to visit us soon. 

At last we have had some rain but we need lots more.  We have already been having to spend time watering the plants to keep them looking their best.

The Astrantias are looking good and flowering well.  These are really good value plants for any garden, easily grown and flowering over a long period fitting in with any colour scheme.  They will cope with some shade in reasonable soil.  'Buckland', 'Roma' shown left, 'Venice' shown right and 'Princess Sturdza' (looks like 'Moira Reed') are all flowering already.

For the sunny but moist border then the Iris sibiricas are looking good and just starting to flower.  Iris sibirica 'Blue Skies' and 'Lake Niklas' a dark floered variety.

For the sunnier, drier border the Iris are looking good and are selling well. Iris 'Foggu Dew' with white and lilac flowers, 'Blue Shimmer' a heavily scented incredibly free-flowering variety of blue-mauve and white, 'Quechee' with a rich chocolate orange scent and velvety burgundy-garnet flowers, ideal for a hotter colour scheme, or 'Stepping Out' an AGM winner with deep blue-purple flowers.

Dicentra 'Burning Hearts' is looking good with its compact habit of blue-green feathery foliage and red heart-shaped flowers ideal in a container or your border.  Potentilla 'Fire Flames' is producing its bright scarlet flowers over silvery-green foliage.  For the sunny, drier border the Salvias are looking good with 'Twilight Serenade' now available.

It won't be long before we are getting ready for our next show,  RHS BBC Gardeners' World at the NEC, Birmingham but for now we are all enjoying working in the nursery with the plants that we love to grow.