Well, March has arrived and it’s time to start writing newsletters for the spring and summer months.
Let’s start with a little bit of horticulture. We have potted several thousand 2 litre perennial plants which have started to root and grow. The nights have been pretty cold and it’s the night temperature that predominantly determine the speed that plants grow – they haven’t grown a great deal yet but they are rooting. We haven’t started to grow any summer basket or bedding plants, it’s too early for us, we start at the end of March so that they will grow “cold” and be available at the end of April/beginning of May. They will though be for sale at garden centres from the end of March!!! To get them available and fit for this time they have had to be started in mid Jan and so have consumed quite a lot of oil to keep them frost free. Don’t buy them!!! They are far too early, too soft and frankly not a lot of use. You can’t put them outside and even in a protected greenhouse they will grow to be too large. Far better to purchase plants at the right time. The nurseries are “forced” to provide plants for this early time by the garden centres and because the legitimacy comes from them being for sale customers lacking in plant knowledge will buy them and be disappointed. Shame.
Costs have rocketed!!! Cuttings, compost, pots, fertiliser, trays, water, it’s all gone up and by quite a lot. This is troublesome for us all but funnily enough puts nurseries like ours into pole position. That’s because we don’t apply a standard formula in marking up our products – whereas most garden centres do. We can decide to absorb some of the cost, move it all on or take advantage and add more on!!! The wholesale nurseries supplying the garden centres have to pass the costs on as there is no leeway in the pricing any longer and when the garden centres apply their mark up the price differential between nurseries like ours and the garden centres is accelerating away.
We’ve started to take in hanging baskets for replanting, a nice variety have been booked in so far, it’s always an unknown as to how many will be booked in. I’m slightly ambivalent about replanting this year as it requires a lot of labour and labour is in short supply. It’s a lot easier for us to plant a basket from “scratch” rather than replant old baskets that take more time!! Anyway they are coming in and if you would like to have baskets replanted please do bring them down to the nursery to have them booked in.
Seeds are selling as is the compost and if I’m at the till I try to give a little bit of advise in order to successfully enable them to germinate. Sometimes before giving advise I might ask how the seeds will be sown and the most common mistake is that seeds are often sown too deep – (and over watered ) So, a rule of thumb, only plant the seed to a depth equivalent to the diameter of the seed. Seeds sown too deep do germinate but don’t have the umph to get up through the depth of soil/compost.
So, sun will soon be on our heads and backs and the world will feel and look a nicer place. Gardening is about moments. Seldom is a garden ever finished. Enjoy the moments, create and be inspired and benefit from the immense benefit being in your garden can bring. We hope to welcome you here during the Spring.