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This photo came out well as a botanical study of a daffodil.

Shrubs ready for sale.

Ceanothus Southmead

 

Honeysuckle Serotina

Lupin Dwarf Gallery Mix.

Astilbe - Mauve

Spiraea jap. Goldflame

Myrtle Apiculata (Luma)

Euonymus fort. Emerald Gaiety

Hydrangea hort. King George

Viburnum Lanarth (5 litre)

Choisya Ternata

Ceanothus thyrs. repens

All 2 litre unless stated.

Available later – all 2 litre pots.
Cotoneaster dammeri
Escallonia Red Robin
Euonymus fortunei Emerald 'n'
Potentilla arbuscula Beesii
Potentilla fruticosa Red Ace
Weigela florida Variegata
Berberis x media Red Jewel
Potentilla fruiticosa Princess
Viburnum tinus
Callistemon citrinus Splendens

Mail me for wholesale prices.

Full Polytunnels

Been busy potting - here's a couple of photos inside my (very) full polytunnels

Lots of the shrubs are looking nice; the blue you can see is Ceanothus Repens (Californian Lilac - the spreading type), which goes nicely with the golden leaves of Euonymus 'Emerald and Gold'.

The begonias are coming on nicely – though they've been a bit slow until now, as I don't have any heating and the nights have been rather nippy. At the far end, growing like a jungle, are Honeysuckle - Lonicera 'Belgica'. They've grown about 4 foot this year already.






Potentillas are aplenty, got Pink Princess, Red Ace and Beesii (yellow). Some are starting to flower but the plants are slightly too small to sell yet.

Outside.
I've had to put my Spiarea 'Goldmound' and Hydrangea shrubs outside as they're growing too fast and a bit too soft (hope the weather doesn't get too cold for them). Got some lovely Viburnum Lanarth in 5 litre pots that have been outside all winter and are just about to burst into bloom. Lupins are growing strongly – can see quite a few flowers developing.

Veg
I've planted my runner beans today (10 May), Red Rum and Enorma - they should bounce up now. The tomato plants are not quite ready, again because of the cold nights, but are doing nicely and are strong, sturdy plants. The mice have eaten lots of my cabbage plants and nibbled off some young Broom plants – there's always some problem cropping up (I'm not happy!). The Strawberry plants I have in troughs to fruit for myself are struggling as they're infested with Vine Weevil and I refuse to use chemicals on my edibles. Does anyone know of a natural way to remedy this (apart from those bugs that eat them that is – I've forgotten what they're called – its a bit expensive for a few strawberry plants).

Narberth plant sale
Saturday 5th May, went to Narberth plant sale. Plenty of people and stalls there, and, although I sold a fair bit, not as much as I'd hoped for. I thought that been a plant stall in a plant sale would be sure thing.

What I'm selling now [Aka, looking good list]

What I'm selling now
Broom in 2 litre pots - Full of bloom, oddly.
Myrtle in 2 litre.
Red star Cordyline
Got some nice 5 Litre Holly Argentea Marginata about 3 foot tall.
Alpine wallflower (Cheiranthus Alpinus) in 3 inch pots, just about to bloom (yellow).
Ajuga (Bugle) in 3 inch pots. Bronze and Variegated - nice full pots.

What's Happening? 
Potted some Alicante Tomatoes - must be careful they don't dry out in this hot weather.
Put some of my Chrysanthemums stock plants into 2 litre pots - must take cuttings soon!
Some more begonia plugs arrived - bedding and non-stop. Keeping them in the small shaded greenhouse for a while to harden them up a bit.
Watered the shrubs outside for the first time this year!

Pot the Lupins - and Delphiniums - and Aquilegia

Potted my Lupins, Delphiniums and Aquilegia today - they're looking good considering they've been outside all winter. Here's a photo to prove it.

Another name for Aquilegia - derived from the Latin word for eagle (aquila) is Columbine (from Latin columba "dove"). Its common name is Granny's Bonnet, anyone know of other common names?

Time to pot the plugs.

Today (24 mar 2012) I've been transplanting some of my bedding plant plugs - Begonias and Busy Lizzie in 6's to start. They've been in my small greenhouse until now as I have a heated cable there, but they're starting to stretch for the light now. From now on they'll get no heat in the poly-tunnel.

Planted some more cabbage seed too – only about a half of the last lot germinated which is very low for commercial seed - previously, nearly every seed grew. I noticed the seed are uneven in size and quite small – not a good sign, so this time I've planted two seeds in each cell to cover for duds.

Planting Seeds – Dates and temperatures.

Today, I've been busy sowing my summer bedding plant seeds (and a few veg). Here's a photo inside my little propagation greenhouse.

I can't find much on the net as to when exactly to plant seed, so I thought I'd let you see what I'm up to and ask for your methods and planting times.
Here's what I planted, along with some useful information on temperature, technique, etc

Flower seeds planted. (I can't get the degree sign so I'll just put C for degrees centigrade)

Antirrhinum Floral Showers. (18-20 C) Cover lightly with Vermiculite.
Fever-few (Matricaria) (Chrysanthemum Parthenium Santana) – so many names. (15-20 C) Cover lightly with Vermiculite.
Dahlia Figaro. (20 C)  Cover lightly with compost.
Dianthus Diana. (21 C) Cover lightly with Vermiculite.
Digitalis Camelot (Foxglove). The seed catalogue says to sow the seed on the surface, but I've covered them lightly with Vermiculite - so fingers crossed. Usually, Foxgloves flower in their second year, but, Camelot is a new variety which is supposed to flower in the first year – that'll be nice.
Nemesia Poetry Lavender. (15-18 C) They don't like to be too hot as this hinders germination. Cover lightly with Vermiculite.
Petunia Mambo. (20 C) Cover lightly with Vermiculite.
Petunia Spangles Pink Morn. (20 C) Cover lightly with Vermiculite. I've not tried trailing petunia from seed before – could be interesting.
Sweet Pea Spencer. Lots of people say that now is a bit late, but I prefer not to have them hanging around in their pots.
Verbena Tuscany. (18-25 C) – seems like a big temperature range. Cover with almost dry compost as they are sensitive to too much damp.

Flower plugs.
I also buy some plants as plugs as certain varieties take too much time and heat to start from seed.
I've already received Bedding Begonia, some mixed Geranium (there's some separate red and pink on their way) and Impatiens (Busy Lizzie). I know there's that disease on the Impatiens, but I thought I'd try a few - this way I'll be the only one with any to sell ;)
Another of my favorites is Non-Stop Begonia. I've got some on their way, and I'm trying Mocca this year – they're the ones with dark leaves - don't know if they're any good but I'll soon find out.

Veg seeds planted.
Cabbage greyhound. I sell a few plants and grow some on to eat myself – in the tunnel they grow super fast and the caterpillars can't get to them.
Parsley – always good to have around.
Tomatoes Alicante (good old reliable) and Super Marmande a beefsteak variety. These I sell as plants and keep a few for myself.
I've also set some onion sets in the tunnel as it seems we can never have enough onions.

I know that times will vary over the country, but this is a start for us in Pembrokeshire. Let me know if you found this useful and if you have any secret tips to share with me.