The local weather in this part of Kent during July 2010 continued to be warm and dry. The Iris of Sissinghurst nursery is located on wealden clay and the extended periods of hot days with very little rain has resulted in garden lawns becoming straw like in appearance and artificial watering of flower beds/borders becoming essential to avoid plant loss. Whilst bearded iris are tolerant to this weather sibiricas and ensatas have suffered. It has proven difficult to undertake any weeding of the stock beds during this dry period. Despite this weather the weeds still seem to survive and grow!!!!!!
The Kent Iris Society attended the Iris of Sissinghurst nursery for its annual visit. This co-incided with a meeting of the Kent Iris Society committee. All members of the society were invited to join in a communal lunch in the private garden of the nursery. Approximately 35 people were able to attend, including new members. It was a warm sunny day so it was perfect for eating outside. After lunch an auction of iris, donated by members of the society, was held with the proceeds going to the Society funds. Any lover of iris that lives in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Essex or Greater London may wish to join the society. For £5 per year (£7.50 of family membership) you can attend meetings/talks, receive a specialist magazine three times a year and invites to trips to view iris. Visit the website www.kentiris.org.uk for more information.
The month of July has been busy with orders from the on-line ordering facility. A number of the orders have been delayed because of the ground conditions which have been too dry for planting (certainly in the south east). August is, of course, the traditional time to start planting bearded iris although the changing climate has meant that planting can continue until much later in the year than before. Sue Marshall, owner of Iris of Sissinghurst, is currently evaluating which of the stock will be suitable for sale from the stock beds. It is anticipated that a number of new varieties will be available from late summer into 2011.
Finally we must mention a talk that Sue Marshall gave to Charlton & Blackheath Gardening Society in south east London. It was held at Charlton House, a beautiful listed building. Sue was made very welcome by the members, the talk was well received and members had the opportunity to buy some potted iris that was available as part of the presentation. The next talk planned is with the Brabourne Gardening Society on the 27th August.
JUNE 2010
The month of June is at the end of the show season and this co-incides with an open weekend at the Iris of Sissinghurst nursery. The open weekend is always a bit fraught because of the uncertainty about the number of tall bearded iris still in flower. The late start to summer did mean that a number of varieties were in flower slightly later than expected so hopefully those lovers of iris that come to the nursery were not too disappointed.
This month may see the end of the tall bearded iris in flower but it also means the start of the sibirica and spurias in flower. The sibirica and spurias at the nursery have looked particularly impressive this month although lots of watering probably assisted. Sibiricas and spurias should be more popular in gardens. The bigger nation wide nurseries are missing out on stocking and selling these plants.
Sue Marshall, owner of Iris of Sissinghurst was invited to a number of gardening societies in June to provide a talk on iris. The societies visited included Sandhurst, Faversham, Gravesend, Barming and Disham. These societies made Sue very welcome and it is hoped was enjoyed by those society members that attended.
There has been an increase in the number of requests for iris using the irises on line facility. This has included orders from within the EU. Iris plants can be sent to EU member states without too many problems and the postage and packaging costs are not expensive.
The weather this month in Kent has continued to have slightly above average day and night time temperatures but the relief of the occasional rainfall has not materialised. The watering of sibiricas and spurias by hand has been required throughout this month. Let us hope that the month of July has a better balance of summer weather.
CHELSEA 2010
It is impossible to talk about growing this year without making reference to the weather. In mid May very few of the Tall Bearded Iris being prepared for Chelsea were in flower. The Intermediate Iris were still in excellent condition at the nursery but the plants for Chelsea were showing no sign of flowering in time.Iris of Sissinghurst prepared plans to provide alternative plants for the Chelsea 2010 Show and discussions were taking place with exhibitors about those options. Of course all changed when the sun arrived and high day time temperatures were finally recorded. Some of the hottest May days for some years was all the Tall Bearded Iris required to open their buds to display their wonderful range of colours JUST in time for delivery to Chelsea 2010.
The Cayeux Stand in the grand marquee took two days to prepare for judging. Sue Marshall and Carol Hersey provided practical help and advice about how to best display the plants. Judging took place on Monday 24th May 2010. The reward for the effort was a Silver Gilt Medal - just short of the Gold that was the target. However given the difficult growing conditions this year Iris of Sissinghurst was satisfied with the result. A pleasant surprise at the Chelsea Show was that of the TOP 20 plants at Chelsea TWO were picked from the plants grown by Iris of Sissinghurst. This was a wonderful acknowledgement to this nursery.
In addition to the Cayeux stand Iris of Sissinghurst also supplied plants to the THRIVE CHARITY garden. This included an Iris named Jamie Roo which was being shown for the first time. This Iris was grown by BrianHersey, a Kent breeder of Iris. This garden received a Gold Medal as well as being awarded Best in Category for an Urban garden. The garden designer, Jo Thompson, works closely with Sue Marshall and lives in the Marden area of Kent, near the Iris of Sissinghurst nursery.
Iris were also provided to the small garden created for the DYSLEXIA CHARITY. The garden designer Tim Fowler , comes from Cheshire. This garden worked to a small budget and was designed at very short notice for Chelsea 2010. The garden was impressively designed and received a Bronze medal. The Iris in this display Helen Dawn and Codicil looked paricularly good within the garden design.Finally plants were also supplied to the RHS BIO DIVERSITY display in the Grand Marquee.
The feedback from garden designers and visitors to Chelsea 2010 has been very positive. If you visited the Show and liked the iris please let us know and give us your feedback on your favourite varieties.
MAY 2010
This is the busiest month of the year for the Iris of Sissinghurst nursery. The short bearded iris flowering is virtually over by the start of May ( with a few exceptions) and the Intermediate Iris is at its peak. This year the harsh winter and ever changing weather conditions over the last few weeks has affected the traditional patterns of blossom appearance on trees and shrubs as well as the iris. Those keen gardeners who planted seeds early were punished by very late frosts (our vegetable plants were lost to the frosts) and a few of our intermediate iris in the stock beds lost their top flowers to the night time cold.
The visits to Kent Horticultural Societies continued in the early part of the month. Sue Marshall the owner of Iris of Sissinghurst visited the Staplehurst Society and received a lovely reception. In addition Iris of Sissinghurst attended a few plant fairs including Saltwood Castle and Lullingstone. Saltwood always organises a wonderful day out and Lady Clarke, the owner, always provides support and encouragement to the exhibitors. A charitable event at Buston Manor, Hunton on behalf of Gardening for the Disabled was also a pleasure to support.
The second half of the month of May is however dominated by the final preparation for the Chelsea flower SHow 2010.
APRIL 2010
The month of April is always very busy. The month of April is the start of the flower Shows when bearded iris are in flower. The short bearded iris, depending on the weather conditions, are in flower in April and by the end of the month Intermediate bearded iris are in flower. The increase in day time temperatures and longer days has resulted in a wonderful display of short bearded iris throughout April. Iris of Sissinghurst was able to show a wide range of short bearded iris at Shows hed at Brickhill Plant Fair, Sissinghurst Gardens and the Museum of Garden History, Lambeth. Sales of the short bearded iris have increased in comparison to last year both at the Shows and via the wed site.
At the nursery, the stock beds have quickly recovered from the cold winter and there has been virtually no loss of plants. Indeed the warm April days in Kent have encouraged rapid leaf growth. The potted iris in the tunnels have profited from the protection from the extremes of the winter. The short bearded and intermediate bearded iris have flowered approximately 2-3 weeks ahead of those in the stock beds.
Preparation for Chelsea continued throughout the month. Iris of Sissinghurst is growing for a number of exhibitors at Chelsea 2010. In addition to growing for Cayeux ( the Iris display will be in the main marquee), Iris of Sissinghurst will be providing plants for the following;
Thrive garden ( a charity that targets gardening for the disabled)
Dylexia Research
RHS Bio Diversity Display
Throughout April Sue Marshall has continued to provide talks to local horticutural societies. This has included talks at Hawkhurst, Hartley and Harrietsham. The feedback has been positive and Sue will consider making more time available next year, 2011, if more societies invite her to their meetings.
