THE BEST EVER SUMMER FLORAL DISPLAYS
While the unpredictable weather this year has been a constant source of complaint - including among gardeners - it has actually helped produce possibly the best ever blooms for Kirklees' summer floral displays.
The severe winter followed by cold, wet weather and poor light created problems initially for growers at the council's Huddersfield plant nursery because the young plants were developing later than usual. The fear was that they would not be ready for planting at the planned time.
However, the upturn in the weather in late May/early June gave the plants a much-needed growth spurt and they not only caught up so they were ready for the two-week planting period programmed, they turned out to be better and healthier.
"The slow growth of the plants has actually made them more robust and the late Spring meant they were ready exactly on time - and that's not easy to get right because of the weather. If they are late they are not at their best when they go out, if they are early they waste while they are sitting waiting to go out," said Paul Marshall, manager of the plant nursery.
"It's a bit like baking a cake, if you don't take it out of the oven when it is ready, it burns and is wasted. When the plants are ready the best place for them to be is in the ground where they will thrive."
Paul paid tribute to parks staff who had the enormous task of planting hundreds of thousands of bedding plants in just two weeks. "They really pulled out all the stops," he added.
The nursery produces some half a million plants every summer and while most of those go into making a splash of colour in the district's parks, thousands are used in containers that brighten up villages and town centres and contribute greatly to efforts for Yorkshire in Bloom. The nursery is now turning its attention to getting the planters, barrels and baskets which are sponsored by area committees and businesses out into the community.
Numbers this year are greater than ever; the nursery is supplying 20 square planters (including nine filled with herbs instead of flowers), 39 troughs, 50 three-tier planters, 120 barrier planters, 140 half barrels, 580 wire hanging baskets and nearly 900 self-watering hanging baskets.
While it may be 'job done' for the summer, another reason Paul is delight to have got the summer plants out on time is that there's now room at the nursery for the imminent arrival of hundreds of poinsettia plants for growing on for Christmas!
Source - Kirklees Cultural Publicity Dept
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