Six-on-Saturday 17-10-2020

We had a couple of days away last weekend at a hotel near Worcester. We went there 3 weeks ago and found it very relaxing, so had another short break there before the weather gets too cold. Not quite a substitute for our usual fortnight in Dubai but that will have to wait a while. Anyway, the result is I haven’t done much in the garden but there are still a few plants worth a mention.

1)

Well, I would class that as Salmon pink, or pale pink with darker pink edging. I will take another photo next week before I make a final decision. (Almost as exciting as the potato saga!🤭)

2)

Another pretty penstemon with the euonymous pushing in.

3)

The euonymous is beautiful at this time of year. The berries may become an even deeper colour yet.

4)

I bought 10 bulbs of this back in April/May time. They are supposed to be an explosion of white blooms. This is the only one that is nearly obliging. Plenty of healthy leaves on the rest. Meanwhile, the fuchsia goes on and on.

5)

Who said the sweet peas were finished? A bit scruffy looking but pretty enough to be spared the chop.

6)

Special Child rose is blooming again. Another plant that earns its place in the garden.

That’s it for another week. There is plenty of tidying to do but I often give up when I feel there is more colour to come on a particular specimen.

Have a good weekend.

Six-on-Saturday 10-10-2020

I mowed the lawn yesterday for the first time in at least a fortnight. It “lifts” the whole garden. I keep thinking that finding 6 items will be too much of a challenge but each week I have to make difficult decisions. Anyway, so much to cut back, as Mr P says, but so much colour still – I’ll give it another week or two before I dive in with the secateurs.

Here are this week’s Six-on-Saturday.

1)

Begonia of the week again. The 4 troughs are still looking good, so 🤞no frost for a while yet.

2)

I mentioned to Pádraig I would show another picture of this blue salvia which, although a slow starter, has flowered on and on for several weeks.

3)

Well, I’m convinced it’s early summer…….what further proof do I need? The gladiolus may be a red or orange colour? We’ll see next week.

4)

Here’s one for Paul. Hope you are well and hope to see your blog again soon.

5)

You may remember that I bought a clematis from Morrisons several weeks ago. Well, I was robbed! It cost £1.80, but last week, Aldi were selling a similar one for £1.69! I’m not sure where I will put it but that’s not the point, is it?

6)

I mentioned this disaster last week. I don’t think there is a problem with the wood rotting, it’s the nails that have come loose. Any screws are quite secure. It’s drying out in the garage ready to be put together sometime in the winter.

I showed the beautiful golden tree in the cemetery last week. Here is a closer look, Jim, for identification purposes.

It is an even deeper gold colour now.

Have a good weekend. I must get out to the garden, if it doesn’t rain today, so I may not look at all the other posts for a while.

Six-on-Saturday 03-10-2020

What dreary weather we have had the last couple of days and it is still raining today. We are lucky to have avoided the worst of the gales. Consequently, my Six-on-Saturday this week consists of a few photos I took on Wednesday and Thursday, some in the house and one through the windows.

It’s just as well that I can’t show you the giant Brussels sprout plant on the compost heap……..I picked some which appeared large and ready but they tasted pretty uninteresting to rather unpleasant.😝 I don’t hold out much hope for the 2 remaining plants. Meanwhile, the broccoli are showing no little broccoli stems but are turning into leafy, bushy-branched shrubs, if that makes sense. So, those fruit cages didn’t protect the broad beans from the mice that slipped through the wire earlier in the season and they only protected the Brussels and broccoli from the first wave of attack from the Cabbage White butterflies. 😡🤬👹 Anyone any suggestions as to alternative uses for 2 exquisitely crafted, carefully designed, unique fruit cages?

On that note, here are my Six-on-Saturday for this week.

1)

As one of the founder members of the Salvia Hot Lips Appreciation Society, I feel this is the right photo to start the post.

2)

A bloom on one of the plants Mr Propagator gave me last visit.

3)

That strange plant whose leaves close when touched, as shown in the second picture. A present from my son and daughter-in-law last week.

4)

The second dahlia in bud. Will it flower before the colder weather sets in? My guess is that it is yellow.

5)

I keep thinking the sedum won’t get any darker, but each week it does.

6)

Not another long shot, I hear you cry. 🥱 I wanted to show you the lovely golden tree in the cemetery which provides a nice backdrop to my garden. What you can’t see is the “ornamental” wheelbarrow (behind the central flowerbed) which has completely collapsed and is one of my tasks for the colder weather. The problem is getting it into the garage to dry out without getting myself wet!

That’s it again. Have a good weekend and try to keep dry. 🌧

Six-on-Saturday 26-09-2020

A real mixture of weather this week. Very warm last weekend which was lucky for us because we had a couple of days away in a hotel on Sunday and Monday. I think many people are snatching short breaks in place of their normal holidays. Then the last couple of nights the temperature has plummeted – easier to sleep in colder weather.

Anyway, on to this week’s Six-on-Saturday.

1)

The Nerine in full colour. Just when summer colours are giving way to more autumnal ones, the Nerine is a lovely surprise.

2)

The euonymous berries will soon be turning into a deep rosy pink.

3)

I thought I had managed to capture a bee but it moved each time I took the picture. The flower is nice though.

4)

More evidence of a false spring. I am sure these are flower buds on my camellia. The ones that appeared in the real spring, both fell off.

5)

I couldn’t resist putting in those sweet peas again. As I walked past them, the perfume was lovely. The pelargonium plants that I plonked in the greenhouse last winter, have flowered all summer where I plonked them in the borders.

6)

Last week, all the verbena boniarensis flowers appeared brown and finished for the season. This morning, they are all covered in fresh looking new blooms. The bees and butterflies are very happy too.

That’s it again. As Mr Propagator said, several of our grandchildren are off to various universities now………..makes me feel even older.😟Have a good weekend.

Six-on-Saturday 19-09-2020

I’ve noticed this week

*new leaves on my miniature kiwi fruit tree

*a tall hollyhock about to come in to flower

*lots of new buds on my favourite, fluorescent pink rose

*the sweet peas with plenty of new buds too

*the Mexican Orange blossom is blossoming

*the Cerinthe Major blooming away.

So, what season is it now?

Some very strange happenings.

On to this week’s Six-on-Saturday and see what else is happening.

1)

The crabapple looked rather pretty in the evening sunshine yesterday.

2)

My sister gave me 2 hydrangea offshoots a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think the first one will be successful, but the second is showing some healthy leaves.

3)

I was looking forward to plenty of Green Tomato Chutney but it appears that the Gardener’s Delight (which didn’t delight this gardener) are suddenly ripening. They have been soft and tasteless, maybe the wrong seeds?

4)

The Nerine is coming into flower at various stages around the garden. This one is winning.

5)

Yet another gladiolus! They don’t really last very long, but are such tall, dramatic plants.

6)

The sweet peas I mentioned at the start. Masses of new flowers and buds on it. I will tie it up later, it has collapsed a bit!

Where is Chapter 5, you ask? Here it is in pictures.

Exciting climax to the whole saga? There were a lot of green, inedible ones which went onto that amazing compost heap, but underneath some very large potatoes, a few of which we had with salmon, cauliflower, carrots and onion sauce yesterday. (The cat is helping to illustrate the small area – about 1.5 metres long – from which I harvested about 8 kilograms of edible potatoes. Although the ones I harvested later were larger, the local beasties had had a chance to sample them.)
I have found that I can revert to the “proper” format.
Have a good weekend. I’m going for a lie down. 🤪😖😱

Six-on-Saturday 12-09-2020

It seems as though we should have a few hot days this week – back to watering again. Nothing new happening in the garden just now but it still looks quite colourful.

Anyway, here are this week’s Six-on-Saturday.

1)

The clematis climbing up the old plum tree has had a couple of week’s rest and is off again with plenty of blooms and plenty of buds. It started in the spring and hasn’t really stopped since.

2)

I usually pull out the feverfew but this one escaped and is a nice splash of white. (The perennial geranium looks pretty behind it.)

3)

The hydrangea is turning autumnal. The colours look more vibrant in real life.

4)

Begonia of the week. There are some pure white ones in the troughs but this one is a soft, creamy colour.

5)

Chapter 4 of the potato saga (with guest appearance from the raspberries). Again, I got quite excited about the quantity from one old potato. It’s a shame our younger grandchildren don’t visit now, due to the restrictions, it was lovely how they enjoyed potato gathering.

Here is a trailer from next week’s final installment.

I know, frightening 😱 isn’t it? Will there be as many edible ones underground, or will they all go onto the compost heap? Tune in to see the happy/sad finale. 🙄🤨🥱😴

6)

That salvia Mr Propagator doesn’t reckon he gave me is such a beautiful blue. I showed it before but it hadn’t as many blooms on it.

Just sneaking in a long shot.

There may be only the one dahlia but it does “shine out” in the garden. I’m going to dig up the ones that have been trimmed by the local molluscs and start them in the greenhouse next year. I will plant them out once they are too tough to be palatable.🤞

That’s it for this week. I attempted to stake the Brussels which were blown over a couple of weeks ago but they have now fallen onto the broccoli.

Oh, well, last try next year. There are plenty of sprouts but they are as “holey” as the leaves.

Have a good weekend in your garden.

Six-on-Saturday 05-09-2020

The garden is now runnerbeanless, almost hollyhockless and has collapsing brussels. So several of my tasks this week didn’t generate photo opportunities. Meanwhile, I will need to get out the combine harvester again to mow the lawn. Last week it had grown so much I was emptying the box every couple of minutes. This week it appears almost as long, still, the compost heap appreciates the clippings.

Here are this week’s Six-on-Saturday.

1)

The begonia of the week. I bought them to replace the droopy cornflowers a few weeks ago and they have been/are stunning.

2)

I know I said almost hollyhockless, this is why. It has flowered late and is only about 60cm tall but a beautiful colour. (Perennial geranium still going.😀)

3)

I know, I know, not that rose again! I just thought it looked as though it was on its first flowering of early summer. So many buds to come.

4)

The rudbeckia has been beside, or in the background of, other featured flowers, but it deserves to feature in its own right. It goes on for weeks and weeks.

5)

The sedum is starting to show some colour as is the blue shrub at the front. Meanwhile, that rose has masses of buds, too.

6)

The Potato Saga continues…….Chapters 2 and 3. We are eating them rather quickly, they are very tasty. I thought I had dug up the best of the crop from the 5 old potatoes I planted, but the next two diggings produced over 1 kilogram each – even without the slugs 😝. The ones still to be harvested are showing a few green ones on the surface. Unfortunately, they were so closely planted (me thinking they wouldn’t all oblige) that I couldn’t see under the foliage where I had earthed them up. I’m hoping there are still plenty of edible ones under the surface.

That’s it again. Have a good weekend and enjoy your garden.

Six-on-Saturday 29-08-2020

The garden took another battering this week. The runner beans and several gladioli were horizontal on Wednesday evening but I staked them up and they seem none the worse for it. I think the beans are just about over anyway.

On we go to this week’s Six-on-Saturday.

1)

The dahlia, probably the only dahlia this year, but it survived the winds and rain and is still rather striking.

2)

A couple of restaked gladioli looking good behind an “about to flower” coreopsis, I think.

3)

The Rhapsody in Blue is still going strong and producing even more buds.

4)

The Japanese anemone looks better than usual this year. I did threaten it with a large 3 pronged fork a little while ago and it seems to have pulled its socks up. That 🐝 is happy with it.

5)

Remember that dianthus? It’s come back again after “the chop”, although I think it looks slightly paler.

6)

The wind removed some of the begonia blooms. Looking at it more closely, it’s a really beautiful thing.

Finally, on Thursday morning I noticed the hanging basket hanging from the fig tree……then I saw why.

Out with the drill and screwdriver then.

Have a good weekend. I will see today whether the next digging of potatoes yields as much as the first.

Six-on-Saturday 22-08-2020

Rather a wetter few days than I expected this week. The garden is looking healthy, if rather battered, after so much heavy rain.

Anyway, a few years ago, I bought some potato sacks with some seed potatoes, I just added compost as the leaves grew upwards. Quite successful and the grandchildren enjoyed emptying them and playing “Hunt the potatoes”. The following couple of years, I did the same, buying the proper potatoes with limited success but more of a challenge for the grandchildren. THIS year, I put 5 old potatoes into the small gap between two paths in the vegetable garden (where the Brussels had been demolished by caterpillars last year)……the result is Picture 1.

1)

Yes, but this is the bounty from ONE of the planted potatoes. Once Grannysgardenhimindoors had washed off the mud, there was over a kilogram of potatoes! 😃 Happy Granny.👩‍🌾🥔🥔🥔

2)

The crabapple tree is laden again this year. The gales have done their best to topple it but the stakes have held it in place. (Rather blurred due to the wind this morning.)

3)

Those Nigella may look pretty beside the Potentilla, but they do take over. I’m hoping I will have removed most of them by next week before they spread more seeds.

4)

A different persicaria courtesy of my sister who visited this week. It’s been in the ground for a few days and hasn’t wilted yet so looking good. It does spread but is easy enough to control.

5)

A different, wind blown penstemon. Rather a pretty colour.

6)

The previous 4 photos are from the front garden so I thought I would show one of the back. This pink climbing rose must be on its 3rd “blooming”. The perennial sweet pea enjoys using it as a support.

It’s very hard work supervising all this gardening.

That’s another week gone by. Why does one (well, this one) get so excited when the potatoes grow so well? Just as I beat myself up when something fails.🤷‍♀️🤔 You will see more chapters in the 🥔 saga soon……you can’t wait, can you?

Have a good weekend and enjoy your garden.

PS. I’ve managed a whole post without a plant from Mr Propagator, it wasn’t easy.

Six-on-Saturday 15-08-2020

It’s been either too hot or too wet to do many useful things in the garden this week, so I’m starting with a few moans.😒 The gladioli have been beautiful……those that haven’t been pruned (by mistake) or wrecked by the torrential downpours we have had.

Meanwhile, next year, Plan C will be put into action for the broccoli and Brussels.

Plan A was ignore the lace effect, the sprouts and the purple broccoli will be fine….wrong, they weren’t last year.

Plan B was make sturdy fruit cages to cover the new plants until the leaves are mature enough to be less tasty and the plants are too tall for the cages……wrong, the caterpillars like the chewy, tougher leaves.

Plan C for 2021 is plant the broccoli and Brussels in the one fruit cage and less tasty (to the caterpillars) produce in the other. When the b and B are too tall, place the other open ended fruit cage on top of it and put the lid on! Can’t fail. 🙂😉🤔

On to this week’s Six-on-Saturday if there’s anyone still reading.

1)

The Cornish Pixie fuchsia is quite settled between the persicaria and the revitalised dianthus. Some of the tips of the leaves of the persicaria are turning red….pretty.

2)

Another tale of woe. I was digging out some of the mint in the herb garden next to the conservatory and there was this loud PING. I pulled out the fork and noticed one of the prongs still in the ground. It had caught under the base of the conservatory, not the stubborn mint root. I didn’t shift the building much in spite of eating a lot of spinach recently. 🦹‍♀️(No Popeye emoji.)

3)

In spite of the Cabbage White’s best efforts, I can see some Brussels forming.

4)

The aforementioned casualties this week.

5)

The kiwi fruit plant looked very dead a couple of weeks ago but then I noticed tiny green shoots which are now big, healthy leaves. The fruits disappeared again early in the season even though I covered it with fleece every night.

6)

Just a mixture of plants I like. You can see a nearly white penstemon at the right.

We had the usual enjoyable visit to Mr and Mrs Propagator last weekend. I was offered plants but I need to tidy before anything else is brought back.

I had a tour of the estate and all I can say to describe it is……well, there’s lush, lusher, lushest and Mr Propagator’s garden. Really healthy, varied plants, as I may have told you before.

Have a good weekend in your garden.