Six On Saturday: Welcome home

/ n20gardener

We’re back from a short break in Cornwall. It’s a long way to go for a short break but we were seeing friends which made it worthwhile. The garden looked after itself quite well. It’s still very dry but the flowers made a special welcome home effort. Here’s six things from the garden this week.

One

Most pleasing were the seed heads on the hakonechloa macra. It’s a great plant but I did laugh when I looked it up to check the spelling – ‘lends a Japanese air to planting groups’ – I must be getting my planting groups wrong.

Two

I also liked the just unfurling bud of an unknown climbing rose. The picture does not do it justice but it looked so bright amongst the verbena bonariensis. The yellow leaves are probably a result of the dry conditions against the wall. Looks like watering will be on the agenda for the weekend.

Three

Darcey Bussell had also turned out to greet me. Which is a little bit of shame as I have pretty much decided to give her up in favour of a group of white roses that are not so prone to blackspot. Poor Darcey is very defoliated at this time of year.

Four

I think this is a first for me, the first time the geums have put on a decent second half of the year show. With a little more watering they would probably look sumptuous.

Five

I don’t think I’ve shared the osteospermum this year. Doggedly getting on with things and always popping out a new flower. They can be a little riotous here though.

Six

The unknown clematis which managed one bud a little while ago seems to have flourished in the last week and there are several flowers now, enough to call it a good display.

It’s all a bit scruffy here at the moment. Some decent rainfall might lift a few things and the hedges are ready for a good cut back. The grass needs mowing and the ivy needs a trim. I’d better get going and do some jobs. Jim is hosting as usual and once again has plenty to share with the SOS crowd. Envious, me? Not at all. Happy gardening to everyone.

16 thoughts on “Six On Saturday: Welcome home”

  1. I love my Rosa Darcy Bussell when it’s fresh and healthy, earlier in the year. The flowers are beautiful, but I have to agree, she doesn’t look so good when it comes to late summer/early autumn (perhaps that’s why David Austin has retired it). Nice photo though! That’s a pretty geum. Mine have been well watered this year but sadly, I think it’s had the opposite effect and there’s been no second show.

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  2. Farewell Darcey. A good reminder to get rid of plants that didn’t pull their weight this year. Everything could use a good dose of water about now. Your forest grass held up really well, love the seed heads.

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  4. I was reading a tip from Nancy Birtwhistle about an easy treatment for mildrew which also works on blackspot. A simple recipe of water and bicarbonate of soda, sprayed on to the leaves. A bit late in the season to try now, but I am going to use it early next year.

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  8. Clematis are rad! I am intent on growing one. Someone added two to a landscape here years ago, and they survived and even bloomed with a few flowers. They might have performed even better by now, but needed to be removed when that portion of their landscape was ruined by replacement of adjacent pavement. One survives in a can right outside here, and actually seems to be . . . relatively healthy. It should get into the ground this winter.

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  9. As I was quickly scrolling through the timeline this morning, the header photo I saw quickly made me think of a cactus or a thorn branch 🤣 but I quickly recognized the hakonechloa at the same stage in my garden. I really like this colour of clematis which seems to have quite large flowers. (and the geum looks like Mrs. Bradshaw)

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