gyo

Six On Saturday: Back to the gardening fold

/ n20gardener / 17 Comments

Having had a sprained ankle, a family function and other distractions going on for the last few weeks I feel I am finally gardening again. The season has shifted and there is plenty of garden-keeping to be done. I have ordered a few bulbs: I am pursuing my Spring idea to have pots of small but interesting narcissus to enjoy and I needed some Maureen tulips to infill a gap. Here’s my six from this morning’s walk.

One

The apples have been picked. We have six sack fulls to take off for juicing. Quite a haul, given the great number of windfalls we have had this year. I checked with our Juicers and they confirmed that apples with codling moth damage can be juiced. I’m sure we’ve always had some damage but this year it seemed to have affected more apples.

Two

I did find a new person to prune the apples and the plum but as yet he hasn’t been able to visit. The plum tree is far too large now and I am wondering how late in the season the necessary pruning can be done. We’ve been picking plums for several weeks but it might be time to call it quits.

Three

The rain has energised the garden, the grass is growing again and many plants are looking happier. Here the Corsican hellebores and a fatsia that have really developed a backbone again.

Four

The verbena bonariensis seeds prolifically, often leaning over the path or other plants. Here it seems to have found the perfect spot. It has remained upright and is looking especially good in the Autumn light.

Five

I’m sowing Autumn seeds. The echinacea ‘White Swan’ came good but I am on my second sowing of Orlaya and Gaura. Let’s hope they get going this time.

Six

I’ve also been shopping for my troublesome border. The hydrangeas went in earlier this year and are a dwarf variety called ‘Little White’ which should reach 60cms and I’m just about to fill in the gaps with hakonechloa macra.

Here’s hoping I’m back in the groove again! The walk round revealed plenty of slug damage to my new delphiniums and much that needs dead-heading. I’ve yet to pull up the tomato plants but that’s just about due. In a taste test on the cucumbers ‘Burpless’ were a clear winner over ‘Marketmore’. Plans for next year are being made. Wishing you all a happy Autumn in your gardening spaces. Jim’s Garden Ruminations is full of Autumn inspiration.

Six On Saturday: Mainly from seed

/ n20gardener / 13 Comments

It’s been a busy week here and so today was the first good walk round the garden since last Saturday. Funnily enough the same weeds are still there and in spite of a downpour that filled the water butts the garden is still showing signs of drought. Most of the stored water goes to watering the veg patch which is in great need of it. Here’s my six for this week.

One

Last week I was enjoying hydrangea paniculata from other SOS gardens and wondering why my weren’t in flower. Here they are. They were probably in flower last week, I just hadn’t looked in that corner. This variety is ‘Limelight’, it grows in quite a shady place.

Two

I have been editing out the self-seeders of alchemilla mollis, good old VB, and g. psilostemon but I’ll always keep any antirrhinum. Could this one be ‘Chantilly Lace’? These have popped up in three different places since they were sown about three years ago.

Three

Hollyhocks also self seed happily, this one has placed itself in the middle of the rose ‘Scepter’d Isle’. Nature knows best.

Four

Also started from a packet of seeds some time ago. These rudbeckia come back into the garden via the compost bin. They had a quiet spell last year but once the seedlings appeared on the veg patch they were re-located into the flower garden.

Five

Cosmos of course, from this year’s sowing. Last year’s attempts went to the snails and slugs. The dry weather has some advantages.

Six

Cucumbers are having a good time too. I usually grow ‘Burpless’. This year I added in some ‘Marketmore’ They are doing very well and I may switch my allegiance.

It’s dry again this weekend. Good news for my daughter’s garden as they are tackling the ivy clad collapsing fencing today. New fence panels, posts and concrete have been delivered and work is underway. I might venture over next week to see the results. Wishing you all productive gardening this weekend and don’t forget to stop by Garden Ruminations for all the news from Jim and other SOSers.

Six On Saturday: Chill winds

/ n20gardener / 24 Comments

There have been no frosts in this last week but the wind has kept the temperatures down. It is time to do some seasonal gardening jobs. The grasses and the clematis were cut down last weekend. It always feels mean to take down last year’s clematis growth when it is already shooting for this year, but down it came. There is much to be cut back and as I see new shoots from hardy perennials I am persuaded to choose a few candidates and get on with job. Here’s this week’s six.

One

A pink primrose is just about surviving the slugs which are clearly enjoying this year as much as they enjoyed last year.

Two

I’m being a bit of a hellebore bore! But they never fail to cheer me up when I am looking for something to share. Pretty Ellen White is on display again.

Three

The flower heads on euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii are forming. This is another garden marker for me, lovely when fully open and a reminder to get the border cut back started.

Four

The tiny flowers of sarcococca confusa are easy to overlook. This was added to the garden last year to replace some euphorbia mellifera that were lost to frost. I’m just hoping the sweet box doesn’t go the way of my other box shrubs. In the meantime the euphorbia has self seeded in two other places and so far is surviving the winter.

Five

More mundane gardening jobs include recovering the veg plot paths from the moss that colonises them over the winter. That’s a job that will keep me warm.

Six

Lastly, my local allotment shop has its stock of seed potatoes and onion sets in stock. These are second early Charlotte, sitting in egg boxes to chit. I was also tempted by some Red Baron Onions which I will start off in modules in the greenhouse in March. My veg patch is slow to warm up and I have finally realised that starting things too early is a waste of time.

I’m encouraged to see buds on Thalia and more and more tulips pushing through. I also spotted the first shoots of the camassia ‘Alba’ that were newly planted last autumn. I’m hoping these will be in flower with the tulips. I’ve put down the markers for stealing some of the lawn for a new flower bed. Eventually the space will be shaded out by the new Rowan but in the meantime I’m going to sow a few annuals where the old fig tree grew. Jim, hosts the Six On Saturday blogs at Garden Ruminations. Always worth a visit to see what everyone is up to and what a stunning header shot Jim has this week! Happy gardening to everyone of you.

Six On Saturday: Confusion in the garden

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

Happy New Year to all. Here it is a very frosty morning, the second in a row. Proper Winter weather but the garden up to this point seemed a little confused. Here’s six things I found in the garden this week.

One

I pulled out the ‘Romanesco’ cauliflowers in October as they had come to naught. This one, for some reason long forgotten, was left in the ground. I know they grow well in cool temperatures and clearly the mild winter was working well for it. I’m not sure how it will cope over the next few months but maybe I’ll be harvesting it in April!

Two

This salvia ‘Amistad’ had overwintered through last year and came into leaf very late in the season. I was very surprised to see it flower at the end of December.

Three

I have a flower bud on the libertia grandiflora. This is supposed to do its thing in May/June/July.

Four

The primroses are popping up everywhere. I’m quite used to these being in flower from early November.

Five

I’m showing the seed heads of the phlomis again because, at last, I have been able to capture them frosted. If I’d been up earlier it might have been more impressive.

Six

For the final show and tell, I have the new buds on the hellebore ‘Pretty Ellen’ red. These I grow around the corner of the shed and it does look like I have lost some during the dismantling and re-building process. Perhaps they will struggle through a little later.

I did manage to garden a little after Christmas and can finally announce that I have planted up tulips. Not all, only some. I managed two pots worth in a three layer lasagne. I only have a few left to plant. These are ones that previously lined on of the veg beds. I’m planning to move them to line another veg bed. Why, I ask, did I lift them in the first place? The garden is well and truly in Winter mode and it is easy to see how much pruning the roses need. I completed two bushes and have about ten shrub roses and three climbers to do. The climbers have really gotten away from me and I shall have to be very firm with myself to get them back in control. Happy gardening or garden planning to everyone. The days are getting longer and that itch will soon have to be scratched!

Don’t forget that Jim shares his SOS and the links to other posts on his site Garden Ruminations.

Six On Saturday: I need to get going

/ n20gardener / 24 Comments

I’m hoping October will be mellow and fruitful. I have much to do and after longing for rain I have definitely had enough now thank you. I feel sure I had this feeling last year, I can see much in the garden that needs to be refined, cleared out, divided. It needs a good tidy up. So I need to get moving. On with the six then.

One

I was amazed to spot this gaura flower amongst the verbenas. Was it sheltered by them and also overcrowded by them? I hope it can last through another winter and I will thin the verbenas to give the gaura more of a chance.

Two

The hydrangeas are rapidly changing colour and this one has chosen the perfect autumnal red.

Three

I’ve called time on the tomatoes, blight finally got to them. But there is a good quantity ripening off inside. Not such a good quantity of carrots though! These are chantenay, so the shortness is good, but the germination was not.

Four

Here’s the frost shattered pot in its new home. Against a sunny wall, perhaps it will survive another winter more or less intact.

Five

New violas for the terrace pots. Cheap and cheerful and I’m hoping they’ll last a good while. The lobelia was definitely past its best so it was time for a change

Six

Lastly, I’m going back to the cactus dahlia because it is a firework of orangeness at the moment. It’s down at the shady end of the garden and looks much better in the afternoon sun.

I’m off to dig and divide geranium phaeums today. I hope you have good weather for your gardening jobs. Jim hosts the SOS links as usual, but unusually he has some great pictures of Cornwall! Have a great weekend everyone

Six On Saturday: Celebrations

/ n20gardener / 17 Comments

It has been a busy week here. First a lunch for a family Golden Wedding anniversary and then a day of celebrations for our daughter’s wedding. The weather was beautiful for both occasions. On top of that we collected a record 67 bottles of apple juice from this year’s crop. The garden also seems to have been celebrating with second time round bursts of flowers. Happy days indeed. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

The apples have done so well this year and as always it will be a pleasure to enjoy the crop during the dark months of winter as a refreshing drink. My apple pruning man was at the apple pressing farm and reports slow but steady progress in his recovery. It’s still a struggle but all is heading in the right direction. More to celebrate!

Two

I’ve made a start on the re-arranging. The garden is still incredibly dry and I am watering in the holes for the plants and then again once they have been moved. This is a rescue plant from a very weedy corner. The plant is gillenia trifoliata which never reached it’s potential in the old corner. Here’s hoping it will romp away here.

Three

I was admiring the wonderful leaf shapes on the Corsican hellebores and was given the added bonus of spotting these just unfurling flowers. Thank you.

Four

Beautiful, beautiful fuchsia flowers, ‘Hawkshead’. So lovely but completely in the shadow of some self-seeded verbena bonariensis. The vbs will be moved on. There are plenty more self-seeding in other spots.

Five

I lost the euphorbia mellifera over the winter but I celebrate the arrival of another one, self-seeded again, looking good after a shower of rain.

Six

I’m also celebrating the recovery of salvia nachtvlinder. A winter survivor but much reduced. I did cut back the dead stems but I think I could have been more ruthless and probably could have cut it to the ground. I moved it to a more spacious spot and here it chimes well with the Japanese anemones.

I am hoping to be back again reading the the SOS links that can be found at Jim’s place. Jim has covid, but hosts again. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Jim. There’s a mix of sun and rain in the forecast. The autumn equinox has passed and it may be that the last tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes are picked this weekend. I hope to get a few more plants relocated too. Wishing you all something to celebrate in your gardens this weekend.

Six On Saturday: Harvest

/ n20gardener / 18 Comments

I’ve called time on most of the courgettes, it looks like the cucumbers growing outside may be on their last legs as are the dwarf beans. It’s not been a bad year especially given the erractic summer. Here’s my six for this week.

One

This is going to be apple picking weekend. The first photo is of the reluctant ripeners but finally they have caught up, the pips are brown and so they are ready to pick for making into juice. The second photo is of a cox’s apple, also ready to pick and also going to juice.

Two

I have very fruits on the persimmon this year, here’s one I spotted this week and there are about four or five more. They won’t be ripe until December.

Three

I have been picking plums for a couple of weeks. There are plenty with brown rot but there seem be much fewer showing wasp damage. The wasps have definitely been less visible than previous years but one or two have been spotted this last week.

Four

The tomatoes have been slow to ripen, these are a yellow cherry variety which have been wonderfully sweet when ready to eat. These will have another chance to ripen this week and then perhaps it will be time to pick them for ripening inside.

Five

I grew four varieties of courgette this year and this is the last survivor. Probably the best cropper too. They’ve done us well roasted with tomatoes or on the barbeque.

Six

And lastly, I could not resist this photo of the verbena bonariensis. Caught in the early low light. They seed everywhere here but when they look as stunning as this I love them all over again.

I hope you garden is doing well this week. I did get some rain and although it seemed there was a good downpour or two the garden is still quite dry. The water butts filled up again though and so they will soon be emptied out on the plants that need it most. The season is shifting and we’re into the prep and planning stage for next year. I am about ready to start with some re-arranging and some major weeding of the dreaded cinque foil. Jim, host of the meme, has a colourful selection this week. Happy Gardening.

Six On Saturday: Scrappy

/ n20gardener / 13 Comments

I’m being a harsh judge this week. I don’t have dahlias, the slugs ate the cosmos and the zinnias and so the late summer garden is looking, well, scrappy. The hedge needs a cut and once that is done things will sharpen up a little. I fully intended to take my six photos yesterday when the sun shining, but as the sun was shining, other gardening jobs were done. Let’s cut to chase, here’s my six for this week.

One

Friday was sunny but also very blustery thanks to us being on the edge of Storm Lillian. The apples were dropping off one of the trees and investigation into the other apple trees showed that the pips were still white. A dilemma. We usually manage to pick all our apples at the same time and take them off for juicing. The apples from the duo tree needed to be picked or they would all end up as windfalls. I set to work. The apples are ‘Golden Delicious’ and I think ‘Elstar’. These have been stored and will be checked over regularly. There are still more to be picked but the main harvest may be two weeks away.

Two

I was also picking tomatoes. The first of the year, it seems so late to me but at least they have begun to turn and maybe next week’s sunshine will encourage a few more.

Three

The elderberries on my neighbour’s tree overhang our garden and the dark berries are gleaming, so very tempting for the pigeons!

Four

I think this is a first appearance: potentilla ‘Abbotswood’. I planted it in the front garden about five or six years ago and it has quietly got on doing its thing. It’s in a dry, part shade corner and really hasn’t complained. I can imagine in a more favourable spot it would have romped away but it’s filling up the corner quite nicely now.

Five

A little while back, I planted up a container with a mixture of ferns and an epimedium. This year they were turned out as they had become overcrowded. I moved them to the front garden and they seem to have settled in. This is polystichum setiferum plumosodivislobum. I made a note of that one.

Six

And this is epimedium x versicolor Sulphurerum, as the name suggests the flowers are yellow. I managed to divide the epimedium into two large clumps and I look forward to them stretching out, if they are happy in their new home.

Rain for today, which is most welcome, will prevent gardening but will no doubt encourage growing. I should really take a leaf out of Jim’s gardening book, he has so much going on his garden right now. Very admirable! I should also be thinking about bulb orders. Even when it rains there is so much to do. Take a look here if you’d like to join the SOS gardeners, it’s a great explanation of how the whole thing works. Wishing you all a great gardening week.

Six On Saturday: Drying out

/ n20gardener / 26 Comments

It is lovely to have a period of sunny settled weather but of course gardeners are muttering about the lack of rain. I’m hoping that the sun will ripen the outdoor tomatoes, they are only just beginning to turn. I’ve used up all the water from the butts and have had the hose out a couple of times now. The garden is a little scrappy due to my meaness with the watering but that’s the way it is. All the potatoes on the veg plot have now been dug up. I grew ‘Charlotte’ and very lovely they are too. The green beans continue producing and are the best variety I have grown – Franchi ‘La Victoire’, I will definitely sow these again. Cucumbers and courgettes are steadily producing. I just need those tomatoes to catch up and all will be well. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

The apples are beginning to fall and I will have soon have to set aside time to pick them all ready for taking them to the juicing joint. It’s hard work but one of the highlights of the year.

Two

This is a relatively new rose to the garden and is, therefore, treated to some watering. It’s ‘Lady of Shalott’. A really beautiful colour.

Three

Down in a shadier corner the eurybia divaricata has begun to flower. It’s a low growing sprawler and spills its way around the hellebores and astrantia.

Four

When I first arrived in this garden eight years ago I spent a great deal of time digging out ground elder and also this goldenrod – it wasn’t on my favourites list. The goldenrod has made a come back, snuggling up to the miscanthus. They work together really well and my mind has been changed.

Five

The japanese anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ always gets a mention at this time of year. I really like it, but I have struggled to get more of them established. Even these ones that are very settled have not spread out much beyond their original space. Too well behaved!

Six

I was hankering after some white hesperis to add in between the oak leaf hydrangeas but was completely distracted by finding the more common purple hesperis at a local garden centre. I’ve added to into this patch of magenta phlox with the hope that they will self seed. The white version is still on the wish list.

More from the SOS crowd can be found on Jim’s Garden Ruminations, drop by any time and take a look. There’s yet more weed pulling to do and those courgettes need to be watched very carefully. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Harvesting

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

I’ve been enjoying produce from the garden over the last few weeks. Early battles with slugs were fought and my use of home-made compost as a mulch resulted in a generous supply of verbena bonariensis and alchemilla mollis seedlings. So many that I now classify these as weeds at this end of the garden. The hose was out even though we had a few showers of rain and there is a forecast for scorchio temperatures for Sunday and Monday. In other news, I decided to leave twitter and I have migrated to Bluesky. I will keep the weekly post here going. Here’s my six for this week.

One

Here’s my lovely haul of beans, cucumbers and courgettes. I should also have added in the red onions and some lovely Charlotte potatoes. The cucumbers are grown outside and are delivering regularly. The red onions were a little better than other years but there where still some that did not achieve a good size.

Two

Blackberry picking has commenced, a kilo picked last week and shared with friends. This week’s pickings will also be shared as family are staying.

Three

This low growing mallow happily seeds itself around the garden and is left to do it’s thing.

Four

The hibiscus ‘Red Heart’ came to the garden in August last year and is doing well. I’m hoping it will reach the top of the garden wall by next year when it will, I hope, look magnificent!

Five

Last year I moved the white phlox out from under the apple tree. It was not getting enough moisture there. I now have several dotted around the garden and they have flowered well with the benefit of a little more light and space.

Six

Lastly, a new plant for this year. Helichrysum italicum, or the curry plant. The silvery grey leaves are very curry scented. I’ve always liked the little yellow flower heads and when the opportunity arose to give one a new home I jumped at it. I’m not sure if I can get it through the winter but we shall see. It’s in a pot so I can shelter it.

I’ll definitely be watering again this weekend. I’ll be hoping that the sunshine helps to ripen my outdoor tomatoes and I’ll be having another go at the weeds. I hope to get over to Jim’s to read some more SOS posts. Happy gardening to all.