Six on Saturday - 26th June 2021

With all this recent and, yes, welcomed rain, much in the garden is lush and green and either growing vigorously or flopping under the weight of the moisture. Last weekend's jobs including lots of trimming back, but nothing in areas where birds may still be nesting. I also undertook some much-needed staking, including the poor Allium Christophii which were arching towards the ground under the weight of the water. The bird feeder continues to see lots of newly fledged tits and finches and it is sweetly amusing to see them watching their parents and then themselves trying to navigate the entrances and perches that will deliver their desired meal. Now to this week's six, which I’m finishing off under the warmth of the sun on the patio and to the sound of bees and birds as they breakfast: 

1) Astrantia

I fell in love with this the very first time I saw it as we were sitting in a friend's garden having lunch. They tolerate shade, and we have lots of that in our garden. I did my usual thing of buying one to see if it would survive the slugs and snails and it did, so more were acquired. It loves the damp conditions that we have at the moment and pairs well with Pimpinella major "rosea" that you may have seen in last week's post. 

2) Geranium Rozanne "Gerwat"

This year I've planted "Rozanne" for the first time. It, too, I'd seen in other gardens and having looked it up and seen just how long it flowers for, I acquired some. These are the first flowers and I'm looking forward to seeing them all the way through to the autumn. They are clearly enjoyed by the bees, too. 

3) Sambucus nigra

This is another plant inspired by our local gardening group as I first saw it on a visit to one member's garden. I love the combination of the very nearly black leaves and the way in which they beautifully set off the delicate pink flowerheads. This year is its second year and it has become quite vigorous but I'm relieved to read that it will respond well to pruning, either a light prune, or a hard prune in early spring.  

4) Rosa "climbing iceberg"

I have some trellis positioned to screen the shed and have gradually been training this lovely pale scented climber against it. It took a few years to get going but seems very settled this year, producing lots of new growth and delicately scented flowers despite being located in an area heavily overshadowed by the large sycamore trees which are the other side of the fence and which challenge not only light levels, but moisture levels too.

5) Centaurea - blue cornflower

This cornflower was in the garden when I moved here thirty seven years ago! It is in completely the wrong place, right beside the path, but somehow I've not got around to moving it and, to be honest, most years I've simply cut it down to the ground when it becomes too gangly, blackfly-ridden and floppy over the path. This year I've decided to be a bit kinder to it, have given it some support, and am removing the spent flowerheads and some gangly stalks. It is thriving and is rewarding me with these lovely blue flowers. I'm now having a go at propogating it in the hope of locating some slightly further back in the bed.  

6) Geranium sanguineum 

I acquired this geranium last year and am really loving the little open pink flowers that it produces against some darker green serrated leaves. It is now happily intermingling with vinca minor to produce nice interesting ground cover underneath a hawthorn tree. 

That's all for this week, folks. I'm off now to cycle along the nearby Thames Path. 

Six on Saturday - 19th June 2021

No sooner had I completed last week's white themed #SixOnSaturday when lots of blue flowers popped up. Then it rained. A lot. So many things are looking a little sorry and flat so I'll aim to capture them when they have recovered a little. Meanwhile, Salvia "hot lips" mentioned in my first post is thriving, and the second flush of flowers have seen the characteristic white lips return, much to my relief. Now to this week's six: 

1) Rose "Gentle Hermione"

We recently re-located the compost bins from the sunny side of the garden and placed them on an island bed behind a fence panel. In front of the fence panel, facing the house, is a shady semi-wild area but there was still the opportunity to plant something that might work well against the dark wood. Gentle Hermione was purchased for that space and hasn't disappointed. Her first blossoms have just appeared and are both beautiful and exquisitely scented. 

2) A mystery rose

This was given by a friend 30 plus years ago and I remember it being called “Paul’s pleasure” - hence gift (husband is called Paul). It was lost when we replaced our fence and effectively moved our boundary. It turns out that the rose is on the other side of fence, now in no man’s land between our fence and the fence to the land beyond.  I’m now training it to flower on our side of the fence. It is very thorny and vogorously rambling.  It is yellow, not pink, so is not Himalayan Musk,  and as it is very VERY thorny, it can't be Rosa banksiae. It has a lovely scent. If anyone reading this has any ideas do please let me know. 

3) Becky's Bouquet

Last Saturday's treat was a meeting of our local garden club to which Becky brought this gorgeous bouquet from her own garden.  It included some Briza media with its delicate heart-shaped flower heads which bob around in the slightest breeze. 

4) Salvia "amethyst lips"

Another salvia recommended by another member of the gardening club complete with "lips" with the first flush of flowers. This one survived the hard frosts and appears very happy in its dappled shade setting. 

5) Pimpinella major "rosea"

I have this dotted amongst the thalictrum and some astrantias. It has fantastic glossy leaves and these gorgeous pink flowercaps. This is only its second year but I'm already thinking of other potential pairings. What I love is the interest of the green base and the delicacy of the taller flowers. 

6) Lobellia 

Lobellia has to be one of the most useful of bedding plants. It seems to survive in both sun and shade, in the ground and tightly paced in pots. For the undecided - as I was a few years ago - a tray of plug plants would joyfully fill a bare patch awaiting more permanent inspiration. I've had it survive mild winters too. 

Six on Saturday - 12th June 2021. White.

Today's #SixOnSaturday is written at my patio table as I watch the new Great and Blue Tit fledglings being introduced to our very popular bird feeder. They are noisy, needy and inquisitive. Wafting over me is the scent of jasmine which has just come into flower. It is still showing the scars of the exceptionally heavy frosts of earlier in the year but happily, has still put on a show. I've decided to give myself a little challenge this week and only write about white things. As it turns out, I've had to leave a number of plants out with that self-imposed restriction, possibly even enough to make a second white-themed offering. 

1) Allium Multibosum

Standing easily a metre high, and feeling higher because it is in a slightly raised border, this beauty comes into its own just as the Ceanothus begins to fade. It is one of a growing number of aliums that I now have dotted around the garden and this year I'm scrutinising them for longetivity as well as bee magnetism and form. This one certainly makes the shopping list again next year. 

2) Sweet Woodruff - Galium odoratum

I first came across Sweet Woodruff in the garden of friends. They too were surrounded by trees. Up to that point, there was little that I thought I could grow under some of our trees but when I saw the carpet of white under theirs I was delighted. They gave me a cutting and twenty or more years on, it continues to thrive. 

3) Jasmine - Jasminum officiane

I love how the delicate pink tipped buds open up to reveal the scented waxy white flowers. This too, we planted at the foot of the upright concrete pillars that support the fence. One of the plants is just outside the back door  and there really is nothing quite like the scent that greets you as you open the door of an evening. It feels all the more precious now because, as a result of Covid, I spent months first completely without my sense of smell and then, as it began to return, with only the scent of smoke. As I sniff the air now, I'm reminded of the gift of health. 

4) Pyracantha rogersiana

Long arching spiky branches which at this time of year are festooned with puffs of bee-heaven white flowers. It is a plant that does double duty as during winter the white flowers are replaced by masses of bright orange coloured berries that are food for many types of bird, sometimes comically so as a heavy pidgeon makes an ungainly attempt to extract berries from the underside of a long and springy branch.

5) Mock orange - Philadelphus coronarius "aureus"

Philadelphus / Mock Orange takes me back to my childhood as it was one of the plants my parents had in the front garden. It is only recently that I've acquired this exquisite variety with its lime green leaves. We have a local "Open Gardens" weekend as part of our local festival. Its a great way to meet garden loving locals and to quiz them about which plants thrive in their gardens. We were greeted by a fantastic mound of scented lime green when we visited one garden. By the time we'd seen it a second time we'd looked up. On the second visit we were allowed a couple of shoots both of which survived rooting. These are the first flowers from one of those rooted shoots. 

6) Lemon 

I'm new to lemon trees, acquiring my first one late last summer. It very nearly didn't make it through the winter as I took it inside whereupon, inspired perhaps by the warmth, it first threw up loads of new shoots only then, despite much misting and watering, to drop most of its leaves. It is back outside again happily flowering and shooting away. As with the jasmine, the lemon flowers start off as pretty pink buds, opening up to white flowers. I'm keeping fingers crossed for some fruit. 

Six on Saturday 5th June 2021

Inspired by The Propagator I thought I'd have a go at #SixOnSaturday, six things of interest in my garden right now.

1) Thalictrum

Over the years I've learned that I am not a rubbish gardener, instead I'm a generous feeder of slugs and snails. Now, in addition to planting things that they enjoy, I also seek to plant things that I enjoy and my approach is to buy one of something and if it doesnt' get eaten, and I like it, to buy some more. I came across Thalictrum "black stockings" at a local plant fair. It did really well on an east facing fence, delicate folage, lovely black stems, and topped with fluffy pink flowers. I bought three more and planted them in the opposite border where they have absolutely shot up this year. 

2) Recycling - pallet projects

We not infrequently come across abandoned pallets on our walks around SE London. In addition to making deep square planters, we've recently branched out, creating small wall-hanging hexagonal planters, a cold frame, and lots of picket-fence styled border edging. The lid for the cold frame was fashioned from an old kitchen cabinet door retrieved from a skip. 

3) Peony (Paeonia)

This specimen never fails to please. Last year, just as the overwintered crown was poised to spring into life, I lifted and split it into three separate plants. All three are surviving well, each giving off multiple blooms this year. 

4) Ceanothus

May is the time for the gorgeous blue/lilac flowers of the Ceanothus to brignten up the garden. We have three, each strategically placed in front of an otherwise bare concrete fence post. They mask them perfectly and when not in flower, the deep glossy green leaves give height to the back of the border, 

5) Salvia - the survivor 

OK, so not the best photo on the planet. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to see the first signs of flowers on this "Hot Lips" variety of Salvia. Following the extreme frosts earlier this year this plant looked as though a flame thrower had been taken to it: it was brown and brittle with all the appearance of being totally dead. It isn't. It now thrives and since these first buds peeked through has bushed out nicely. We have a local gardening club and we often swap cuttings and seedlings as well as ideas. Occasionally we let our gardening friends pinch out a shoot of something they like - this is result of one of my pinchings and one of my earliest attempts at rooting a cutting. So I'm doubly thrilled it survived and hope that soon it will also show the characteristic white edge which gives her her name. 

6) Sitting, relaxing, and admiring the handywork

It is important to sit and enjoy the fruits of all the hard work in the garden. The second image shows the space in 2013 before we started work on this area of the garden. It is good sometimes to remember the origins of the journey from ivy and concrete to the peaceful and beautiful space that we've created.