16 July, 2022

Six on Saturday - 16th July 2022

Back after a break

As we brace ourselves and our gardens for some blistering UK heat in the coming days, here are my #SixOnSaturday in the series inspired by The Propagator. This week's six includes a houseplant. There are some things which you'll have seen before as this blog is now more than a year old. I'll start, though, with a new one for me.  

Single bloom of Passiflora caerulea

1) Passiflora caerulea: blue passionflower

My second attempt at growing a passionflower. The first was munched beyond survival. This one was more mature when planted and has fared better. Initially I thouhht it wouldn't survive but after about six weeks it has climbed up the arch, in and around some sweet peas and is now flowering.  It is lovely and exotic.  

Zantendeschia flower

2) Zantendeschia

I managed successfully to overwinter my Zantendeschia and it has just begun to bloom again. At the moment, it is a pot of white flecked leaves with this single bloom reaching for the sky. I'm hoping that the other plants in the pot will bloom again as I recall that some were deep purple and should contrast nicely with this one.  

 
Sunflower head

3) Sunflower

Yes, another sunflower. Last week's had a darker inner ring to the petals. This one is uniformly yellow. It is another one grown from seeds acquired through our local gardening club.  

Single orange bloom of hemerocallis fulva

4) hemerocallis fulva: daylily

Another gardening club acquisition which has come back very strongly this year. This one is in a very sunny position and seems to like it a lot. Each flower lasts a day, followed a day later by a new bloom. This plant has been going for at least three weeks now and is still producing new flowers-in-waiting. Interestingly, the leaves don't seem to have been chewed as much as they were last year.    

Orchid bloom

5) A revived gift

I was given this orchid for my birthday last September. It was laden with blooms most of which promptly dropped before opening. I was resigned to staring at its glossy leaves for the remainder of its life. Imagine, then, my excitement when it threw off new stems. It is now flowering strongly and bringing joy to the bathroom.    

Closed and open bloom of the balloon flower Platycodon

6) Platycodon grandiflorus: balloon flower

Mum's platycodon is flowering vigorously again this year. This is one of three potted plants of hers that I acquired after her death in 2014 so, as you might imagine, it holds a special place in my heart and in the garden. You can see where it gets its common name from as the bloom starts as a closed balloon before opening up to reveal the delicately veined almost blue flowers which are much loved by the polinators. 

That's all for this week. This weekend is about staying cool and hydrated. Check out the participant guide if you want to join in.

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