Six on Saturday - 28th January 2023

New year, new signs of growth

I'm sitting writing this on Saturday afternoon having just taken a stroll round the garden, snapping a few photos as I went. The bird feeder is alive with activity with blue and great tits, gold finches, our regular pair of woodpeckers, a feisty Robin, pigeons pacing the ground for dropped seeds and, I'm sure, I'll see some parakeets later on. Squirrels are dashing hither and yon and I can't tell whether they are burrying stuff or digging stuff up. In any event, digging is involved! It has been a busy couple of "singing" rather than "gardening" weeks, culminating last Sunday in one of the most extraordinary concerts I've ever taken part in - Tan Dun's Buddha Passion, performed at the Royal Festival Hall to a capacity audience and in celebration of the lunar new year. That's where I'll start this week's six. 

One: Chinese money plant in a special oriental pot

I'm starting indoors this week with this Chinese money plant, acquired from one of our local garden club members, and an oriental pot acquired in rememberance of a departed colleague. I hope you agree that they work well together. Chris, my departed colleague would have liked the combo. 

Two: Snowdrop in waiting

Clumps of snowdrops are poised to open. It feels as though they have been poised for weeks but they now have some good height on so my possibly be out next week. 

Three: Zorro in waiting

I'd feared the worst following both the crazy 40 degree heat and then the succession of freezes that we've had here in SE London. However, Zorro is looking healthy and is eager to shoot out fresh leaves on its gorgeous black stems. Fingers crossed that my regime to keep it blue keeps it blue! 

Four: Sorbaria Sorbifolia poised to put on a display

Another survivor of the extreme weather. Again, I thought this was a gonner but not at all. Here it is poised to display delicate feathery pink-tinged leaves. There's a great description of the plant and its background over at the British Gardener's blog.

Five: Euphorbia characias

Two of my three Euphorbia characias plants look to have succombed to the extremes of weather. This, the third, seems fine and may have survived because its base is sheltered by some ground ivy. I'm not digging the stalks of the other two up just yet and will just hope that they perhaps come through. The plant is in leaf all year round and in the summer I have a nearby Geranium Rozanne which rambles through the Euphorbia, the sliver and white leaves of the Euphorbia mingling attractively with the blue of Rozanne. 

Six: summer fruits awaiting

Strawberry plants are looking very healthy indeed and if I manage to keep them and the squirrels apart, I should have some lovely fruit later in the year with the added bonus that they, along with blueberries and raspberries can be picked fresh for breakfast. Nom nom. 

This is my latest in the #SixOnSaturday series inspired by The Propagator and currently being championed over at Garden Ruminations. Check out the participant guide here. I aspire to be as disciplined, creative and inspiring as them but for now, I'll remain pleased if I can just limp on with a post every now and again.  Next week is another singing week so I'll hope to be back the week after. 

Six on Saturday - 7th January 2023

New year, new beginnings

Happy New Year readers. Here are some planty things going on in my garden along with a little planning going on in my head. Six things for the latest #Six on Saturday. 

1) Bird food

I have a couple of Pyracantha bushes in the garden. One has already been completely stripped of berries by the birds, and they are now slowly going through the second bush. 

2) Bee food

Mahonia and pyracantha are two great plants to have in the garden. Pyracantha flowers in the summer, producing nectar for the bees, Mahonia flowers in the winter, producing gorgeously scented nectar for the bees who yes, are indeed still out and buzzing around at this time of year. Once the flowers are done on this mahonia, and the bees have moved on to the next flowering thing, the plant will produce long strings of black berries for the birds who, by then, will have exhausted the pyracantha berries.  Year round harvest for birds and bees. 

3) Year round interest - leaves 

This Euonymus has been in a difficult shady spot underneath a huge boundary sycamore tree for years. It provides height and interest year round and has survived the recent exceptionally cold spell. The creamy white bits of leaf pop even on the gloomiest of days. 

4) Year round interest - flowers

This  Erysimum is now getting into its own. I don't know whether it is "winter sorbet", "winter orchid", "red jep" or something completely different. I got it at one of our local gardening club gatherings. I admired it, and its owner invited me to take a cutting. It rooted nicely and is now flowering away. I love the way that the flowers are variously pink and orange. I've taken further cuttings so that there are always successors in the wings as these plants can become leggy over time. My "bowles mauve", which had flowered what felt like continuously for three or four years finally succombed during the recent cold spell, so I'm glad I had this one elsewhere in the garden. It is another one that the bees love. 

5) Promise of things to come 

It is lovely to see signs of renewal in the garden. Here we have a clutch of snowdrops poised to enter on the scene, and some nice healthy looking buds on my Hydrangea "Zorro". It flowered blue last year as I reported back in July and I'm pleased that it seems to have survived the cold.

6) Planning for things to come

It is that time of year when garden planning takes place. At various points last year I'd found myself vowing not to try veg again as I'd had so many failures. Well, there must be something in the water because I've started the year with a renewed keenness to grow some this year. I keep seeds together in a tin along with an incredibly handy sowing guide available through the RHS website. The guide is linked from this page and for each veg type, shows when to sow under cover, outdoors, when to transplant, and when you can expect your harvest. It makes "at a glance" planning nice and easy. Separately, and inspired by a piece in the latest issue of The Garden, I've acquired this five year record book. I could have paid about £15 for the latest version but managed to pick up this edition for 62p. I will now start using it to record what is in flower, what the weather is doing, and anything else garden related that is of interest, for each month of the hear for the next five years. That's the plan . . . 

This is my latest in the #SixOnSaturday series inspired by The Propagator and currently being championed over at Garden Ruminations. Check out the participant guide here. I aspire to be as disciplined, creative and inspiring as them but for now, I'll remain pleased if I can just limp on with a post every now and again.