Six on Saturday - 24th May 2025

Six on Saturday - it's been a while!

Goodness, my last #SixOnSaturday was way back in September 2023. A lot of life has happened since then, including a big life decision - to retire; another big life deicision - to press ahead with a major build at our house to give us a better view of the garden, a new kitchen and an all important utility/boot room along with the future proofed added benefit of completely flat access from the street to living space, a not inconsiderable challenge on this hill. Then, an encounter with a young lad in a hire car in a massive hurry nearly put paid to all of the above. As we were crossing our road near our house he sped down and pulled out of a side street into our path, swerved to avoid my husband, hit me and flung me in the air.  I'm recovered. I'm "retired". I have a lovely new kitchen/dining/living space with a wonderful view of the garden. But it has been a year and some! The garden itself is recovering from major excavation, all the rain we had last year, the builders hut, and, well, the builders! Recovering to the extent that I managed to open it last weekend as par of our lovely local Telegraph Hill Open Gardens 2025 weekend. I take so many photos of the garden with the intention of posting a Six, and then I get sidetracked into gardening. This time I'm determined to break that silence. 

One: The King's Rose

Well, get me being bang on trend with a first edition rose! The first edition bit is the librarian in me equating the first selling of a new rose, now out of "print" (aka supply). It is the new David Austin King's Rose, as seen at the Chelsea Flower show. I ordered it there and then. It arrived two days ago and was planted the same day. It flowered immediately. Even the two tiny buds that got knocked off when I planted it have flowered in a little vase in the kitchen. 

Two: Wisteria, flowering at last

We've been in this house since the early 1980s but I've only really been gardening in the last ten years. This wisteria has been in the ground all that time. Until a number of years ago, it was completely untrained and had shot up through an ash tree - itself a seedling - and occasionally threw off the odd bloom. I've "rescued" it from the ash tree and gave it a jolly good prune. It spend a good few years sulking. I've been giving it the 7/2 treatment that I first heard about from Adam Frost on Gardener's World. It has repaid me by finally flowering. I'm hoping we'll get along together from now on. 

Three: water, harvesting thereof

The new build, a wraparound extension to the side/back of the house meant that I had to relocate what were a couple of daisy-chained utilitarian water butts from the side of the house that were filled from the roof via a rain diverter. The only place for replacements was on the new back facade of the house - no room for daisy chained butts, or anthing unsightly. So I went posh and big and got two huge (380l) butts with inbuilt planters. Hands down, "where did you get those?" was the most frequently asked question at last weekends Telegraph Open Gardens event. The answer is here. I went for the muted sandstone to blend with the london bricks. You can also choose from some joyfully coloured ones. I've kept their predecessors and those are now connected to the roof of the summer house and the shed. Even so, with the recent dearth of rain, all were practically run dry until the very welcome downpours here in SE London over the last few days. 

Whilst sill on the water theme, we have a pond, and a few bird baths. This one sits just through an arch which leads from what looks like "the garden", to a whole other secret set of garden spaces beyond. It is regularly used by our local magpies for softening carbs, usually bread or rice, all of which are added within minutes of me refreshing the water. Last weekend, I refreshed the water just as the first garden visitors were due to arrive, only to find a deposit of a new carb - Tagliatelle!  

Four: Geranium psilostemon - Armenium Cranesbill

The great thing about our local gardening club are the ideas and the swapsies. This one was doing very well indeed in Becky's garden, and had seeded itself liberally. We dug up a clump a week ago, I trugged it up the hill and popped it towards the back of one of my borders and, after looking a bit sad for a couple of days, it has really perked up and seems happy in its new home. 

Five: grass recovery

The 2023 Christmas holiday break was spent digging up as many plants as I could from the area that was going to be affected by the building works. Including all the palnts in the patio boarder which were, in the new scheme, going to be covered by the new extended building. So the bottom part of the garden turned into pot city, with all the things that I hoped would survive to be re-planted once the work was done. Then the builder's hut was errected on what would, after the build, still be a lawn area. As you can see, it looked very sad after the hut was removed. I've gone for re-seeding rather than re-turfing, not least because my lawn is not just grass and anything that was just grass would look way out of place. I reckon I mow as many daisies as I do grass blades. If I look closely I can still see the recent history of the lawn (where the hut was, where they stacked the stone for the new steps for weeks and weeks, where the rhododendron spent the summer in a big builder's bag on the lawn). But it is recovering. The daisies are back.

The reason why we want a lawn in the first place is that it is lovely to sit on the patio for breakfast or lunch, and to watch the birds feeding. The feeder has been relocated further up the lawn and right now, is being visited dozens of times an hour by Mrs Woodpecker. We've worked out where she is nesting and look forward to when the young get introduced to the feeder. Learner woodpeckers trying to feed for the first time is rather amusing. 

Six: OMG - I'm going to finish this one and publish it. My first six since 2023. 

The first strawberry. Harvested about an hour ago and eaten within minutes. We shared it atop a couple of strawberry infused white chocolates which arrived to help us celebrate our recent 39th Wedding anniversary. It was exquisite.  

That's all for this week. This is my latest in the #SixOnSaturday, a 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.

 

Open Gardens 2025 - plants from 101JR

Open Gardens - about the plants

You'll most likely be reading this page because you visited our garden as part of the Telegraph Hill Open Gardens weekend in May 2025. It contains some information about the plant(s) that you may have taken away with you which I hope will be useful. My garden is a haven for slugs and snails and everything here survives! I've added what I hope you will find some helpful details along with links out to the Royal Horticultural Society website where you can read more from the professionals. 

Campanula

This one is fantastic as ground cover and will grow in little cracks. It is great in the shade but also works in the sun. The blue flowers are great polinator magnets - you know it is in flower by the noise as well as the lovely carpet of blue. I found that once the first flush of flowers is done, you can pull them away and you'll get a second flush later on in the summer. There are lots of varieties but the closest I can get is this one. However, it seems not to be attractive to slugs and snails.

Crambe cordifolia

This greater sea kale produces large leaves and a fabulous quantity of white flowers on a tall stalk. My original plant came from an open gardens visit, and this year I've managed to get five new plants from the original parent. It seems only right that some should go to local gardens. The lower leaves can get munched by slugs and snails but not to the extent that it stops it from thriving. More info here

Crassula ovata

Very easy to care for houseplant. What more can you ask for? See what the RHS have to say about it here

Geranium

I think this one is "Ridsko" judging by the image and description on the RHS site. It is great at surpressing weeds and giving good reliable ground cover. Pretty pink flowers in early spring. 

Hylotelephium (the plant formerly known as sedum)

Probably this one. Great big flowers late on in the summer which the polinators love. 

Jasmine Beesianum

Great climber. Smaller red flowers in the summer. RHS info here

Jasmine (common)

Great climber. Wonderfully scented flowers in spring. More here

Jasmine (winter flowering)

This evergreen provides yellow flowers during the winter and is good for the polinators that are still around at that time of year. Tolerates hard pruning. More here

Lamium

Great for shady ground cover. This one produces lovely yellow flowers early on in spring. It will weave its way through the undergrowth and where it touches the ground, may form new roots. I find it is easy to pull up if it has strayed to where you don't want it. More information here

Mint

If you like your mint tea then this is a great plant. Because it spreads very easily, I keep mine in pots and sink them into the soil. It is easy to propagate - take some long stalks, remove the lower leaves, and then place in some water. You will soon see some roots. But don't take my word for it, read more about variteies of mint and how to take care of them here.

Pittosporum tobira

I was given two of these by a former colleague. She'd had them as standards on her balcony. Occasionally they produced small shoots and so I took heel cuttings, most of which rooted. Their flowers are gloriously scented. The RHS advice is to grow them in full sun but mine have survived in pots and with only the morning sun.

Phormium

Fantastically resilient ornamental plant that can grow quite large in the open ground. We first planted one in 1993 and it grew and multiplied into a large clump. We then dug that up, separated out all the plantlets, and put some of them back, including a couple of clumps in pots. It does well in a pot and seems to thrive however badly you treat it. In a pot, it can create a really useful screen. Individual leaves look great in flower arrangements. See what the RHS have to say here.

Raspberry "Malling Promise"

A vigorous early fruiting raspberry. I'm glad I planted mine in a raised bed as it has gone bonkers. This year I will net it once the fruits start to form so that I get more than the squirrels do! RHS advice over here

Sorbaria Sorbifolia

I was attracted to this because of its lime leaves which are tinged with pink when they emerge in spring. It also produces a lovely white flower. It is vigorous and sends out suckers with new plants along them, so I'm now keeping mine in pots so that they stay where I want them to be. Great for a pot. Seems to tollerate hard pruning. You can read more over on the RHS site here

Tradescantia Zebrina

A lovely houseplant, gifted as a birthday present a couple of years ago. Really easy to propagate - I do mine in water, simply cut off a length with a few leaves on it, remove the lower leaves, place in water and watch as the roots emerge. You can read more from the RHS experts here

Vinca minor

Ground cover. Produces little purple flowers in the spring. If it is very happy (as mine was) it will produce a carpet of glossy green leaves under which our resident toads like to overwinter! See the RHS information here