Six on Saturday - 2nd September 2023

Survivors and thrivers

Best laid plans and all that - I had my six pics all ready for last week's #SixOnSaturday and then got distracted by garden jobs so it's been another fortnight since the last post. We've had rain off and on this week so the water butts have been kept topped up which is a relief as I have a lot of things in pots and continue to try very hard not to use mains water. I've got into the habit of filling up all the watering cans after I've done the watering round to make even more space available for collecting when it next rains. Here are this week's six. The purists amongst you will note that whilst there are six headings, there are more than six things as I'm taking liberties this week. 

One: rose

This started life in my company as one of those little pots of living flowers given to me by a friend for my birthday a couple or three years ago. I planted it out and it has survived. When it is in bud/early flower it is particularly pretty.

Two: Clematis Armandii - again!

I thought I was seeing things last week - a single wisteria flower and a single c. armandii flower. I wasn't. Armandii has put on a second flush of smallish flowers for reasons only known to itself. Here's a picture to prove it. 

Three: the plant formerly known as sedum

I know they are very common and very easy to grow but at this time of year they bring a bit of brash joy to the garden. This clump are only just starting to colour up but even so, have been attracting bees for a couple of weeks now. Perfect timing as the nearby lavender has just received a trimming so there's something for the bees to move on to. 

Four: survivors

Yes, it's the apple tree again but humour me: it lost its second bough in December 2014, it is now hollow half way down, and home to gazillions of anty & beetly creatures, and yet it is still producing apples. They are cookers and we've rescued the remains of the crop from the clutches of the squirrels and they are making a jolly nice addition to the breakfast museli at the moment. The apples that is, not the squirrels. I fully expect to wake up one morning and find the trunk on the ground as it is already very wobbly indeed. Also surviving and thriving is a begonia that I thought was lost to last December's exceptionally cold weather. Not a bit of it. 

Five: harvest surprise

I mentioned the courgettes in the last post. They are still going strong and I'm still picking them when they are small, generally getting a couple a day. These are this morning's. Also in the trug are blueberries, some tomatoes - semi-ripe as I'm finding that some critters are availing themselves of the crop as it ripens - and a long aubergine. Finally, a nice surprise. I'd failed with cucumber seeds this year and so bought a young plant from I can't remember where. It is now creeping around the greenhouse and producing fruit which are nothing like those pictured on the label. A brief consultation with #GardeningTwitter experts and I find that I'm growing what is most likely Cucumber Crystal Apple. They are exquisetly sweet and flavoursome. Thanks to the responsive folks over at the Royal Horticultural Society for warning about discarding them if they were bitter. Happily they are anything but. 

Six: Japanse anemone honorine jobert

These are standing about six feet tall this year and are flourishing. Over the years they've produced offspring which pop up tens of feet away. I can forgive them for that given the long show they give me and how very undemanding they are. 

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. 

Six on Saturday - 19th August 2023

Remembering mum

Nine years ago today, mum passed away. It is partly through her that I gained my love of gardening, and her legacy funded the hard landscaping and fencing in ours, so this post is dedicated to her memory and to the daily pleasure and theraputic uplift that the garden gives me. For a walk around, hop over to the video that we made during the 2020 lockdown. 

It has been eight weeks since my last post during which the garden has become a veritable jungle. Having had the swealtering heat of June, we've since had a warm and wet July, and a slightly less wet August. Out there in the jungle are three prolific courgette plants. My first sowing of seeds came to nought. Four seedlings emerged from the second sowing, three of which I planted. I'm now picking the fruits when they are young although there was the hillarious moment when I found a "hider" which weighed in at nearly 800g! I'm currently picking three or four each day and they are variously feeding us, neighbours, and garden club members. Then there are the bees. The garden is absolutely alive with them at the moment, particularly on the lavender and salvias. They come in so many different patterns, sizes and degrees of fluffiness!

Anyhow, on to this week's six planty things going on in our little haven here in south east London: 

One: Rosa Gentle Hermione

Hermione has responded to pruning after the first flowering with a second flush. The scent is utterly heavenly and it is liked by the bees. 

Two: Geranium Rozanne

Another bee magnet, and a fantastically long flowering plant. It does wilt somewhat in the heat, but has been very well behaved during July and August. 

Three: Clematis "Princess Diana"

Diana does well in the shade although I've probably not been feeding her enough. I don't recall getting around to pruning her last year so it is a wonder that there are any flowers this year!   

Four: Canna tropicanna black

I thought this one was a complete gonner. I'd rescued the pot and put it inside a greenhouse when we had the plummeting temperatures last december. Happily, whilst the outer rhizomes did not survive the sub zero temperatures, the centrall one did and here it is putting on a really grand show.   

Five: Clematis viticella (probably)

I've mislaid the label to this clematis which I only acquired earlier in the summer. It is possibly Viticella and has been slow to get going. I've planted it so that it can clamber over an arch.  

Six: Augergine "moneymaker"

This is my first year growing aubergines. I've grown some long ones from seed and this one, moneymaker, came from a generous neighbour. All are doing exceptionally well and I anticipate searching "1001 things to do with a glut of aubergines" to replace the current courgette search.   

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.