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 - 9th October 2021

Seeing Red

After a bit of a gap, and on a pretty foggy Saturday morning here in south east London, here's my twelfth #SixOnSaturday post, six things going on in the garden this week and inspired by The Propagator. There's a red theme this week

1) Chilli Peppers

I grew peppers for the first time this year. I have absolutely no idea what type they are as the packet they came in was simply marked "Chilli Pepper Seeds" and was part of a Mexican-themed party box from work to spice up our otherwise online Christmas Party. There were seven seeds from which I grew six viable plants. All have produced chillies whose size and shape suggests Padrom, Apache or Jalapeño.   

2) Salvia "Hot Lips"

Hot Lips has got her lips back having started the flowering season with pure white blooms.  She continues to flower vigorously. The plant is placed by a path and I love the scent that the leaves release when you brush by it.

3) The plant formerly known as Sedum

This year has been a good one for the sedums in my garden. The original plant has been much propogated through spring division and at this time of year give fantastic displays in shady and sunny borders alike, with the intensity of the red deepening over time. They are hugely prone to flopping and so next year I'm planning to grow some through Peony support cages. I've been surprised how good they are as cut flowers so at least the very flopped ones have had a second life in a vase. 

4) Tomatoes

I grew two kinds of tomato this year, Tigrella and Gardener's Delight. I had so many successful seedlings and many went to neighbours or appeared on local charity stalls. I tend to keep some in my little greenhouse and then grow the remainder outside. This year all the outside ones suffered from blight and had to be destroyed. Those in the greenhosue fared much better and all the fruit ripened nicely. Yesterday I picked the last ones and the plants have been chopped and added to the compost heap.    

5) Cotoneaster berries

This is the time of year when cotoneaster comes into its own, with the rich red fruit contrasting the small glossy green leaves of the plant. The birds love the berries. 

6) Cyclamen

With their perky flowers and distinctively marked leaves, cyclamen for me signal the onset of autumn. One plant has, this year, produced a large number of offspring which I'm now attempting to grow on.   

The fog is lifting and the forecasted sunny day looks like it will be delivered, so we are hoping to get the bikes out and gently trace the Thames Path.

That's all for this week. Check out the participant guide if you want to join in.