6 – on – Saturday 04.04.20

Here we are again, another Saturday, another 6.  I’m not going to mention the Thing.  We have spent nearly all day, every day in the garden this week.  It’s been a joy.

First up is are some softwood cutting from the Cistus from last week.  The bush is old and straggly and keeling over, so a  new start is necessary – in fact 6 new starts.  5 of them look good so I’m hopeful of a new clump.

Next is the first of this year’s sowings.  I am without a greenhouse at the new house (not sure how much longer I can go on calling it the new house and the new garden) so have waited until now.  Today have sown runner beans – I bought them loose at a show last year and now I have no idea what variety they are, and courgette Defender.  The courgette seeds are a bit old but we’ll see how many/if any germinate.  V boring pic to follow, runners on left, courgettes on right.

Third up is a peony of some sort.  It looks as though it’s going to be pink. The plant is quite tall and for some reason has been planted right against the house wall.

IMG_1394

And at number 4 is this darling clump of primroses, before the sparrows took off every single flower.  There are a few celandines in there as well as a dandelion or too.  I think that might be Crocosmia growing through it but we haven’t got around to clearing this bit yet, so I don’t know for sure.

IMG_1393 2

Next is this hen pheasant that has been visiting us all week.  Very cautious and very beautiful in an understated sort of way.  Not a great picture, looks like a headless pheasant – but there she is, on the fence under the Pittosporum.  That’s the trunk of the pittosporum to the left – it’s a monster!

IMG_1401

And last, is this pair of socks which though not ‘of’ the garden, was completed ‘in’ the garden last week.  In fact, whilst sitting in the garden shed.  And I’m wearing them today!

IMG_1357

So, that’s my six for this week.  Hope you are all keeping well.  And remember – Wash Your Hands.  Practise Social Distancing.  Stay At Home.  Be Safe.  Have a lovely gardening weekend, wherever you are.

If you enjoy my 6 on Saturday you might like my wildlife/countryside blog too.  It’s accessible from the Core Edge Journal tab at the top of the blog.

Readers who are new to 6 – on – Saturday can join in easily – If you want to get a glimpse of lovely gardens from across the world, and chat to lots of lovely gardeners, then go here https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/  and join in!!

The O.G.

14 thoughts on “6 – on – Saturday 04.04.20”

  1. Great socks! I didn’t know sparrows could be such vandals. I wonder why they did that to the primroses. I’ve used some similar looking pots for some of my seedlings. Mine have quite a strong sawdust sort of smell, I wondered where it was coming from originally after I put them on the window sill. I hope all your cuttings take, it’s a lovely plant.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Cistus is something that my colleague down south and I joke about. It is not so popular now, but when it was, I inspected many landscapes in which it was aging and deteriorating because so-called ‘gardeners’ did not bother to replace it like they should. My colleague would say in Ebonics, “Oooh, them’s some bad cistus.”, just like we might refer to a group of rough looking young ladies at a bus stop.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Oh, it is not an analogy. It is how Ebonics sounds, as in “Oooh, them’s some bad ‘sistas’!” If you know who Jamie Foxx is, he is my colleagues cousin, . . . and Wanda on In Living Color.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. I take it that is some kind of tree peony, my herbaceous one is only just showing above ground though I’ve seen others that are further on. Was it planted against the wall for protection maybe, though I think they’re tougher than many people think. I’m looking forward to the picture of it in flower. I replaced my not very old but much damaged Cistus just a couple of weeks back, with a plant raised from a cutting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That’s reassuring about the cistus – having said they were doing ok, they look a bit sick this morning, keeling over.
      Yes, I’m pretty sure it’s a tree peony having done a bit of looking up, it does look as though it’s going to be lovely.

      Like

      Reply

  4. I’ve decided to hold off on sowing my tender veg, I always sow too early then just have over-large plants to deal with in the greenhouse. i’m hoping I can hold on for another couple of weeks. as if!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment