6 – on – Saturday 23.05.20

WordPress has finally forced me to use the new editing tool, so bear with me if this looks a bit weird. I haven’t mastered it yet. And it’s making me swear. A lot.

I’m really not grumbling about the run of sunny weather, but Lord knows, we could do with a good dollop of rain. The soil is powder dry here and planting requires a pick-axe to break through the surface and get anywhere near a planting hole. Nevertheless, gardening is taking place. Even better, our nearby good garden centre has re-opened so of course, we have been tempted out. Gloves and mask are the order of the day when buying and there has definitely not been any browsing. Any way, on with the 6.

First are these irises. I think I showed you one last week – here are a few more. There are white ones too, but I can’t work out how to get two pictures side by side, although I seem to have found out how to cut the corners off….

Second up are the purchases from the garden centre awaiting placement. Some of my good old favourites here – 3 pots of erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’and 1 of ‘Winter Orchid’ (I think, it has lost its label), 2 hardy geraniums – ‘Rozanne’ and geranium sanguineum ‘New Hampshire Purple’, a lovely geum called ‘Scarlet Tempest’, and a shedload of antirrhinum, red and white. Now, where’s that pick-axe.

Number 3 is a hardy geranium just coming into flower in the border. I think it is ‘Ann Folkard’. There’s lots of it so plenty of scope for increasing it around the garden. I do love hardy geraniums, they’re such good value and I’m delighted to see them popping up in various places.

Next up is – guess what? Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’. How can you have an herbaceous border without it? It’s a marvel. Starts flowering now and doesn’t really stop, increases size pretty quickly and splits easily. What could be better?

Number 5 is this lovely thing. It’s coming up randomly in the garden in ones and twos and provides a fabulous pop of colour. It is gladiolus communis byzantinus, commonly called ‘Whistling Jacks’ in parts of the far southwest, where it has naturalised. I love it, and plan to buy lots more with my spring bulb order.

And finally, here’s a little update on the veg patch. Parsnips and carrots up nicely at the back, lettuce and spring onions just showing next, beetroot doing well in the middle. Then a patch of leeks, a couple of courgettes and the runners which are finally making progress. Growing vegetables always takes so long. I feel sorry for all those people who rushed out and bought seeds thinking they were going to feed themselves. Growing veg from seed is a looooong game.

That’s my 6 for this week.  No matter how nice the Bank Holiday weather – stay near home, keep safe.  

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.  Also on the In the Garden tab is the April overview of the garden, so take a look there too.

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!