Six on Saturday 06-01-18

Sigh. Back at work then, how tedious! On the plus side, some form of culinary normality has been restored, that brings a certain amount of relief. Anyhow, time for this week’s edition of Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a pest, a success, a project, a plan, an abject failure – anything at all! Join in!

Here are my Six for this week…

1 – Sedum shoots.  Still languishing in a pot, this sedum ‘autumn joy’ was a pity bench purchase, mainly for the bargain, but also partly nostalgia. I had one of these in an old garden probably 20 years ago. I almost like the emerging new shoots as much as the resulting plant. They resemble tiny cabbages.

2 – Daffodil not-quite-flower. So near and yet so far. Within a week, I reckon we’ll see this flower emerge. It’s your basic daff, minding its own business in a planter by the front door.

3 – Mystery emerging bulbs – I mentioned these in passing last week, let’s have a closer look. I recall there being bluebells, or something that looked a bit like a bluebell, in this corner of the front garden before I dug it all up. Perhaps these are the remnants.  Or, I planted bulbs I’ve forgotten about. Both are about equally likely, I’d say.

4 – Pruned wisteria – I gave this a good seeing to last weekend. I last pruned it back in July, which should involve cutting back whippy stems to 5 buds. I must have been in a hurry, or couldn’t be bothered to get the stepladder out, as there were a lot of such stems that I hadn’t pruned back. Not sure what the impact of that will be. I have made amends now, and it is all looking much tidier. I want this plant to colonise the trellis on the other side of the arch, so have left intact and tied in some long stems on said arch. Last year I made the mistake of pruning these right back along with the rest. I have also tried to improve the coverage of the trellis against which it is planted. I didn’t train it properly when it was a young’n so the flowering growth is all at the top of the trellis. I have “persuaded” some side branches to inhabit lower parts of the trellis, having untangled them a little first.  We’ll see if that makes any difference. I’ve also attempted to improve the spread to the left of the main trunk, it’s a bit lop-sided at the moment. My eventual goal is to have it trained along the side fence in both directions, rather than disappearing untrammelled up into the nearby apple tree. It’s a work in progress.

5 – Chilli ‘razzmatazz’, hibernating. I kept back one chilli plant from last year, I’m attempting to overwinter it. If it survives the process into the spring, it should produce a better crop than in its first year. Before storing it in the heated bench, I pruned about two thirds of the growth away. Right now, frankly, it is looking a little worse for wear. Leafless. One might be forgiven for thinking it is a goner. Time will tell.

6 – Nandina domestica. Featured previously for its flowers and berries, pretty much a year-round feature of this shrub. I have described the leaves as being fairly anonymous in comparison, but on seeing pictures of other more foliarly* impressive nandinas I went to have a closer look at mine. While most leaves are a fairly dull green, some have coloured up a little. Even in their dullest green guise, the shape of the leaves are quite interesting. I may have been overly harsh.

Those are my Six, what are yours?  Do join in, we’d love to have a gander at your garden. Couldn’t be easier, just write your post and pop a link to it in the comments below. If you also add a link back to this blog in your post that would be fab. See the brief participants’ guide for more details.

Have a great weekend, don’t forget to check back in as links get added.

I’ll be back next week with another Six on Saturday.

 

*is that a word? Tis now, you heard it here first…