Six on Saturday 13-01-18

January is well under way, and with it the annual itch is upon me. No, not scabies, this itch is entirely horticultural – the sowing itch! I have been unable to resist, some seeds have been sown, providing some scratchy relief.  Anyhow, time to look at what’s going on in the garden with Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a plan, a favourite tool, a bud, a job completed, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week.

1 – Rose bud breaks – I have added significantly to my rose collection in the last six months or so. Where previously there was just one climber, there are now nine, with the distinct possibility of more to come if any of the hardwood cuttings I have root successfully.  All are pruned back, and there are signs of new bud-breaks on all of them. This is very exciting! I am looking forward to a rosy 2018, although I still have to find a planting spot for four of them.

2. Vermiculite sack – I get through a lot of vermiculite. It’s very expensive to buy in small 5L or 10L bags in the garden centre. I order one 100L sack a year, this one was £24 via eBay. I use for both sowing and for cuttings.

3. Primula japonica. I mentioned these a couple of weeks back, they had all died back and looked rather sad. At the time I wondered if they had just died. I cleared away the dead foliage and I see signs of life. Jolly good. I have too many, I will have to get rid of some. Er, I mean, give lovingly to others.

4. More veg seed. I was looking for some more chilli seed, and found a supplier I hadn’t come across before, Premier Seeds Direct. They sell all their seeds in basic foil packaging and don’t produce a seed catalogue, keeping their costs low. They seem to sell in decent quantity for an extremely reasonable 99p a pack, typically. I got an additional discount for ordering over 10 packs, so they came in at 79p a pack including postage. More you spend, more you save! Very good value, now we just have to see how they turn out.  What do you mean, I didn’t need any more seeds?  Nonsense, clearly nonsense. La la la not listening.

5. Onions again – my ‘Electric’ sets are looking nice and perky, most are sprouting enthusiastically.

 

6. Honeysuckle. I finally got around to planting this out against the fence on the long sunny border. It is raring to go.  It is still small, so I’m not expecting a lot of flowers this year, but hopefully it will cover some fence.

That’s my Six for this week, what are yours?  If you are contemplating joining in, just write your post and add a comment below containing a link to your post, and maybe add a link back to this blog in yours. Simple! We’d love a nose round your garden. For more details you can read the brief participant’s guide.

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to check in over the next 24 hours as more links are added.

I’ll be back next Saturday with another Six.