Still feeling chilly. Spring shows a bit of leg in February but is really not going to commit until mid March. In the meantime we contend with overnight lows below zero and a meagre 2 or 3°c during the day. Brrrr. Time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday – could be anything! A plant, a flower, a job to do, a favourite tool, a success, a failure, anything at all. Join in!
Here are my Six for this week.
1 – Euphorbia purpurea – a purchase from the shop at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Still in its pot, it is destined for underplanting on the shady border.
2 – Salvia x amethyst seedlings – I’ve got a few varieties of salvia on the go, this is one of them. They have all germinated well.
3 – Weed seedlings – always a risk when bringing in manure direct from the farm without any heat or steam treatment. The manure mulch in the borders all has a sheen of weed seedlings. I need to hoe it all off before it takes hold. A job for the weekend.
4 – Brodiaea ‘Queen Fabiola’ – these are coming through in force. A hopeful sign of flowers to come in June. I meant to move them when dormant but forgot – oh well…
5 – Allium sphaerocephalon- I accidentally bought 100 or so of these drumstick alliums back in the autumn. I have planted them in clumps of 15-20 in several places throughout the front and back gardens. They should flower in July, later than the other alliums I have.
6 – Begonia – I rescued these plants from a patio pot after they got hit by a frost in November. After trimming off the affected leaves, the remaining growth was in good heart. These have been lazing around in luxury in the heated bench ever since and seem quite happy. I really like the silvery tone of the leaves.
Those are my Six, what are yours? Join the gang – couldn’t be easier, just write your post, add a comment to this post containing a link to yours, and maybe a link back to this blog in yours. For more details, check out the brief Participant’s Guide.
Enjoy your weekend, don’t forget to check back later on as more links are added.
I’ll be back next week for another Six on Saturday.
The Propagator 
A little late to the party, but here’s my first ever attempt at Six on Saturday! https://www.greatlittlegarden.co.uk/blog/post/six-on-a-saturday/
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I wasn’t familiar with Brodiaea, looking on the www they look wonderful, you should have a good show there.
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Me either. They came as part of a mixed bulb offer a few years back. They’re good but it’s a brief show, 2-3 weeks tops I think.
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A sophomore Six post here from Hugo over Dublin-way.
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Accidentally bought,eh? Odd how often that happens!
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Yes it’s amazing. Those bulbs should be more careful.
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The Brodiaea were interesting – had to look them up and found that Triteleia was another name for them, which I’d also not heard of until this week when I received some random packets of seed on joining the HPS, including Triteleia laxa.
My six: https://www.parabola.me.uk/blog/2018/Feb/saturday-six-feb-10th/
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Just in the nick of time Steve!
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oops! Your not you. Sorry
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(I hadn’t noticed…!)
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I read your tweet and now followed you blog. 🙂
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Fantastic!
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Great pictures of your begonias. I ordered some for this upcoming season (I have some shady spots to perk up). I look forward to see those allilum in bloom! Here are my six: https://myhalfacreblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-six-more-weeks-of-winter/
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Thanks! I had about 175 alliums to plant back in the autumn. I am also looking forward to them blooming!
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Six from Carolee in the US.
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I love the Territorial Seed Company catalog. One of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen in a long time! Sounds like you picked some great seeds. I think I will try to grow some leeks as well.
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Carolee may not see this comment, you might want to pop over to her blog and add there instead!
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Nice blog!
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Love the begonia leaves. I grow a couple of decorative leaf varieties indoors but hadn’t thought of this sort for summer planting. Something else to try this summer. There’s something so positive about seedlings, even weed ones.
If you’d like to see my Six they are at https://thequiltinggardener.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-10/02/18
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I bought them for pennies on the bargain shelf. I wasn’t sure they would last the winter but they seem fine.
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Love that begonia, wonderful leaf colour. I’ve got salvia seedlings on my blog too! And shooting bulbs! Honestly I wasn’t peeking. Great minds and all that. Here is my contribution, hope you like it. https://offtheedgegardening.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-necessity/
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Isn’t there something about fools?
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Don’t know (choose to ignore) that one 🙂
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Quite right.
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Finally time for some reading! I shall be well envious of that brodiaea when it is in flower.
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I’ve never had to weed manure, but weeding the compost is a regular occurrence… oddly enough, the teabags that go into the compost bin don’t always break down quickly, and usually end up with several weed seedlings growing inside them!
Here’s my 5-and-a-half (I don’t have a photo for one :P) for the week: http://allotmenteering.co.uk/?p=35
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A busy day ahead, but I did check out a few blogs. I am curious about what kind of hoe you use for weeding your mulch. How often will you need to hoe?
In our previous garden I grew Allium sphaerocephalon, which I love, but they tended to droop rather than stand up straight. I never was able to solve that problem. They certainly spread a great deal too, which might have been nice.
My six for today: https://fromourisland.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/six-on-saturday-february-10-2018/
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I just have a standard type of dutch hoe. Nothing fancy. Like this.
https://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwickes.scene7.com%2Fis%2Fimage%2Ftravisperkins%2FlargeNormal%2FGarden-Hand-Tools-Wickes-Dutch-Hoe-1405mm-Carbon-Steel~T3274_500101_00%3FdefaultImage%3Dtravisperkins%2Fmissing-product&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wickes.co.uk%2FWickes-Dutch-Hoe-1405mm-Carbon-Steel%2Fp%2F500101&docid=9Vkuq2TAuk4EfM&tbnid=hSIdp2CdK37SZM%3A&vet=1&w=515&h=515&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim
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Scraped together a quick six from my visit to the local potato day. Some of the varieties I have chosen for this year. The images are rather brown – but they are just seed potatoes. The fun should come when I get to harvest time!
https://goo.gl/MwtCVh
Steve – OpenSpaces79.
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Nice. Spuds we do like.
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Potato Day! How fantastic. I wish we had events like that in these parts 🙂
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Sorry to be so much later with my link than with my post. I knew I had a busy day ahead of me, so I wrote the post yesterday and scheduled it for publication today, but I couldn’t schedule a comment on your post, which didn’t exist yet. Very nice six on your part – note to self, “must obtain more varieties of Salvia: stay on the lookout for seeds”. Anyway, here are my Six for today: https://thepaintinggardener.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-february-10/.
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No problemo!
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Those silver leaves on the begonia are beautiful! I’ve not seen one that share before. It’s lovely to see new growth in different forms this time of year. The build up of anticipation to finally see them bloom when spring arrives is a real driving force! A lovely Six on Saturday as always x
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Thanks Nichola, yes things are revving up nicely!
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You can find my Six on Saturday here 😀 http://pintsizedgardener.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/six-on-saturday-february-10th-2018.html
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Fab, will have a look-see now.
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This is my first time doing a Six on Saturday, after reading quite a few other bloggers’ posts and enjoying them. Thought I should dip my toe in the water and try for myself. It features propagating (seeds & cuttings), a couple of fantastic winter plants and back-breaking mulching. Wishing you all a fantastic weekend. https://perennialnerd.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-february-10/
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Fantastic! Welcome to the fold. Hope to see you agaon soon.
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Great first post. I have been trying to ignore the need to seed, but that picture of seed trays all lined up makes me feel all prickly and panicky !
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Hello All, those drumstick alliums are lovely when they come out, tiny thin leaves and quite late in the season I think. Here is my blog today http://londoncottagegarden.com/six-on-saturday-10th-february-2018/ and up to today, winter hasn’t really come to north London. It still might I suppose. Happy Gardening to us all.
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Aah, just when you thought I was going to be late again I send you my six.https://wp.me/p97pee-cJ Looking forward to reading everyone’s posts over the weekend.
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Never in doubt.
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Queen Fabiola. What a name. If I was female and a queen, that’s what I’d like to be called. On my phone which takes ages to load so will have to catch up on other people’s posts later. Here’s one I prepared earlier: http://www.timhewittgardener.co.uk/blog
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Tim, that carving is really fabulous, isn’t it? Can understand why it’s such an inspiration to grow real ones nearby. I agree w/the staghorn suman – used to live where it grew naturally & to come upon a grove of them, especially after the leaves dropped, quite supernatural. Good ghost story ambience.
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Thanks, Lora. Love Sumach at all stages. Will be more active on the identification of marble carved flowers, then plant them. Most are Victorian and related to death…
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Your oak edging looks so solid. I have one left over oak sleeper from a raised bed, not enough to edge anything, One day I’ll find a use for it – and it will be one of my sixes then!
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Oak is so solid and so dense. The sleepers they replaced were pine. Same size, quarter the weight. That lot will not rot. It’s satisfying wood to use mind.
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Great six Tim, yes those wooden sleepers are very heavy indeed, I use timber grabbers with them, helps a lot
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I love your: “I accidentally bought 100 […]” the word “accidentally” is not appropriate I guess! 😂
Beautiful begonia leaves and a nice success of salvia seedlings that I expect to see bloom.
here is mine : https://fredgardenerblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-10-02/
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It was a total accident. I was just on the internet minding my own business when these bulbs fell into my basket. Easily done. £2.99 for 100, rude not to…
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Not wrong … a good deal. (I would have thought it was a joke…) Now you can lose some or give some of them around you!
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Nice Alliums. The right height for a herbaceous border and the heads are not so large as to over-dominate. You might find a weed-burner more effective against those tiny weeds than hoeing, plus the heat will also kill off the next lot of weed seeds waiting to germinate. My six is over at https://rivendellgarden.blog/?p=3162. Still no emerging bulbs but a bit of godwottery this week.
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I dont have one sadly. I could use a lot of matches and kill them one by one. Might take a while. I might just run a rake over it and disturb them enough to let the cold kill them.
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I don’t do well with Begonias in pots but I planted two in the garden in the autumn; very keen to see if they make it through. Here’s this week’s offering from me: https://gardenruminations.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-10-2-2018/
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I suppose they will survive in your balmy Atlantic climate. Mine had to come in under cover. Or i assume they did. Hmm. I wonder.
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I seem the lone drumstick lover in the crew. But then, it’s only 2 minutes ’til 9am, so your allium stand a chance of having other fans. The begonia, of course, is fantastic. I’ve loved them as well such great, showy place fillers – but like others, took a while to fully appreciate them. All those seedlings of yours, so much promise of the summer to come! Even your weeds prosper.
So here’s my Six – a diatribe against snow. Filthy stuff, snow. https://lorahughes.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/no-more-snow-please.html
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I don’t dislike them. But I had them planted singly before which is a bit useless. I’m giving them a chance.
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🙂 I’m glad someone shares my disdain for snow! It makes for very difficult gardening. I hope it warms up there soon.
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My blog Orostachys, Gemlins and carnage. http://sedumsdahliasandhayfever.com/2018/02/10/six-on-saturday-10022018
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The begonia leaves are so beautiful. I never appreciated begonias much, but have changed my mind as they seem to thrive in sun and shade, and can even take a bit of drought. I have picked up on the snowdrops joke, and hoped to join in the fun by now; but the joke’s on me, as we got another six inches of snow this week! So, I’m still inside looking out!
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Isn’t it like the middle of the night!?
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Ha! Well, being the optimist, I’d call it early morning. Sleep troubles that I thought I’d beaten, but apparently not. Oh well, maybe tomorrow… The early bird, etc.
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Good morning!
Begonia leaves look beautiful! I am glad they were saved. 🙂
Salvia seedlings are so cute. Great to hear that they are easy to germinate – might give it a go!
Here are my Six on Saturday: https://londonplantology.com/my-garden-in-february/
Story about hot chillies, stubborn Romanesco cauliflowers, happy and wild strawberries and one little flower which survives winter.
Have a great weekend!
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Chillies! Of course there are Chillies!
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Of course! How without them? 😉
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Ohhhhh bugger! Thank you, you have reminded me I still have some of those queen things to pot up, adds to list, used to hate that allium when I was younger but it’s grown on me as I have got older and now like it, unlucky with the weeds 🙁
Here’s my little contribution to this weeks party
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I’m not a huge fan of the drumsticks either but am giving them.a chance to make an impact in groups rather than dotted about individually which is what I’ve done before.
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A really varied and interesting post as usual. I have got salvia seedlings too, but they seem to be biding their time at small seedling stage. Here is my Six on Saturday:
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Mine are all still teeny, just a close-up photo. I’m looking forward to seeing how closely they resemble the named varieties the seed was collected from.
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A hundred drumstick allium!? Whoa! They do not look like much. I would have guessed that their leaves would be more substantial.
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Very slender. And they’ve only just come through.
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https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/71857822/posts/1761968008
Okay; Here are mine! I got SNOWDROPS (sort of). I (sort of) have bragging rights!
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