It has been cold and mucky, both the weather and frankly my respiratory system too. I am now feeling better, and yesterday at least it was a beautiful sunny day. Time for Six on Saturday – Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, seedlings, a completed project, a plan, a tool or equipment, emerging growth – anything at all. Join in!
Here are my Six for this week.
1. Automatic vent openers – after almost a year of procrastinating I finally got around to fitting this, one of two I need to do, last weekend. I’m pleased to say that the vent had opened up as expected on what was a sunny afternoon here yesterday. The second one remains a job to do, the original manual openers are rusted in place, I need to drill out the screws.
2. Emerging allium. I don’t recall which of the five varieties I planted in this border. I assume it’s an allium rather than a stray tulip. Time will tell.
3. Mint. The new growth is coming through, I need to cut back the old. This mint plant was a raffle prize, if I remember right, it lives in a pot on the patio.
4. Oriental poppy. Beginning to perk up after a quiet winter, this and several like it were grown from seed last year. No flowers yet, I am hopeful for this year.
5. Aster ‘Little carlow’. Emerging new growth, looking a little nibbled. I’ll cut back the old stems fully in a month or so.
6. Nerine bulbs. Kindly sent to me a week or two back by Jim, of this parish. I must plant them out. I intended to do just that last week but I read they need plenty of grit for drainage – I need to get some. I also have to solve the problem of where to plant them. They may sulk, disliking being moved and mucked about with, so may not flower this year. I hope they get over themselves, I’m keen to have more autumn colour in the garden.
Those are my Six, what are yours? Join in! Just write your post, add a comment here with a link to your post, and maybe add a link back to this blog in yours. For more details, please see the brief participant’s guide.
Have a great weekend, don’t forget to check back in over the next day or two as more links are added. It was a record breaking week last week at 25 participants. Wonder if we can reach those dizzy heights again this week…
I’ll be back next week with another Six on Saturday.
I planted some nerines last year. I forgot about
leaving the top above ground, only remembering
after I saw their desperate attempt to push their way
through my heavy soil. What happened? They didn’t flower.
Here is my six for the week: https://www.parabola.me.uk/blog/2018/Feb/saturday-six-feb-10th/
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That’s the link to last weeks Steve!
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You are very quick, thought I could get the right one in before anyone noticed!
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That was last weeks… this is the right one: https://www.parabola.me.uk/blog/2018/Feb/six-on-saturday-17th-feb/
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I like the automatic vent openers. I have motorized vents on my greenhouse, but something like those automatic openers would be useful during a power failure.
Rather jealous of all those Nerine bulbs
Here are my six: https://sweetgumandpines.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-21-february-17-2018/
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Yes I’m hoping for flowers in October.
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Nerines are a favourite here, I moved a lot from my great aunts house where she grew them on the south side of the house, against the wall. An ideal position for them, they also should be only half buried into the soil. Sorry if I am telling you what you already know.😀
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Lovely, thanks Brian. You not contemplating joining the Six on Saturday gang?
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I don’t think I can manage six every Saturday, along with ten favourites each month with Chloris. ( I don’t always manage that!)
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Better late than never, but here is my Six on Saturday. I showcase six highlights from my last week, including growing dahlias from seed, results of more mulching, battles with weeds, and a fantastic trip to Kew.
https://perennialnerd.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-february-17/
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Welcome back!
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Here’s another Six from Carolee.
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Working this weekend,,,,,,damn you work! Can I do 12 next week? 🙂
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Working tomorrow too?
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Yup keeping the wheels of the nation turning 😉….Service Engineer….though at the moment I have no jobs!
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Well we have had posts turn up on a Tuesday before now. Just saying….
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Hello all from sunny Wiltshire….what a fabulous day it’s been here after all the murky weather we have been having.
Here’s mine
https://oldhouseintheshires.com/2018/02/17/6-in-saturday-my-patio-has-its-own-ecosystem/
Loving those vents….xx
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Lovely day in neighbouring Berkshire too!
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☺️🌞
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Definitely an allium, we are getting there aren’t we? So jealous of your lovely greenhouse and magic vents. One day my greenhouse will come, or something like that anyway. Just remember to plant the nerines with their necks out of the soil and give them lots of sunshine and drainage and they will love you. Here are my six, hope you enjoy them. https://offtheedgegardening.com/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-optimism/
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Necks out. Got it. The vents are great. Well one of them is. The ither is still on a shelf. Must sort it out tomorrow.
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Here’s my link https://wp.me/p97pee-cT Looking forward to reading everyone’s news on Sunday – after I finish pruning those blackcurrants!!
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Congratulations on always doing something productive in the garden. Week after week – an example to us all. My Nerines are doing just fine without grit, in pots against a south facing wall. On the other hand, the garden is flooded in the same places as before, the sky is very dark and there’s snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Sorry, no Six from me today.
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Prepared my S on S last Thursday. Then Friday night it snowed and is now raining on top of the white stuff. One step back, one forward.. Here are the Six for today. https://fromourisland.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/six-on-saturday-february-17-2018/
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Sounds like yucky weather. Has been glorious here the last couple of days. Coldish but bright and sunny.
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Good luck with the nerines, mine sulked and disappeared last year!
And here’s my debut 6:
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Fantastic! Welcome to the gang. Will have a proper read of that later.
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We still have lots of snow so there’s nothing green showing yet! Still…aided by a few indoor bulbs, here’s what I’m seeing today.
https://wordpress.com/post/countygardening.wordpress.com/2700
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That link didn’t work for me Chris. This should be ok…
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Thanks!
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Hello from the Arctic Circle where I’m on a coastal ship to the top of Norway. It’s cold, sunny and bleak. Nothing green at all. Not a sausage of green. Will be joining in next week when I get home. Excited to see what will have come up while I’ve been away.
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Sounds Fantastic!
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Hello. As I write I am on the Lofoten islands which really are in the back of beyond (to me anyway). Our passenger ship will be heading north round to the Russian border. Jolly bleak though. No signs of Spring that we gardeners would recognise. Thank goodness I can read all. Your Sixes of lovely spring things happening.
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It’s been rainy here, too, and next week we’ll have truly warm temperatures. Seeing the poppy reminded me that I once had them in a flower bed. but they’ve disappeared. Food for someone, no doubt.
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You went from snow to warm quite fast!
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I had only one automatic vent a few years ago but I had to buy another one. Programmed at 21 ° C with the screw. Very useful but don’t leave it if the frosts are announced … I also spoke about allium bulbs … same idea.
Here is mine talking about the update of the saumatorum bulb. https://fredgardenerblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-17-02/
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What is the issue with frost and the vent opener?
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The grease congeals and the next summer it won’t make its job. I remove them in November until March ( and I count the number of turns of the screw to keep the same temperature.)
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Ok that’s useful to know, thanks Fred.
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I put in two automatic vents last year – expanding beeswax principle. They were brilliant over the summer. Now I’m hoping they will work as well again this year! Hope they make it through the winter.
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I put automatic vents on the two windows on the sunny side of the glasshouse a few years ago. Gives great peace of mind when at work. It’s amazing how often they open just a bit even at this time of year. It’s definitely an allium emerging, mind the slugs as the flower stem starts to show! A weekend away for me but I prepared my six last night (hope that’s alright, I won’t make a habit of it!).
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Perfectly ok. I always write mine on a Friday.
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That link doesn’t seem to work.
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From this week’s Twitter feed, I would never have guessed you were under the weather. You must be an absolute dynamo of energy. I’m in the allium contingent, as to your mystery plant, which reminds me – were the other ones bluebells, hyacinths, alien life form?
Here’s my link w/apologies for anyone who clicked me on Twitter last week. I was in the TOS dog house, an apparent threat to the wellbeing of Tweeps the world over. Out on bond at the moment, so it’s safe to visit my blog where I’m hating my garden. Yes, it’s true. I hate my garden.
https://lorahughes.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/irreconcilable-differences.html
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Its a bluecinth. Or a hyabell. I dunno. will show again when they flower. Shouldn’t be long.
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When will you be moving?
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In time for next week’s Six.
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Ooh exciting. We look forward to getting the tour of the new garden.
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Something familiar about those nerines, now where have I seen them before. Mine have no extra grit and are in very average soil. Re hardiness (n20gardener), the parents of mine were, and as far as I know still are, perfectly happy in my sister’s garden way north of Aberdeen. N. bowdenii forms are the hardy ones.
https://gardenruminations.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-17-2-2018/
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Noted re grit. If I get some tomorrow I’ll use it but otherwise I’ll just plant em.
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Thanks Jim. I was planning on putting them in pots but I have a spot at the end of the garden where some hellebores grow so if they can survive Aberdeen maybe I’ll give them ago there as well.
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I love Nerines, what a great present. I keep a few types in pots, whereby you can move them under cool cover for the Winter and Summer, waking them up with a drink in late August, position them somewhere sunny and enjoy the show in October/November. My blog is just about Crocus this week:
http://216509.mrsitecloud.com/blog
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Yes I might pop some in pots.
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A great take on the six theme. Lovely info!
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I could not help it. I did another. https://tonytomeo.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-big-league/
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And it is much appreciated – what a different scale you garden on! I also like your little league post – more suited to my sized garden!
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However, Little League was in the forest, not in a garden. They were not garden variety plants. I used to grow something called ‘shamrock’ which looked like the wood sorrel, but with pink flowers I liked it because it looked like something from the forest.
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Automatic vents! your plants are going to think they’ve moved somewhere posh. My mint is not out yet..the buds were probably chewed up by the chicken. Need to get my seedling guards up!
Here’s my six, btw: http://uttarakhandandi.blogspot.in/2018/02/is-it-spring-yet.html
A few wildflowers in there.
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All mod cons here.
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Vents look rather good to have them up, love seeing mint emerging makes me think of the first new potatoes lovely!
Heres mine for this weekend👍 https://thomasdstone.blog/2018/02/17/six-on-saturday-17-02-2018/
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I was quite pleased it worked!
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Will you be having a vent warming party? You’ll probably start a debate about the difference between emerging alliums and tulips now so I’ll get in early and say allium. Right, I’m off to a plant show but here’s one I managed to prepare earlier: https://rivendellgarden.blog/?p=3216.
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I think allium too.
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Morning all. I haven’t got my six prepared this week but I will be in the garden today. If I get it all done maybe I will post at end of the day. V interested in advice on nerines. Is it best to keep them in pots? I’ve read they are not frost hardy. Wishing you all well this weekend.
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There are two types. One type is frost hardy (begins with B) the other much less so (begins with S I think). The frost hardy one will be fine in the ground. The other type best grown in pots and brought in for the winter. Gritty well drained compost for both types.
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I am heading off in the direction of nerine bowdenii alba – begins with a B but I plan to put them in pots anyway – so I can hedge my bets. Tks.
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Am I allowed to cheat a bit and send you a post with a different name but same idea? Sorry, if you’re cross with me, I won’t do it again!
https://themindfulgardener.blog/2018/02/16/flowery-friday-no-1-crocuses/
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Probably best to stick to the basic convention of calling them Six on Saturday. No biggie.
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