Six on Saturday 30-06-2018

So, that was June, and already we are half way through 2018. That went fast! The garden, which was very lush after the rain in the spring, is now looking a bit jaded. Whilst I am watering lots, I can’t keep up with their needs in this relentless hot sunshine. Moan moan moan. Before I spend the day melting in the garden, time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything. A job to do, a flower, a favourite tool, a funny shaped vegetable, a success, a glorious failure, anything at all. Join in, do!

Here are my Six for this week.

1 – Lychnis arkwrightii. Grown from seed last year, these did nothing much of any interest last summer. In fact I thought they had all died, but I found a few in a pot tray hidden among the raspberries. They were a little dessicated, but I planted them out a month or two back and they seem a bit happier now, flowering away. There is quite a nice contrast between the bright orange-red flowers and the dark green foliage.

2 – Astilbe. I’ve had these for many years. The plants in the sunny border are struggling, I think I will dig them up. The ones on the shady side of the garden though, they’re doing just fine. This one is in full shade in one of the planters in the alley.

3 – Rose ‘Caribbean Dawn’. This patio rose was in the border until earlier this year. I moved it at a sub-optimal time, when it was leafing up. I planted it in a large tub on the patio, a suitable spot for what is actually a patio rose. The plant sulked at being moved, dropping all of its leaves. For a few weeks I was sure I had killed it, but happily it stopped pouting and got on with growing. It is now covered with flowers. I think it has forgiven me.

4 – Digitalis parviflora. I grew these from seed last year, nothing interesting happened. This year, though, they are growing into useful plants. Just one has a flower spike at the moment, but the others will follow soon, I think. This is a perennial foxglove, 4 or 5 years is a typical lifespan, it’s advisable to collect seed in the third year. They are smaller, both in flower and in height, than their biennial cousins. Until just now, when I double-checked, I thought the horti-latin parviflora meant “brown flowered”, which this certainly has. In fact it means “small flowered”. Shows what I know…

5 – Salvia nemerosa x caradonna. Grown from seed this year, one of a few types of salvia I’m trying to grow. The plants are a bit small and scrappy, but have begun to throw up single flower spikes. Assuming they survive the winter, I’m hoping they’ll bulk up a little next year for a better display.

6 – Rose ‘Golden Ladder’. I bought this last year but only got around to planting it early this year. Like last week’s ‘Oh Wow!’, this is intended to climb up the wisteria trellis. I had in mind a nice purple/yellow combination, but they both need to grow on quite a bit before they intertwine sufficiently to achieve that effect. In the meantime I can enjoy the flowers in their lonesome yellow.

Those are my Six, what are yours? I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of sunny pictures in people’s Six posts this week. Join in, you know you want to! Just write your post, twit your tweet, insta your gram, face your book, whatever, then pop a link into the comments below. If you also add a link back to my blog in yours, that would be fabulous.

Have a fantastic sunny weekend, stay safe, and don’t forget to check back in over the next day or two as more links are added.

I’ll be back next weekend with another Six on Saturday,