Six on Saturday 17-11-2018

Autumn is on its way out already! That was fast. I guess it has seemed short because Summer hung on for so long. Most leaves have dropped here, and although it is not especially cold, the air has that autumnal feel to it, and it is dark by 4:30pm. It’s not all gloom and doom, there’s plenty going on in my garden, plenty of jobs to do. Before I get started on those, it’s time for Six on Saturday – six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a plant, a flower, a beastie, a job to do, a pest, a harvest, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week.

1 – Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’. I bought one of these plants for a fiver in the 50% off sale at my local Wyvale a month or so back. I dithered for a while about whether to divide now in the Autumn, or wait until the Spring. I decided to go for it. It was not a precise business. I pulled the poor plant apart, aiming for a chunk of rhizome/rooty material and some greenery in each piece. I then plonked them in compost and they have been in the greenhouse this last few weeks, minding their own business. Whilst some of the foliage has faded away, each still has plenty of nice green leaves and all are producing new growth from the root. Seven plants for the price of one – I’ll call that a win!

2 – Mulch ado about nothing. Last weekend I spent an hour or two barrowing home-made compost around the garden. I had enough to put a thick mulch on the long sunny border and on the wisteria border. The borders always look much neater with a fresh blanket of mulch.

3 – New trees! I have been contemplating a tree purchase for a few weeks now, and after a lot of mulling, and a lot of helpful suggestions via twitter, I finally made up my mind. I bought a Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ and an Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Robin Hill’. Both are small trees, reaching perhaps 4 or 5 metres in 20 years, and both provide interest in 3 seasons. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next year. Planting them out will be a job for this weekend.

4 – Sweet peas. These have been in their winter accommodation for a few weeks now. They seem to be doing pretty well. I will soon need to pinch them out, to encourage some side shootery.

5 – Bloody Jasmine. Not its horticultural name, just what I call it. Every year I do battle with it, sometimes more than once. From one plant several years back, I now have a great swathe of it. It roots wherever it touches the ground. It flowers for about 5 minutes in the summer, but for the rest of the year it is a right thug. I will have at it with the secateurs. If I can find them.

6 – Daffodils! These are the first of my daffs to show the questing tips of their new growth. A sign of things to come as we descend ever faster into the bleak of winter. I’ve got about a dozen pots like this stashed down the side of the house, they were buried in the borders last year and removed when they had done flowering. I had intended to disinter the bulbs and plant them out properly. Might still do that.

Those are my Six, what are yours? If you feel drawn to taking part, you just need to publish your post, pop a link to it below in the comments, and maybe mention my blog in yours. For more details and for other ways to take part, you can read the brief participant guide.

Have a fabulous gardening weekend, I have a list of things to do as long as my arm. Don’t forget to check back in as links get added during the weekend.

I’ll be back next weekend with another #SixOnSaturday.