Between you and me, I am starting to resent time away from the garden. The main culprit of course is work. The clocks going forward this weekend at least promise the possibility of a quick bit of evening gardening as it will just about be light when I get home, a situation that will improve with each passing week until midsummer. I have been managing with a head torch but it’s a poor cousin to daylight. Not long now. Time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything. A flower, a beastie, a job to do, a job done, an epic fail, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week.

1. Berberis ‘Golden Rocket’. An impulse purchase (when aren’t they!?) at Waterperry Gardens last October. It has been brown sticks over the winter but is now filling out. It should be quite colourful later in the year what with the berries and the foliage turning.

2. Pulmonaria majeste. The flowers are welcome enough, I suppose, but i really grow this for the leaves which are almost silver. After it has flowered I will remove all the leaves which should encourage a fresh set to emerge.

3. Vinca. When #1 child was a toddler he had a friend named Ryan who he referred to as Ryan-I-call-him-Brian. Oh how we were amused. It clearly runs in the family as I can’t help thinking of this beguiling weed as Vinca-I-call-him-Stinker. The flowers are nice but my God does it spread about the place. It is winning the war of attrition, the patch gets a little bigger every year.

4. Persicaria x ‘fat domino’. This was a long flowering hit in the border last summer. Grown from seed it probably doesn’t have the full characteristics of the parent plant, in particular it should have thicker/fatter than usual flower spikes. Still, it was quite a show and should be even better this year. It dies right back for the winter and is just emerging now.

5. Hosta sommatorother. Last year I bought some hosta that I promptly divided up. Some went in one of the planters on the shady side of the alley. They are emerging from their hibernation now, ahead of those that were planted in the border. I am hoping they will survive unmolested by our slimy friends – last year was great. I have about a dozen more to plant, not sure where exactly…

6. Aster novae angliea ‘St Michael’. Another plant buying spasm at Waterperry. When bought it still had the dozen or stems, 4′ tall. I cut those back to a foot or less then split it in two. Then nothing. Just dead sticks for months. I was beginning to think I had bought a dud but no, things are afoot. Supposedly mildew resistant, these grow to about 4 feet and are a deep purple.

Those are my Six for this week, what are yours?

If you’d like to take part, just publish your post and pop a link in the comments below. If you also mention my blog in yours that would be splendid. For more details and other ways to participate you can have a butchers at the brief participant guide.

Have a fab weekend, the weather looks set fair for a lovely bit of spring gardening. Don’t forget to check back in as more posts get added during the day.

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