Six on Saturday 05-10-2019

Another week closer to first frost, the temperature flirted with the low single digits earlier this week. Some plants have objected to this, a mere precursor to the chillier nights to come. Ah well, it comes every year, it shouldn’t be a surprise to me by now. Time for Six on Saturday! Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a harvest, a tool, a plan, a failure, a beastie, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week.

1 – Salvia ‘hot lips’. This plant was much lusted after, briefly trendy, but now is perhaps a little passé. Myself, I blow hot and cold for it. It is not without interest, the two tone flowers are unusual, as is the fact that on the same plant I have mixed, all red and all white flowers. I’m not sure I love it with the same fervour as in the initial flush of romance. I think there are better salvias. There, I said it.

2 – Rudbeckia ‘goldsturm’. All black-eyes and no Susan, my two clumps of this good do-er are beginning to go over. I will soon have the brief debate with myself about whether to leave the skeletal remains, or to give in to tidying tendencies and cut em roight back. Now, where did I put my secateurs?

3 – Physalis alkekengi. Trapped in its filigreed, gilded cage, the fruit is edible, I gather. I am not planning to try it. I also read that this plant can get invasive, sending up shoots some distance from the original plant. There are worse problems to have – aside from losing its upright habit mid-summer, it is a nice plant.

4 – Lobelia tupa. I grew this from seed 2 or 3 years ago. It is a big plant now. I can’t decide if I like it or not. The flowers are certainly striking, resembling to me a bundle of red velociraptor claws. I think my main objection is its propensity to collapse under pressure of a good rain shower, looking untidy thereafter.

5 – Aster novo belgii ‘Bahamas’ (or possibly ‘Tonga’). I’m not totally sure which exotic location this plant is representing, but I think the caribbean is more likely. I have a couple of clumps of this in the front garden. It does tend to get mildew, but no sign of that so far, and the flowers are out in all their glory.

6 – Begonia grandis sinensis. I grew these from seed this year, the only one of three varieties I tried that did anything. I have five small plants like this one. I gather that once established it will be about 45cm high, 60cm wide, a decent clump. The flowers are rather anonymous, the plant is grown primarily for the prominent red veining on the underside of the leaves. It is supposedly bone hardy, so should be fine outside for the winter. I’ve decided to keep these little ‘uns in the greenhouse till next spring then I’ll plant them out.

Those are my Six, what are yours? Do share, you just need to publish your Six post then pop a link to it in the comments below. If you also mention my blog in yours, that would be great. For more details you can read the brief participant guide.

Have a good weekend, hope you get some quality gardening done. Don’t forget to check back during the day as more links get added.

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