I dodged the rain last weekend to do a bit of half-hearted clearing. I cut a bunch of stuff back, but I still haven’t got around to clearing away the piles of severed stems. It seemed like a much better idea to be inside in the warm and dry. Must try harder. On the plus side, I have ordered too many seeds once again, the Hardy Plant Society seed scheme having opened at some point during the week. Future seed joy. But for now, it is time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a seedhead, a job to do, a pest, an unknown plant, anything at all. Join in!
Here are my Six for this week.
1 – Cornflower seedlings. As you may have gathered, I like to grow a few plants from seed, to the point where I get a bit twitchy if I don’t have some on the go. Hardy annuals are a boon in this department, they can be sown in the autumn as well as the spring. In theory growing them cold results in stronger, bushier plants. We’ll see.
2 – Stachys decay. I planted these out in the spring and they grew on quite nicely. They appear to be dying. I’ve not grown them before, so I’m not sure if it’s actual dying, or just the normal seasonal decay. The latter would be my guess. Time will tell….
3 – Rose hip. I’ve forgotten now which rose this is from, possibly Ali Baba, or maybe Danse de feu. They are winter’s consolation prize. This one isn’t particularly colourful, but it is exuberant in its own way.
4 – Athyrium niponicum, Japanese painted fern. Normally silver, this one is going over and is a rather fetching collection of colours at the moment.
5 – Virginia creeper. After it quickly dropped the vast majority of its leaves, I noticed some berries. I didn’t know it did berries. Guess it makes sense that it would.
6 – Shallot ‘longor’. I planted these last month, they are coming on nicely, sprouting away. I’ve not grown shallots before, so I’m looking forward to these. If I’ve understood correctly, each set will grow into a bunch of new shallots, aka tricky-to-peel-funny-onions. Good to cook with, I gather.
That’s shallot for this week, what are yours? If you’d like to take part, just publish your post and pop a link to it in the comments below. If you also mention my blog in yours that would be fab. For more details you can read the brief participant guide.
We are due a respite from the rainy weather this weekend, so I hope to get some gardening in. Have a great weekend yourselves, and don’t forget to check back in later as more links are added through the day.
I’ll be back next weekend with another #SixOnSaturday.
The Japanese painted fern is interested. Hope I don’t get booted out of this group for my six!
https://thirdageblogger.blogspot.com/2019/12/six-on-sunday.html
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Cheeky! I’ll allow it…😀👍
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After a bit of a break and so missing all the best flowers, here are my six this week: http://www.parabola.me.uk/blog/2019/Nov/six-things-30-nov/
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I’ve got a bit behind .. so mine is from last week. More than six too 🙂 https://bramblegarden.com
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Lovely photos Karen.
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Finally got time to join you. https://digwithdorris.wordpress.com
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My Virginia Creeper also dropped virtually all it’s leaves this week. No berries for me because I cut the flowers off earlier in the year to stop them dropping over my pot plants.
Wrapping SOS
https://wp.me/paUNF6-5K
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Yes, that’s stachys for you! Just pull off the grotty bits and as much as you need to to get a tidier looking plant for next year. I was a bit (OK, a lot) late sowing most of my hardy annuals this year and have only just pricked them out. Having started them inside and then put them in the g/h as soon as they germnated they are defi itely not looking very happy….hey ho! My 6 are here: https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-frost/ ps you didn’t have a hard frost last night then…?
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No, it did get down to about freezing, but no frost to speak of, same tonight I think.
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A few days of frosts here, but the heaters in the g/hs are doing their job
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Good afternoon. Rather late but a little bit more colour than I thought I would find. Those shallots look healthy.
https://grannysgarden229242407.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-11-2019
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Hello, yes, there’s always something.
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I admire you for having any color in your garden. I have varying shades of brown sprinkled with faded green. Here’s mine for the week: https://stoneyknob.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/sos-a-game-of-inches/
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MMmm, I made turkey gravy with shallots and rosemary and it was wonderful. Wish I had those in my garden. Any onions have been a disaster here. My Lambs Ears always looked like that and eventually rotted away, still like them though. I love the Silver Painted Fern, it is smashing. My totally different six: http://theshrubqueen.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-walking-the-dogs/
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At this time of year I wonder what I will find in the garden, but there’s always something. https://doesthisfontmakemelookfat.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-winter-color-november-30-2019/
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Virginia creeper is native, and ubiquitous, my neck of the woods. It often sprouts as a weed in my flowerbeds, but strangely, I have never seen its berries. Good eye!
Here are my six. Three outside and three in the greenhouse this week:
https://sweetgumandpines.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-49-november-30-2019/
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Morning John ah that That’s Shallot joke never grows old. Here is a surprising six from me as I thought I wouldn’t have time to write it https://sedumsdahliasandhayfever.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30th-november-2019/
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It’s the way I tell em!
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Very envious of your shallots. Not a sign of a sprouting on mine. Patience needed – I hope. Beautiful fern and lovely rosehip. Mine six are a more frosty affair. https://wp.me/p97pee-tD
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Morning!
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Stachys decay is normal. I just leave mine until spring when they will come back. Promise.
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Mine have been in the garden for about three years now and look truly terrible at this time of year but suddenly pull through. The wet weather does them no favours.
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👍
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It’s promise (seedlings, shallots) and regret (Stachys, fern) in equal measure at this time of year though you need to be an optimist to see the former sometimes. My painted fern is just brown. Be browner tomorrow I suspect. https://wp.me/p6bCCa-24G
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It’s a lot browner this morning, I caught it just on its way out.
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My Stachys used to look like that at this time of year. I used to pick the leaves off but then the plants were a mass of bald stems. It went after a couple of seasons. The excitement of emerging seedlings can’t be beaten. Off to work now, I’ll be back later for some winter planting inspiration.
https://thequiltinggardener.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-11-19/
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Your painted fern hanging on better than mine. Mine is shrivelled away for this year. Plenty of other evergreen ones still keeping the garden structure.
For my six this week I’m looking at six ‘weeds’ I’ve cultivated in the garden. https://30daysofwildparenting.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-11-19-wonderful-weeds/
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Yes it is on it’s way out.
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Morning all!
I want a few ferns, yours look lovely!
Here’s six from a garden in Somerset. Lots of potential and lots to be done… https://doingtheplan.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-november/
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My lambs ears looked like yours in September, and having other lovelies I want to grow, out it came. I think it needed a meaner soil, more space etc. Am I cruel? I think it would have looked even worse with all this rain.
This week I am posting all about my back garden specifically the gravel garden since Lorna asked about this last week: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2019/11/six-on-saturday-30-november-2019.html
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Here’s my Six for this week.
https://www.hortusbaileyana.co.uk/2019/11/late-november-in-garden-six-on-saturday.html
The Japanese fern looks like it has been painted with pink and purple watercolour. I’ll keep an eye on my stachys and report back. So far it still looks silvery rather than brown.
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Morning all, no rain here and a beautiful sunny morning but unfortunately the ground is frozen rock solid so the bare root hedging will not be getting planted today! I put some beech whips in a bucket of water to rehydrate the roots and the whole think is now a block of ice. I haven’t really had very good results with autumn / winter sowings of hardy annuals because the low light levels tends to make them a bit leggy. Up here I find it is better to wait until spring and the plants actually do a bit better but I can definitely see the benefit of raising strong plants through the winter.
https://schoolhousegarden.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-11-19/
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Yes they can be a bit hit and miss. I just have a couple on the go. The cornflower and some calendula.
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That fern is lovely. I’ve tried growing seedlings over the winter this year. My Linaria seedlings are doing ok but I don’t know whether I should pinch out their tops now (they’re getting a bit spindly) or wait until the spring https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-november-2019/
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I’ve found it to be a bit hit and miss, sowing in the autumn. Maybe pinch out half of them and see which do best.
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My stachys are the same right now. I don’t worry about mine because it‘s a resistant plant that will grow back in the spring.
Don’t you fear that your shallots will see the tender leaves burning in case of frost? Unless they are covered … here is my link this week : https://fredgardenerblog.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-11-19/
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Hmmm, it’s an autumn planting variety so it should be ok over the winter. I hope….
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So it should be fine. I plant mine around February or March under cover.
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More seeds horrah! I did my order yesterday, never been so swotty in my life. Love the fern, so beautiful and seedlings are always a joy. Here are mine, hope you enjoy them https://offtheedgegardening.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-guest-blog-with-fat-ol/
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I was surprised to see it open for business, thought I’d seen something saying it wouldn’t be till next week. Less that two months till sowing frenzy.
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And I can’t wait!
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https://tonytomeo.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-first-storm/
We got RAIN! – and I got pictures to prove it. I did not actually get pictures of it falling. It happened overnight. I just got pictures of it in a rain gauge, and in a ‘tote’. (I believe it is known as a ‘tote’.)
Anyway, I think of Stachys as perennial. Of course, that is how it is in our climate. I do not know how tolerant it is to frost.
Is Virginia creeper more popular than Boston ivy?
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Yes it is a hardy perennial, it’s just the usual winter die back, am nearly certain.
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It is so easy to order too many seeds. Good evening from Wellington https://basia329.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/six-on-saturday-30-11-19/
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Is there such a thing as too many seeds?
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No!
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Hello Mr P, I haven’t been around for a while! You’ve had a lot of rain, haven’t you so I’m wondering if perhaps the Lamb’s Ears have simply had too much water. They seem to have that slimy look associated with rot. The Painted fern is wonderfully coloured though, rather cheerful,I’d say.
Here is my Six…I’ve been a bit political, I’m afraid. Couldn’t help myself.
http://janesmudgeegarden.com/heat-drought-dust-fire-and-wind/
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Hello! Just the normal perennial die back for the stachys, apparently.
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The stachys is doing its normal decay. On a dry day you can roughly pull off the leaves and chop back finished flowering stems. This will tidy it up and get rid of slushy debris which the slugs and snails will love. Looks drastic but it will be fine next year.
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Jolly good.
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That Japanese fern is smashing – fabulous colours in there. It looks almost metallic. Is it like that in person or just in a photo.
I’ve featured a similar rosehip in my six which is all about winter berries.
https://www.teabreakgardener.co.uk/winter-garden-colour-bright-berries/
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Morning! Same irl…
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