Six on Saturday 07-03-2020

Last weekend I actually got a bit done int he garden. I was dodging showers on Saturday, and distinctly post-run weary on Sunday but gardening was definitely both done and enjoyed.  Time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a job to do, a success, a failure, a beastie, a problem, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week…

1 – Helenium ‘Sahins Early Flowerer’.  I dug up my small clump of these last weekend. I bought it as one plant a year or two ago. I needed to move it as it was getting swamped by other things. Not being one to pass up the opportunity to create more plants, I promptly divided it into plantlets.  A quick wash of the rootball and they fall apart at finger-tip pressure.  So, instead of one small clump, I now have 18 small plants which will each clump up in no time.  Remember kids, no such thing as too many plants.

2 – Rose tonic. I bought this for the first time last year, using it as a feed during the growing season. It seems to work very well, all my rose growth was excellent last year and they seem very hale and hearty already this year.  I shall be repeating the process this year. The first feed is a drench, but the rest of the season it is sprayed on at the appropriate dilution as a foliar feed.

3 – Clematis macropetala ‘Jan Lindmark’.  I bought this last year at Wisley, along with a few others, this one is yet to go in the ground.  I noticed that it has plenty of buds already, apparently it is an early flowerer. Jan is allegedly happy in a bit of shade and I have just the spot for it.  It is a Group 1 clem, so no pruning needed apart from possibly curbing its enthusiasm.   I plan to plant it this weekend.

4 – Seeds sown, various annuals.  Last weekend I took a liberal interpretation of “sow in spring”, taking 29th of February to be March in any normal year, and March being Spring, at least according to some.  These pots are in the heated bench, otherwise I think it is still a bit cool for zinnia, cosmos and the like.  I have sown a dozen or so seeds per 1L pot, much larger than I would normally use for seed sowing. I like to give these room, and it means I don’t need to prick them out until they are good little plants.

5 – Aster clump. This was a casualty of my helenium division, it came up in the same enthusiastic forkful.  Instead of re-planting it, I popped it on the compost heap for safe keeping then forgot all about it in my division excitement. It is still there.  I don’t recall exactly what aster it is, it could be monch, but I don’t think so. I’ll plant it back in the border today. Honest guv.

6 – Platycodon ‘Florist’s Blue’.  I was beginning to wonder whether these made it through the winter, I needn’t have worried, new shoots spotted.  These are in pots in the cold frame, I ran out of room to plant them last year.  I think I can find a home for them in the front garden.  Maybe.

Those are my Six, what are yours?  If you’d like to join in, 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 tip-top.  For more details you can read the brief participant guide.

I hope you get some time in the garden, the weather doesn’t look too bad here. Don’t forget to check back in as links get added durig the day.

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