Six on Saturday 16-05-2020

What with one thing and another, I find I am able to spend a gratifying amount of time in the garden. This week I have been doing the greenhouse hokey-kokey, defending the more tender plants from a few overnight frost risks. That is all behind us now so things can be planted out.  Well, they ought to be, and in a parallel universe where I have a bigger garden, they would be.  I shall cram them in as best I can but I anticipate many waifs and strays.  Before I get on with all that planting, and the rest of my substantial to do list, it’s time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. You know the drill.

Here are my Six:

1 – Weigela ‘Bristol Ruby’.  this shrub is in the front garden, partly overwhelmed by the hypericum next to it. It is jam-packed with flowers, to the point of being droopy with the weight of them.  A few years ago I managed to root a hardwood cutting of this, mini-me is in the back garden, still quite small but also festooned with flowers.

2 – Persicaria, red and silver dragons.  I bought a few light-shade tolerant plants the other day, among them these two persicaria.  They get quite big eventually, maybe 1m tall and across.  Like their ‘purple fantasy’ cousin, their main purpose in life is the foliage which is a good colour and patterned with it. They do flower but nothing to write home about, I gather.  I’ve taken cuttings, of course I have.

3 – Aquilegia, probably ‘Nora Barlow’.  I definitely grew some Nora from seed the last year or two, and the pictures look like a pretty good match. These are in full shade and quite happy with it.

4 – Geum ‘Mrs J Bradshaw’.  I must have bought one of these off the pity bench last year, I don’t remember seeing one of these for a few years in my garden. She is a good do-er is Mrs B, a bright spot among the background foliage which predominates (for now) in the front garden.

5 – Polemonium, jacobs ladder.  It was breezy out and these would not cooperate in the standing still department, so nearly all of it is out of focus. I grew this from seed a couple of years ago, it has really hit its stride this year, about 3′ tall and quite sturdy with it.  I stuffed it in a small gap between a large clump of helenium and the edge of the path, so of course now it is encroaching on the path. I don’t mind, it’s only me that ever walks on it.

6 – Rose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. Gertie here is still fairly new, planted just last year.  This flower is on one spindly original stem which I haven’t yet tied in (it’s a climbing sport), but she has put out two nice new thick stems this year so I think doing not bad. She is a shocking pink and smells divine.

Those are my Six for this week, what are yours?  Do tell!  If you’d like to have a crack, 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 splendid. for more details you can read the brief guide.

I have an intimidating list of things to do in the garden this weekend, so that is where I shall be for nearly all of it, if I get my way. I hope you get out and get stuck in, don’t forget to check back later as more links get added during the day.

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