When complaining about the recent too-hot weather, I think I predicted that I would soon be complaining about too much rain. I was right. Come on Summer, where are you? While we wait for the sun to come back, it is time for Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a tool, a pest, a beastie, a job to do, a design, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week.

1 – Helenium ‘Short n Sassy’. Flowering earlier even than Sahin’s Early Flowerer, this plant is a good doer. It is low-growing, a foot or so, so brings some useful colour to the front of the border. I dug up a clump and divided it to get 15 or so plants which are now serving on the front line of the shady border (which gets decent light most of the day).

2 – Actual tomatoes. I’m very happy about the tomatoes this year. After a couple of disappointing years owing to a mix of incompetence and blight, it seems I am likely to get a good crop this year. I have 10 plants in the greenhouse and another 5 in the sunniest corner of the patio. These tomatoes are on the patio plants, they are further ahead than their greenhouse brethren which get less sunshine. I have a few different varieties, some cherries, some regular tomato size.

3 – Eryngium. I’m not sure which variety these are. I have them in numbers, scattered through the front and rear gardens, all the result of propagation by root cuttings some time back. They are turning emphatically blue just now and will be a bee magnet.

4 – Seedlings. I always like to have some seeds on the go, they make me happy. These are a mix of biennials and perennials, sown with next year in mind, and annuals for a late show this year. Starting top left and going clockwise they are:

  • Erysimum ‘My Fair Lady’
  • Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’
  • Scabiosa ‘Fama Blue’
  • Zinnia ‘Mammoth’
  • Lupin ‘The Governor’
  • Erysimum ‘Ruby Charm’

I have a few others brewing but not yet germinated. I will be pricking out the more enthusiastic seedlings this weekend.

5 – Hollyhocks. I grew these from seed last year. They are planted in a group of 3 or 4 in the front garden. All are the same colour, a cerise pink that I think is probably the default colour they regress to. Still, it’s nice to have them, they give some good height and a jolly colour to the centre of the garden.

6 – Begonia ‘Garden Angel Blush’. One of several plants I bought from Barracott Nursery, aiming for a semi-shady spot. This one seems to have settled in well and should get to 50 or so cm high. It is bone hardy and will be quite happy in my garden over the winter, taking frost down to -10 degrees c. The leaves are silvery red with a distinct maple-like cut to the leaves. I am attempting to propagate via leaf cuttings which so far is proving unsuccessful. I will continue to try, can’t help myself.

Those are my Six for this week, what are yours? If you’d like to join in just publish your post and pop a link in the comments below. If you also mention my blog in yours that would be marvellous. For more details you can read the brief participant guide.

The forecast is not brilliant this weekend, but I shall be out in the garden as usual. I hope you have a great gardening weekend, don’t forget to pop back as more link are added during the day. If you don’t already, I would definitely recommend heading over to Twitter. A quick scroll of the #SixOnSaturday hashtag will reveal hundreds of twitter-only Six posts each week, from all over the world.

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