I have identified an unsatisfactory spot, smack in the middle of the sunny border. I’m minded to clear it and go crazy with the many spare plants I have. That might be a job for the weekend, or it might be something I tackle during the week as I’m off work. I’m looking forward to a bit of a break. We should be in Normandy for two weeks but bottled it, too complicated with other families involved, international travel, potential lockdown-related nonsense, what have you. So, staycation for this week, then we’ll take a week on the Norfolk coast later in the summer. Anyhow, 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 failure, a harvest, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my Six for this week…

1 – Gladioli. Another one of last year’s batch of sale bench purchases. After last week’s rather understated green flowers, this is a bit more like it! Boom!

2 – Osteospermum, various. These are all planted in the enlarged patio planters. I bought them as individual plants, as I recall. I’m not sure if they are annual or perennial varieties. Most are annual in our climate, I think, so I doubt they’ll be back next year. I might try to overwinter a few in the greenhouse, for the laughs.

3 – Aquilegia seeds. From ‘Nora Barlow’, these seed heads are now nice and dry, so I’ll be stashing the seeds in a suitable envelope.

4 – Hibiscus ‘Marina’, or the hidden hibiscus. Hidden in my border, anyway. Viewing the flowers currently involves an act of contortion as it is right at the back, behind much taller helenium, rudbeckia and eryngium. In theory it will eventually get to be quite a large shrub, justifying its back of border spot. In the meantime, I might move it. Then again, it takes so long to get going, it’ll just be sticks in mid-border until it begins to leaf out in like June. Dilemma.

5 – Mme Alfred Carriere. Mad Alf, I gather, is what those in the know call her. I bought this rose earlier in the year, planting it in a new planter in the front garden. Along with ‘Generous Gardener’, her partner in crime, my intent is that they cover the front of the house. Since planting she has put out numerous fairly thin stems. I gather this is her MO, so I shall let her get on with it. They should at least be easy to train.

6 – Eryngium ‘Graham Thomas’ Variety’. Well, it’s not Graham’s, it’s mine, so there. I grew this and a few like it from seed last year. It’s a rather diminutive plant, a foot tall at best.

Those are my Six, what are yours? If you’d like to have a go, 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 spiffing. To gen up, you can read the brief guide here.

Have a marvellous weekend in the garden, don’t forget to check in later in the day as more links get added.

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