Pretty soon even I, staunch clinger-on to summer, come-what-may, will be declaring it to be autumn. The weather is certainly doing a decent impression of it. Leaves are falling, apples need picking, it’s cooler, the sun is shy all of a sudden. Not terribly summery, but I suppose I can accept that it is not hugely surprising for late summer. Still plenty going on in the garden though, so no excuses. Six on Saturday time. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – wildlife, a pest, a flower, a job to do, seeds to sow, anything at all. Join in!

Here are my six for this week.

1 – Calibrachoa, or million bells. These were a pity bench purchase, 50p a plant, a bargain so compelling I went back for second set of a dozen the following week. They were not labelled colour wise so it was a bit of a lottery. I also lost 6 or 7 plants to slugs who it seems are big fans. I have them dotted about in various containers and pots on the patio. I feel short-changed, I probably have dozens of bells, certainly nowhere near the million I was promised.

2 – Geranium ‘Havana Blues’. Fidel here has been looking more on the purple side recently, apparently a reaction to the excessive heat we had a week or two back. He should be back to his blue hue soon. Purchased from a specialist nursery earlier in the year it is still a small plant, few stems/flowers. I expect better things from El Comandante next year. I bought it for the veining which I like even more in the flesh.

3 – Bulbs. As per usual I have ordered too many bulbs. I daren’t add them up, but suffice to say there are several hundred. The tulips are destined for pots and patio containers, the daffs and the alliums for the borders. For the last few years I’ve ordered from Parkers Wholesale. They have a good range and good prices, but there is a catch, you have to buy in quantity. Nearly all the bulbs work out at around £5 for 25 which is pretty good value, I think. They are priced per 100 but in most cases 25 is the minimum order. Beware, a small order will attract a surcharge. Go hard or go home, I say. With bulbs, I do love the end result but truly, I detest the planting. I aim to inter the alliums in September, the daffs in October, the tulips in November, spread it out a bit. I forgot to order more crocuses. I’m not sure yet if that is a blessing or a grave oversight. I might see what comes back this year and assess. Or I might throw caution to the wind. You decide which is more likely…

4 – Godetia. Being a creature of mainly perennial habit, this year I resolved to grow more annuals as they are hard to beat for flower power. Among them were these godetia, finally flowering from a late sowing. I lost the first and second batch to incompetence and slugs. This batch were sown direct in a large pot, more in exasperation than hope. They are a little wind and rain battered, but there are lots more blooms to come.

5 – Self-ordering plants. There I was, minding my own business, wondering if I could find any of the plants I saw at Waterperry the other week. Just looking you understand. Claire Austin Perennials really need to fix their website, these all jumped into my cart and turned up at my front door the other day without so much as a hows-your-father. I have three straggly anthemis ‘ec buxton’, three aster ‘september ruby’, three echinacea ‘magnus’, one each of astrantia ‘roma’, euphorbia amyg. ‘purpurea’, nepeta longpipes, and a helenium ‘baudirektor Linné’. No, YOU ordered too many plants.

6 – Tithonia ‘red torch’. It’s a bit of a cheek including this one as these plants have been an epic fail this year. They should be 5 or 6 feet high and covered in flowers at this time of year. I have two plants that I somehow nurtured to garden size, but both have remained stubbornly small, no higher than 12-18″ and both have just the one flower. This is the 2nd or 3rd year I have failed to grow these well. The first year I tried I had great success, since then, pffft. No idea why.

Those are my Six for this week, what are yours? If you’d like to join in the fun, 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. For more details you can read the guide.

Have a super gardening weekend, don’t forget to check in again later as more links get added during the day.

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