So two things have happened since last Saturday. Firstly, I have planted all the tulips. All. The. Tulips. I may buy more. I do still have the daffodils to plant somehow, somewhere, but the tulips are done. Secondly, we have had a proper frost, down below zero Thursday night, the first time this year. Dahlia foliage is looking blackened so I should soon be able to tackle the tidying of those. The third of the two things is that I have started to clear away finished plants in the border. I could wait no longer. Anyhow, time to tackle Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything, you decide. Join in!
Here are my Six for this week.
1 – Storage problems. The greenhouse is getting a little overrun by sheltering borderline tender plants. On this shelf are two begonia ‘glowing embers’ (still flowering a little) and three osteospermums. I’m not sure if it is really worth preserving the osteos, but we’ll give it a try.
2 – Godetia. This stopped flowering a month or two ago, I hadn’t quite got around to moving the pot or composting the remains. Lucky, as it is flowering again with gusto. On the cusp of December? Madness.
3 – Cyclamen. As I think I have observed here before, to me cyclamen always brings to mind a villain in the Italian version of Doctor Who.
4 – Next spring’s foxgloves. Sown earlier this year and planted out durnig the summer, this lot should be flowering around May next year. They’ll give a bit of height in the border and attract our buzzy friends too. I can’t recall now which variety they are. Could be ‘Pam’s Choice’ or possibly ‘Sugar Plum’, we’ll find out together next year.
5 – Rose ‘Danse de deu’. Another clinger-on, this plant is still putting out buds.
6 – Salvia ‘Amistad’. Common as muck these days, but given the vigour with which it flowers, not one I’d be snobbish about. I think this plant was the sole outdoor survivor of last winter and has been the most robust of plants. I’ll be giving it a good duvet of leaf mould in the hope that it makes it through to next spring.
Those are my Six, what are yours? If you’d like to take part, 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 brief participant guide.
Have a great gardening weekend, don’t forget to check back in as more links get added during the day.
Stay safe, I’ll be back next weekend for another #SixOnSaturday.
The Propagator 
Chuck the Osteos unless they are jacundum, I have tried and failed several times! davidsgardendiary.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-18/
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Allegedly the plants with dark centres to the flowers are hardier. I binned the others.
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Lovely eggplant purple stems on the cyclamen.
First Six on Saturday (I posted one I wrote in or around June and never got around to publishing and one for this week)
https://roguegarden.blogspot.com/2020/11/six-on-saturday-112820.html
Thank you for hosting!
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Running late! Comments from me tomorrow…..
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What an enthusiastic post, as always you are spot on with lots of observations. Isn’t it hard to accommodate everything that needs protection? Well done with Amistad, I think the secret is mulching, mine is so spindly. Glad you’ve got all the bulbs planted. I’m excited by free range turkeys this week as well as broad beans germinating : http://kasmaty.blogspot.com/2020/11/sixonsaturday-last-november-post-still.html
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Mulching a few of the tenderer things is on my to-do list for Soon…not somethingI have done before but I am determined to overwinter Amistad and stop my penstemon sulking. Last year I bough loads of bargain bulbs from our local garden centre on 31st Dec – I wonder if they will be doing that again…? I got there and bought my bargains just before someone came and bought all those that there left as a bulk buy…whew! Thanks for hosting – my Six are at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-a-week-and-more-of-flowers/
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Indoor Six for me today. Love seeing the blossoms from your temperate climate! https://wordpress.com/view/spruceknobgarden.wordpress.com
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Godetia!? another one I have never heard of and must look up. Can’t wait to see the bulb display. Here is mine..https://theshrubqueen.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-lime-in-the-coconut/
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Here’s my SOS for today! Ill be back after lunch to read all the posts! https://thecadyluckleedy.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-the-fe-fi-faux-edition/
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Godetia, still? Amazing. It’s one of my earliest bloomers and long gone before even summer starts.
https://lisasgardenadventureinoregon.blogspot.com/2020/11/six-on-saturday-november-28-2020.html
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It’s a funny old year.
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I wish I had a proper greenhouse, there is a small plastic one on my allotment but it doesn’t hold much. With regard to flowers, as you say… “on the cusp of December, crazy!” I’ve got Nigella popping up all over the place. Here is (or is it are, I never quite know) my Six on Saturday, fresh from the allotment. https://hurtledto60.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-28-11-2020/
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All very strange. I wouldn’t be without the greenhouse, v lucky.
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You can take cuttings of the Osteos in September and then you would only have 1 small pot to over Winter, and young plants flower better than old ones.
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DAHLIAS:. It’s true that the eyes swell more if you go through the traditional advice of not digging up dahlias until well and truly frosted. Then you can divide up the tubers, with an eye in each section.
BUT, it’s so inconvenient and so for a few years I’ve dug up the dahlias in October. The blooms the subsequent year did not suffer. I’ve also tried leaving dahlias in the ground overwinter on an allotment in northern England. Total mushy disaster.
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They’re OK in the ground here over winter but the slugs murder them when they poke up in the spring. Hoping I can manage that more easily with them in pots…
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Yay for tulip planting! I have finally got mine into pots, but still have some leftover bulbs from last year (daffs and anemones I think). I keep looking at them and wondering whether to just stick them in the garden somewhere. But everywhere is soooo soggy!
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I still have daffs left to plant. Tomorrow maybe???
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Just finished mine. Sun came out and no wind this afternoon so I took the opportunity to plant the rest in the garden. Whether or not they grow remains to be seen! I did find my Scilla flowering though 🤔 somewhat early methinks.
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Yes, a few heavy frosts here in Nottingham. Good luck with the tender plants:-)
Here’s my SOS for this week
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Lack of greenhouse storage space here as well. I knock the ‘Glowing Embers” out of their pots and dry then store the tubers. Takes up less room.Bulb issues in my Six as well. Maybe we need to set up a *BAA group.
*Bulb Addicts Anonymous
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Yes..we’d be a strange sort of support group, generally encouraging folks to get more..
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Afternoon! Well done with the tulips! I’ve done most of mine; just a couple more pots to go… Wasn’t planning on doing a #Six today but then had a moment of madness! Have a good weekend!
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I still have 150 daffs to plant! Eek
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Gosh!
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Aargh. You have planted all the tulips, all of them? I was relying on you to have a few more in a box somewhere so that I wouldn’t feel quite so guilty about not having done mine. Of course you will buy more won’t you! I was admiring the Amistad only this morning, it really is at its best in late autumn. I’m risking leaving mine in the ground again. Frost here too. Winter gardening beckons! Here’s my link https://n20gardener.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-the-shed-has-landed/
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If it makes you feel any better then I still have 150 daffs to plant…
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You are so much more organized in your cleaning things up and making over-wintering plans than I am! And I’ve got lots of both to do. On a different note, great photos of the cyclamen. My six are here: https://aftereden.blog/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-28-november-2020/
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What a great achievement planting all those tulips! You must be relieved that task is done!! Love the Godetia and cyclamen! I also find the foxgloves fantastic for giving height to the spring borders, and I find the seedlings are good value for money. My Salvia is also a great plant for bring colour and pollinators to those dreary months in the garden. Wishing you a great gardening week!
Here is the link to my Six for the week. It is on vegetables.
https://hairbellsandmaples.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-w48-2020-vegetables-in-november/
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Hey, good tulip planting! I see Farmer Gracy has a good sale on this weekend. Just saying. Love amistad and also the begonia is worth over-wintering, love that one. Here are mine, hope you are enjoy them https://offtheedgegardening.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-confusion/
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Love that rose! My salvia from last year seem to be doing well so far. I was out at another dance performance tonight so a bit late (for me) in commenting here. https://basia329.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-28-11-20/#comment-7651
Good night from NZ!
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I dug up my Salvia Amistad and put it in the greenhouse, but I see you are already struggling for space. Don’t go thinking that a bigger one would solve your problems though. If you’re like me you’ll just fill it with even more plants to look after.
Congratulations on completing the tulip planting (even if only temporarily). I’ve got the excuse of waiting for a new planter to be delivered before I can finish mine.
Here’s my Six for this week
https://www.hortusbaileyana.co.uk/2020/11/a-cold-and-frosty-morn.html
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I have 15 or so good sized cuttings of amistad in the greenhouse, my insurance policy!
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Only 15? 😂
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Good morning. Just back from a short walk in rather gloomy weather but few others were out so it was very quiet. The garden is not very exciting but I found a few pictures for this week. Hope all are well.
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There’ll be an expression for the opposite of ‘third of two’ which would be more useful to me. Glad you explained the cyclamen/Bond villain thing too, I’d been trying to work it out. I have hangers on too, mostly, looking pretty good in some cases. https://wp.me/p6bCCa-2Cj
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Come and live in France for a taste of somewhere that Salvia ‘Amistad’ is not ‘common as muck’! And I was so proud of my three until I read your comment! But glad to hear you still think it worth growing. I toyed with the idea of leaving it in the ground this year (it’s getting milder here and our last ‘down to -15 winter’ was 2016), but chickened out and lifted it to over-winter in pots. Well done on finishing your tulips – from your comments last week I realise it’s a mammoth task! I have none freshly planted this year, so hope to enjoy yours. Have a great week! Here’s my six: https://gardendreamingatchatillon.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-28-11-20/
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Common but good. I like it.
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I’d been looking at it on other people’s blogs for at least a year before I finally got a mail order list together to acquire it. Enjoyed your six – thanks!
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Salvia ‘Amistad’ has managed very well being left in the ground overwinter here in south east Ireland. Granted, we generally have mild winter weather which doesn’t threaten it but we will certainly have some frost. It would be inclined to add that it is so commonly grown because it grows well and I continue to regard it as one of the very best of the salvias.
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Good job getting all your tulips planted. I had to order some more this week (along with a couple of peonies I sneaked in). Same problem here with greenhouse storage, even though there’s a cold frame now to take the load off.
The foxgloves are growing well, I usually just rely on self-seeders, but maybe I should make an effort with seed for better varieties. Lovely rose, it’s amazing what they can do in the worst of weather and the godetia is amazing, haven’t you explained to it that this is the end of November? 😁
Hope your salvias make it. I planted very late-arriving salvias, looked at their tiny size, dug them up and put them in the cold frame where I hope they’ll survive.
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Fingers crossed for your salvias!
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Good morning, Jonathan, and everybody else! The tulip planting was finished here but I heard Mary commenting during the week that there was a bargain to be had so I think more bulbs are on the way, enough for two large “pots” – a copper water cylinder cut in halves! Not a great gardening week, but that’s hardly and surprise at this end of the year, though we did manage to get out in the last few days.
Best wishes to all contributors. I hope all are keeping well, safe and healthy.
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And, my contribution this week: https://anirishgardener.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/last-saturday-in-november-a-look-back-at-the-week/
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Morning! One can never have enough tulips…
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Great idea for a pot (well, 2 pots!), Paddy
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Well done on the tulip planting. I still have a way to go! https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-28-november-2020/
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Cyclamen as a bond villain? I don’t see evil there but then again I described cotoneaster as cuddly last week so we’re all wont to anthropomorphise strangely! I admire your foxgloves. I’m really bad at raising biennials from seed as I neglect them for other tasks at key times. I look forward to seeing your different varieties whatever they are. Meanwhile, just the standard purples will pop up in my garden.
This week I’m featuring lots of frosty alpine plants in the rock garden, wrap my bananas in the nick of time and give a houseplant the shine of a Christmas bauble.
https://www.teabreakgardener.co.uk/frost-sparkle-and-shine/
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Not Bond, Doctor Who! Always reminds me of cybermen but the cyclamen sounds like it should be Italian. .
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Doh! For some reason I read Bond. Now I get it!
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I had better protect my Salvias too, now things are getting frostier. Would love to add an Amistad to the mix. If you or other readers like parrots, take a look at my SOS!
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Hi Jon, when it’s freezing outside, what’s the temperature in your gh? I only had 2° difference so when it’s very cold, it freezes inside too. But I have made improvements this year with bubble plastic insulation and I will see if it’s effective.
Nice godetia flowers and good job with ALL the tulips!
Here is my link : https://fredgardenerblog.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-28-11-20/
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It is not heated or insulated. The heated bench is in there though, I think that probably acts like a heat sink. Even if it gets a bit cold in there, they are at least sheltered.
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We only resort to heating in the glasshouse in extremely cold weather – paraffin heaters – but when frost is threatened, we lay mypex fabric over the plants to give some added protection. We find it sufficient for our needs here.
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Yes I do sometimes employ fleece if it occurs to me.
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Good work on the tulip planting. I’ve had most of my dahlias frosted now but a few still hanging on. Might get a chance to catch up this week now Alice has gone back to school.
This week’s six with winter iris, sparrowhawk, sprouts and lights. https://30daysofwildparenting.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/six-on-saturday-18-11-20/
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Hey, we just got a light frost too. It was not like yours though. It was just barely cool enough for frost. There is no damage that is not a normal part of seasonal dormancy. I might get a picture of cannas that are still trying to bloom for next week.
You know, our godetias, which naturalize here, tend to bloom best in early spring and autumn. It is when the weather suits them. I think it is too cool in the middle of winter, which is normal, but it is also too warm and dry for them through summer. They finish late in spring, and do not try again until about October. They continue until they get put down by the rain and cool weather.
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Fun… and yes, winter she creeps in on us… without mercy! Our backyard is an Irish bog so I don’t really have the appetite to venture back there… I too must find the courage for there ate uncompleted tasks! Stay safe – be happy!
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You and Padraig seem to use the term a third of two..do explain, I would love to know that that means. I agree with you on the Amistad. Would you cut any stems back to tidy the plant up in the next couple of weeks, or should it be left intact until the spring? Here are my six: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2020/11/six-on-saturday-28-november-2020.html
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Just that there is always more to do/say than you think!
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I have a tendency to latch on to interesting use of language, Noelle.
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Good thinking getting ahead of yourself with the third of two things, Jon. Have you been ahead of yourself previously? Thanks for the tip about mulching the salvia.
My third of two unashamedly brings… the week’s weather (yeah, I know… such excitement!) and a dahlia to make up for it!
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