However you mark the start, it is undeniably Autumn now. We have been enjoying something of an Indian Summer here, the last couple of weeks have been rather lovely, tempting me out sometimes as far as the patio for a lunchtime snooze in the sunshine. I note from the weather forecast that the prevailing tone is grey, dull, damp for the foreseeable, so I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted! While we grieve for the apparent end of summer, let’s do Six on Saturday. Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Simples!
Here are my Six for this week…
1 – Rose ‘Ali baba’, photobombed by some bindweed which has returned to plague this corner of the garden again. This climbing rose has been excellent this year and is in the midst of a 2nd, or possibly even 3rd, flush. As I think I have previously remarked, I am a little impatient for everything to die back so I can get in there and train it in properly.
2 – Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’. After literally half dying last year (the left side got wind scorched or something, dead to the wood) this small tree is hanging in there, much to my surprise. With the weather cooling down the next week or two I expect it to turn and then drop. It stays, for now.
3 – Aster ‘Little Carlow’. Despite being allowed to flop disgracefully, this clump is flowering gangbusters now. I probably should have given it the chop in May, it would have delayed the flowering a little and made for a more compact and probably less floppy plant.
4 – Miscanthus zebrinus, zebra grass. Stripy, see, clever these plant naming folks. I expect it has evolved thus to be able to hide amongst a herd of actual zebras, stop the lions nibbling on it. Cunning.
5 – Geranium wallichianum ‘Havana blues’. Allegedly a prolific flowerer from early summer through to the autumn, this one is a late bloomer, only recently flowering. It was a small plant last year, so perhaps it is just getting settled in, or perhaps it is a bit overwhelmed by the surrounding chaos. Both, probably. I hope it thrives, it’s a pretty flower.
6 – Aster ‘St Michaels’. Growing to 4′ or even 5′, this New England variety is quite full in the flower compared to most. It is quite rigid in the stem, so my negligence has resulted only in a certain amount of dignified leaning, rather than full on disgraceful floppage.
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 to it in the comments below. If you also mention blog in yours that would be splendid. For more details you can read the brief participant guide.
I’ll be back next weekend for another #SixOnSaturday.
The Propagator 
Like you say, big change in the weather this week so very busy over the weekend trying to get all my outstanding jobs finished before the rain arrived. Mission accomplished but my six became Six on Sunday! https://davidsgardendiary.com/2021/09/26/six-on-saturday-44/
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Look, I’m here while it’s still Saturday, at least in my time zone! Whew! https://dameeleanorhull.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-mystery-solved/
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I’ve missed a few weeks, but I’m back now! I don’t know the variety of asters that I have, but I think they are very similar to your St. Michael’s. I didn’t know I could cut them in May so they won’t be so tall (and tend to fall over). I do that to my Autumn Joy sedum and it works great. I will have to try it on my asters next year!
Here’s my link: https://mominthegarden.com/2021/09/26/september-splendor-in-sunshine-for-six-on-saturday/
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What lovely, intense color in your six this week! C. “Forest Pansy’ is a special treat. So glad yours survived. I hope you have a few warm, sunny days yet to enjoy the last of this season’s flowers. Here are my six for the week: https://woodlandgnome.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-for-the-birds/
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No asters here, either flopping or leaning, nor stripy grass, but I do feature a performing rose today! Thanks for hosting.
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Pretty Aster, evidence of fall settling in and a lovely reminder. Hopefully the grey stays at bay a little longer. Thanks for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-fun-stuff/
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It’s amazing how often weeds like bindweed and ground elder photobomb my garden shots too! Love the colour of your St Michael’s aster and have noted that it is good at staying upright. I grow ‘Violetta’, which is slightly darker, but is also much shorter. Glad your Forest Pansy is getting a stay of execution.
Here are my six: https://wp.me/pM8Y1-8pI
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You have a couple of lovely Asters, they always make me smile. Here are my Six: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2021/09/six-on-saturday-25-september-2021.html
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Pretty Michelmass daisies (not sure how Michelmass should be spelt). I remember them from my childhood but have not been successful in my own garden. GGHI says my pictures are the right size when he sees the published post but all mine have shrunk, as stated in my post. Have a good weekend in your slightly quieter house?!
https://grannysgarden229242407.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25-09-2021/
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Beautiful asters, flopping, leaning or whatever. They are a favourite of my rampaging bunnies so I only have clippage.
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Love the zebra grass. At first glance I thought it was in dappled sunlight. Here’s my six for this week https://greengirlgardener.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25th-september/
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What a stunning geranium! That will go down on my list! Beautiful Asters as well. No Six on Saturday from me but I have wrote a short blog.
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Like your Zebrinus very much, I did have it once but lost it is a flood many years ago, must try again, but must put it somewhere dry this time! Asters bring some wonderful colour to the autumn garden, yours are lovely.
My six are here……http://www.leadupthegardenpath.com/
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Love the Aster ” St Michael”, I’ll have to look out for it. I have a scabby old michaelmas daisy that seeded itself in my garden which could be replaced. I have the Ali Baba rose, but, when I bought it, it was labelled “Rambling Rector” so turned out to be something of a surprise! I had to trawl through google to find out what it was. Now I love it.
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Pretty purples this week, if I can include g. ‘Havana Blue’ in the purples. So grey here today after the beautiful day that was Friday. Here’s my link. I had a brief moment of thinking about turning the garden on its head but then normality was re-established – dahlias and slugs! https://wp.me/p97pee-TL
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While you are pondering autumn, I am pondering spring. You still have some great stuff going on in the garden — gosh, third flush roses. Here it is more in the planning stages, but the plum blossom is nice… https://onewordhere.blogspot.com/2021/09/six-on-saturday-2021-09-25-southern.html
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Liking the Asters very much. Nearly bough a plant yesterday but restrained myself after having 6 other plants in my basket 🙂
http://gardeningmyway.home.blog/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25th-september-21/
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A beautiful rose…just back from a dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Luckily got the post written before we left…..https://basia329.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25-09-21/
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Your photograph of the zebrinus is lovely. And that geranium fills me with regret for allowing another season to pass without introducing one of its lovely kind in my garden. Here are mine: https://roguegarden.wordpress.com
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Love the asters, they seem to have flopped more than usual this year. Mine didn’t make it into the six this week, other plants have performed so well they outshone the asters. With the weather it’s hard to remember it’s the last week in September. Here are my six: http://kasmaty.blogspot.com/2021/09/sixonsaturday-some-familiar-favourites.html
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Phew! Nearly committed the faux-pas of having several duplicate Sixes – ‘Little Carlow’, ‘St Michaels’ and a Geranium. Luckily I went down a different route. I still haven’t found room for ‘Forest Pansy’ but I’m glad yours is staying.
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I’ll be going to flopped asters, mine don’t do dignified leaning but never disappoint on colour. Here’s mine, hopefully. https://gardenruminations.co.uk/2021/09/21/six-on-saturday-25-9-2021/#more-11638
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I also grow M. zebrinus and these asters novae-angliae which are roughly at the same stage in my garden at the moment. With several years of growing these plants, both form nice tufts now, very pleasant in autumn.
The colour of ‘Little Carlow’ is really nice https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25-09-21/
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A lovely six this week, and a very pretty geranium. Enjoy the good weather while it lasts! Here are my six: https://thenostalgicgardener.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25-sep-2021-wishes-and-karma/
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Morning! A couple of nice Asters on show, I expect there’ll be more elsewhere! Here are my Six:
https://kindheartsandcorydalis.co.uk/six-on-saturday-25th-september/
Cheers!
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These are my Six. It was not planned, but happened to be what I am involved with at the moment.
Are those two asters similar in form? I had to look them up because I am unfamiliar with both of them. Actually, I do not know any of the cultivars. I just know that, although uncommon, ‘asters’ are a cut flower crop here. The cut flower cultivars seem to be similar to each other, but of different floral color. ‘Saint Michael’s’ sort of looks like a cut flower type also, although also similar to ‘Little Carlow’ in form. ‘Little Carlow’ seems to be more of a landscape type, that stays out in the garden, rather than for cutting.
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I’ll be looking for Zebras amongst the Miscanthus now. Thanks for that – it gave me a chuckle. The leaves on the Cercis are so good that it’s sad to hear it is unhappy. We did have to protect a young magnolia from the prevailing wind with a windbreak of fleece and bamboo canes for a season to get it established. It did look like a particularly crappy Halloween ghost instillation flapping in the wind, so I’m not wholeheartedly recommending that approach.
Here’s my Six for this week – the Rose Garden and the Long Border having their last days in the sun before it all goes down hill/glorious Autumn arrives (delete depending on your point of view).
https://www.hortusbaileyana.co.uk/2021/09/for-beauty-of-earth.html
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Lovely early weeks of Autumn – I always want to be in holiday at this time.
I like that last Aster ‘St Michael’ – interesting.
My six: https://peerlessgardening.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-26-9-2021-2/
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Great selection. I’m still chuckling at the mental image of the zebra grass hiding amongst a herd of zebras. I planted a Geranium ‘Splish Splash’ earlier in the year. Loads of leaves but not a single flower https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2021/09/25/six-on-saturday-25-september-2021/
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That is a gorgeous coloured rose. The forest pansy reminds me of one of our native forest trees, the bleeding heart tree, which has huge heart shaped leaves which eventually turn bright red. The asters are lovely!
Here is my Six for the week. Hope you have a great gardening weekend!
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