Goodbye, May!

Mizzy BunnyButt amongst the iris.

The weather's a heartless master, but now that May's over, all complaints about the heat have to go unsaid, June being a proper summer month.  No better way to distract oneself than joining the #SixOnSaturday gang, sharing six things in the garden on a Saturday.

Mr Propagator has set gardeners all over the world on this addictive path, so visit his blog to see how it's done.  This week, he's got 'em tall, he's got 'em crowded, he's got 'em from the local privately owned garden centre & the chain store grocer.  Between you & me, mostly he's got 'em pink.  Shocking.


1.  Iris.

My poor Iris.  She spent a year as a single mother trying to raise her family in a planter shared with a few dodgy neighbours.  After absolutely no clipping back by her human, the great liberation came for Iris & the chillen via a small spot near the curry plants.

Unfortunately, the resident gang leader, DoodleFace, decided Iris' family stood in the path to the Doodle pool.  They survived only because their ghetto landlord stuck a few bamboo canes between them, drastically bringing down property prices in the neighbourhood.

And still Iris blooms.

O, that Iris face.

2.  Fire pit (nee stump) garden.

Last week, I discovered that the stump garden was really an overgrown fire pit.  It had a single columbine in it, plus a lot of weeds that needed evicting.

Digging out the first half took 3 M.E. work days - 10 minute intervals of actual gardening followed by at least half an hour in the hammock followed by 10 minutes . . .

Zinnia, tithonia, one African daisy & a Dr Pepper.

Each of those days has to be separated by a day of rest.  A serious drag, but me, I'm happy to not be bedridden.

The side not done.

This is why I get so tickled at any little achievement in the garden.  It's also why I come up with cowboy ideas like . . .


3.  The Neighbour's Bramble.

Young people live next door, of the subspecies Studenterius, I believe.  They're apparently growing brambles.

Howdy, little short human neighbour!

But as well you know, brambles aren't content to chat over a fence with you - what they can't get over, they go under.  In this instance, 3 times over.

Now digging out a bramble can be the flick of a fork or arduous digging to China.  Having to make decisions every hour of every day how to budget my stock of energy, the risk of the China route proved too much to bear.

So I did this, in the hope there might be a few berries in it for me.

Bramble supports.

Leaving the herb Robert in its bed has nothing to do with energy decisions, everything to do with thinking it's really pretty until the seed heads come on, after which we have our yearly falling out & they're kicked to the kerb/curb until next year's romance.


4.  Philadelphus

Speaking of yearly romance, the mock orange is in bloom.

Philadelphus in bloom.

I've lived with or next door to a few mature phiadelphus, & lamented that their blooms were so far above my head.  This little guy is still a short shrub in a pot, very compact with a high ratio of bloom to foliage.  I feel like never going back, but all puppies eventually grow into dogs.


5.  New love.

This love can be blamed on Mr P, who introduced me to it, & the backup chorus of SoSers who made this purchase seem like a virtue.

Thalictrum Black Stockings.

Did you ever see anything as cute as these?


6.  Nudder rose.

Last week, the red rose bloomed for the first time & is still going strong.  This week, it's the yellow.

Big Yeller.

 I love how the buds have swirls of red in them that fade to pink blush & finally disappear as the rose opens fully.


And that's my Six.  I hope you find time to visit the other SoS gardens - you'll find their links in the comment section of Mr P's blog.  Whether you do or don't, thanks so much for stopping by.

Purple toadflax & allspice w/nigella on the side.