Relentless

Six on Saturday is a weekly diary hosted by The Propagator & contributed to by gardeners all over the world.  For links to other SoS blogs, check out Mr P's comments & the Twitter hashtag, #SixOnSaturday.

Shed felt.

The rain & wind've been relentless, with more happening today.

The whole world's now a quagmire, meaning Mlle DoodleFace (aka Mud Puppy) needs a daily bath.  Because of the weather, said bath happens indoors. 😱

The shed felt meant to replace the roofing lost pre-Ciara, sits by the back door.  Plants I'd hoped to've hardened off, are still inside.

Myself, I went from cabin fever to cabin despair after the hyacinth saga took an unexpected turn.



1.  Alas, poor Memory, I knew her well.

Recap => mystery blooms appeared in my pots a coupla weeks ago, both white & blue.  They looked like hyacinth, which I've never had in those colours.  The narcissus Thalia in the same pots hadn't made a showing, so I concluded there'd been an order mix-up until Mr P said his Thalia weren't evident either.

Then the 'hyacinth' opened into Russian snowdrops . . .

 . . . that had been purchased in the green & planted 3 short weeks ago.  Granted, they were more yellow than green at the time, but considering there are only 3 types of plants in these pots, one would think I'd've remembered them.

It's rare for me to feel disheartened, but rather than seeing any humour in this, I felt like the world's dumbest SoS-er.

Today, I feel there are worse things than not being good at what you enjoy.


2.  Peas, peas, peas.

I can't remember which storm thwarted my plans to harden off the sweet peas, but they've now grown into flimsy 8" stems, even after being nipped.

Sweet peas.

The edible peas'd been staggered to follow their sweet cousins in a week or so, but outgrew their tray instead.

Last week, Wild Parenting talked about planting in tins, so the edible peas got transferred into our ubiquitous pet food cans.  I juggled things in the potting shed, bringing in folding chairs for more surfaces, & now all peas, edible & sweet, are in the shed.

Edible peas.

Please God, the storms'll give me a week or 2 to get the peas out.


3.  Choco mint pellie blossom.

This pellie got featured here a fortnight ago when it came into bud for the first time ever.

My camera doesn't produce reds or pinks well w/o manual adjustments (which I haven't a clue how to do), but this bloom is bergenia pink.  The benefit to the colour being washed out in this photo, however, is that the markings show up better.  The pellie itself has become monstrous because I didn't cut it back last autumn.  I need to get a plan for it eventually, but at the moment, it's covered in buds


4.  Grape hyacinth.

The first grape hyacinth has arrived, only the one so far.

My neighbour's are guns a-blazing.

This planter stays in bloom nearly all year, self seeded nigella taking over next, then calendula in turn.


5.  Akebia.

My chocolate vine is in bud, some of which are nearly open.

This seems early to me.  What do the rest of you say?


6.  Clamour of Clematis.

I'm on a mission to get climbers up all the brick walls in the garden, hoping to cool it down in the summer.  Rambling in the Garden mentioned last week that Thorncroft Clematis had a lucky dip deal on vines that've lost their labels.  I got 3 for the price that one labelled clematis would've been.  The nursery sent suggestions as to what they thought the vines might be - all pretty stunning.

Like Mlle DoodleFace, they must languish inside until the current storm passes over.

That's me done talking for this week.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to see you again, soon.

Stagnation

Six on Saturday is a weekly diary hosted by The Propagator & contributed to by gardeners all over the world.  For links to other SoS blogs, check out Mr P's comments & the Twitter hashtag, #SixOnSaturday.

Our calendar warns that, caught between Winter & Spring, February is ripe for stagnation.

It goes on to say the cure for stagnation is the Beginner's Mind - having an attitude of exploration & discovery.

That's pretty much how gardening goes for me, so's probably why stagnation & myself aren't well acquainted.





1.  Hyacinth mystery continues.

To recap => last week, I found what looked like a blue hyacinth in a pot where no hyacinth dare tread.  This week, I found both blue & white hyacinth growing in several pots.  Then I realised the original hyacinth (supposedly growing in another part of the garden) were pink.  Where did these blue & white hyacinth come from?

A quick record check shows that Narcissus Thalia are missing from the hyacinth pots, so the nursery must've sent the wrong bulbs.  Since they cost nearly the same, I'm undecided about contacting the nursery - the hyacinth are doing great, but I did kinda want those Thalia.


2.  Hydrangea twins.

These were victims of the not-so-shady border last year.  For those who don't remember, the angle of the sun in February when we moved in, was not the angle of the sun in mid-summer, making what we'd anticipated to be a shady border into the 3rd circle of Dante's Inferno.

A move to the shadier front garden followed by TLC, & look at them now.  They're still young, but I'm hoping they bloom this year.  I think they're Runaway Brides.


3.  Laburnum.

Another thing that's not bloomed for me is this laburnum sapling which, at the moment, is very ballerina hands.

This self seeded under a hedge & grew big enough to be seen.  I rescued it around 5 years ago, so it's at least 6-7 years old?  Maybe it'll never bloom as long as it's in a planter.


4.  Anemone coronaria Bordeaux

Their foliage has been up for a coupla weeks, but now it's teasing us with some colour.

These were so lovely last year, I got some white ones for the front garden.


5.  Phlomis plus one.

A Freecycler brought me phlomis when she came for whatever plant it was I gave her.  It rather surprised me to see some red at its base this week.

On closer inspection, apparently a primula'd hitched a ride with it.

It's a little ahead of my own (below) . . .

. . . which makes up for its lack of speed by having more buds.


6.  Dahlia Creme de Cassis.

I potted this up as soon as it arrived.  Before long, it & all these other seedling came up.

I've waited for 2nd leaves to learn they're lots & lots of tomatoes, none of which I intend to use.

Guess my hot bin wasn't hot enough, eh?

That's my non-stagnant Six.

Thanks for stopping by.  See you next time!

Stormy Weather

Six on Saturday is a weekly diary hosted by The Propagator & contributed to by gardeners all over the world.  For links to other SoS blogs, check out Mr P's comments & the Twitter hashtag, #SixOnSaturday.

Open!

Another weekend of high winds, yet the plants make it seem like we've turned the corner toward Spring.










1.  Post Ciara.

Ciara's winds got up to 70+mph, but we luckily had little damage.  The shed's already loose tar paper flew to Kansas, while some of the climber supports were left a bit whopperjawed.

This planter surprised me, as I thought it was too heavy to topple - it's an old kitchen composter.

While it stayed upright, it did, however, dance around, chipping the paint off the pallet.


2.  Allium.

Last year, the allium I brought with us gave a poor showing, so good excuse to buy new bulbs.

Based on where these are planted, I suspect they're the bog standard purple-blue globe on a stick.  There are other more varied ones in other parts of the garden.


3.  Cuckoo in the nest.

I noticed this coming up in the pot that was supposed to have daffs & tulips.

That looks like a hyacinth, to me.  If so, what got featured last week (below photo) as growing in the very spot the hyacinth were planted?

I used to be quite good at labelling my bulbs.  Obviously that doesn't hold true anymore.


4.  Wild plum buds.

This little darlin tickles me pink.

I bought this years ago in a village plant sale.  Although it was marked as a wild cherry, Jim identified it as a plum.  It's young yet & only produces a handful of fruit which go to the birds.  When it blooms, it becomes a thing of glory.


5.  Choco mint pellie.

I got 3 fancy pellies last year, 2 of which bloomed their hearts out.  The third, this choco mint, was forgiven for not blooming, as it has wonderful foliage with a nice scent.  It was too beautiful to chop back for winter & has spent these cold, wet months in the potting shed.

Now it has buds, spurred on, no doubt, by the strawberries behind it that haven't stopped blooming since November.


6.  Sweet peas.

After seeing Mr P's peas last week, I broke open my own packets.

In a week, they're already too tall for the propagator lid to stay on.

Winter aconite in the trough & crocus in the grass.

Time now to wait for Storm Dennis to pass.

Thanks for stopping by.  See you next time.

GangBusters

Six on Saturday is a weekly diary hosted by The Propagator & contributed to by gardeners all over the world.  For links to other SoS blogs, check out Mr P's comment section & the Twitter hashtag, #SixOnSaturday.

Monk DoodleFace dressed for the weather.

It's not only snowdrops & hellebores that come alive in cold weather.

Temps've been in single digits all week, but I've been going like GangBusters (in my usual 10 minute increments).

Take a look at what I've been up to.





1.  Visited by Night Demons.

The tar paper came off the shed during a calm night.  Evidence of supernatural forces at work. 

Our attempts to fix this revealed our ladder too short & the garden wall in the wrong place.  Unfortunately, I'm too old to leap tall buildings anymore.  The tar paper's currently being held in place with several bricks until someone more agile can reattach or replace it.


2.  A problem I can solve.

My pots of aconite & Russian snowdrops didn't come up, possibly because it's been too wet.  The replacements were bought in the green, but are still a little wobbly.

I also got single snowdrops in the green at the same time, which look just fine.

The snowdrop bulbs that I planted last autumn look fine, too, but aren't as far along.

3.  Edging.

After putting in the green snowdrops, I decided to edge the beds.

Unfortunately, the ground's so wet, it was like edging taffy.  There's now 2' of ratty looking ditch right near the front door, & there it'll stay until things dry up a bit.


4.  Crocus surprise.

I planted crocus in the lawn last autumn.  Every time we come home from the BigNose Walk, I check out the grass, get disappointed.  The bulbs must've gone the same way of the aconite & Russian snowdrops, thinks me.

After one such walk & a there's-no-crocus check, I was upstairs when MlleDoodleFace sounded the alarm.  I opened the window to see if the bird seed guy was at the front door.  He wasn't, but seeing the lawn from above, there they were, dozens of little neon flowers.

Not sure what DoodleFace was upset about or how I missed these on my daily check.  There are cream ones, too, but they get washed out in the photos.


5.  Flower boxes.

These boxes were planted with daffs & tulips last autumn; the time'd come for them to be mounted.  The brackets exhausted my DIY skills, the boxes aren't quite straight nor evenly spaced.  There's still quite a gap between them & the goldenrod below, which hopefully trailers'll close later this summer.

Even so, I'm embarrassingly proud of myself, being able to lift a full flower box over my head, slip it into place.  Granted, I could only do one a day, but considering that 4 short years ago, I was bed ridden, I am officially amazing.


6.  Seeds!

And when I wasn't being amazing, I sorted seeds.

Some of which came from kind & generous SoSers in places far away.

Enjoy these violets, cuz that's all she wrote.  For this week, at least.

Thanks for stopping by!

February, Thank Goodness You're Here

Six on Saturday is a weekly diary hosted by The Propagator & contributed to by gardeners all over the world.  For links to other SoS blogs, check out Mr P's comment section & the Twitter hashtag, #SixOnSaturday.

Our calendar says January's a month of incubation, not action, which is why resolutions seldom last.

I incubate quiet anxiety - over plants unseasonably budding & blooming.  Over dogs that've had Doodle crashing-through-the-woods injuries & BigNose old dog health concerns.  Over how the Home Office will process our paperwork.

Calming anxiety's my January work.

For today, that means thinking about 6 of my favourite things.



1.  Fatty japonica, Spidy Guy. 

This little guy came to live in a seating area  2 gardens ago.  He died back completely during the Beast from the East, then resurrected to tutor me on how much sun he needed in order to create the lovely spider web on his leaves.  This year, he got a shocking pink pot to show off his foliage.

Some SoSers don't like spider fatsia, but he suits me just fine.


2.  Shed blooms.

The strawberries (on left) have been in bloom since they arrived last November; I've not the heart to put them outside in the cold.  If that keeps them from producing this year, those blooms are quite the compensation.

The saxifrage have now joined them.  The saxifrage usually start a pinky red that fades to white, so not sure why they're starting as white.  Something to do with sunlight at this time of year, perhaps?


3.  Beating the Romanesco drum again.

Any plant that I can eat gives me a special joy.  This one has the bonus of being weird looking.

Of the original 21 plants, 17 lived, producing 11 heads so far.  Not a great ratio, but the other 6 aren't fully mature, yet, so I'm not sure if that number'll increase.

One of the non-head-producers has given us a purple leaf, though.


4.  Hyacinth Bucket.

Last year, I received a heart shaped bucket of forced hyacinths.  Come autumn, I planted them in the re-purposed linen baskets with the More Fool You If You Think We're Going To Bloom saffron crocus.

I'd given up hope, undoubtedly because of everyone's forced hyacinth, then this little guy made himself known.


6.  Oregano amethyst falls.

New to me last year, I'm loving this oregano in all phases.  At the moment, the textured leaves give great pleasure.

This photo doesn't so much show that texture, as make the leaves look spotted.  That's actually light catching on moisture from the morning mist.  Trust me, these leaves deserve being in the top 6.

Hibernation over incubation.

Undoubtedly, some of you are shocked & horrified that the Crooked Cherry didn't appear this week, but that's only because she's still sleeping.  Rest assured, she's my favourite of all favs, Romanesco not withstanding.

Well, I certainly feel better for spending time with my beauties, but even so, I spit on January, tff, tff.  Roll on February.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Look forward to seeing you next time.