Updates & Reveals

A shout out to The Propagator who hosts Six On Saturday, a weekly gardening diary.  To snoop into gardens from all over the world, be sure to drop by the comment section of Mr. P's blog & check out the hashtag on Twitter.

We've had the longed for rain this week.  While great for the plants, the weather kept me inside with easy access to happenings in both my original & adoptive countries.

Definitely the worst social media week I've experienced.  Time to reap some welcomed health benefits from the garden.

This time of year, it's mostly running the straight stretch to winter, but there were some surprises.

So let's do this thang.



1.  Bessera Elegans update.

These lovelies must've heard me whining last week, because they've opened.

Drawing on long ago primary school science lessons, I'll hazard to say the white middle of these blooms produces 6 scarlet stamens w/grey-greeny dollops of pollen on them & a dark purple pistil in the middle - the latter being a bit more visible in the photo below.

The blossoms are supposed to be long lived, so hopefully will all be open at same time.

Last week, Hey Jude asked how I got mine to bud & I had to admit they were stuck in pots because I didn't have time to figure out where I wanted them to go.

I've since learned they're half hardy, so will stay in their pots & spend the winter in the shed.  Might have to get them something more exciting than coir pots for next year.


2.  Hydropod update.

Last week, I filled the new hydropod with cuttings.  Within 2-3 days, a coupla rose cuttings had roots appear above the foam collars, even though there were what looked like growth nobs below the foam.

A consultation with Mr P elicited advice that I move the roots to below the collar, which I did, meaning only a little bit of cutting showed above the foam.  The roots on this particular cutting have grown since last week & about a third of the others have started their roots, so reserved happiness, at the moment. 

As a side note, the hydropod is set up in our TV room.  The pump is quite noisy & the system acts as a sort of air conditioner, cooling the room.  Because it's filled with water, it's not convenient to move, so I'd advise against stationing yours in any of the main rooms - you'll have to live with it where it is for a while.


3.  Pumpkin update.

Every year, I worry about keeping pumpkins until Halloween.  A few weeks ago, I eavesdropped on a thread started by Nicky Kyle about curing pumpkins & squash.  That info probably saved my 2 smaller pumpkins that are now curing indoors (next to the flowering gaura).

There're 3 more outside yet, one which is only wee & probably doesn't have time to grow enough before frost.

The vine is still healthy, so he's getting his chance to become a teeny green jack-o-lantern.


4.  Cyclamen reveal.

I've not featured my cyclamen before, though they've been belting it out in the not-so-shady bed for the last few weeks.  Up 'til now, there've only been flowers, but this week, leaves.

My first year for this particular type cyclamen (whose corms are enormous!) & they've absolutely delighted me.


5.  Romanesque reveal.

My winter crop of Romanesque is escaping its netting.

Earlier in the summer, I'd been quite smug, watching the cabbage whites beat against this netting.  Then I found their caterpillars climbing through the netting holes & wondered if cabbage whites lay eggs on neighbouring plants in hopes the caterpillar will find the brassicas.

While I haven't found any more caterpillars under the netting recently, this little guy is chancing his arm leaf.


6.  Snow leopard melon reveal.

First year for snow leopard melon & it grew guns ablazing, up the fence & trellis, across the much fatter pumpkin vines, into the tomato planters.   It produced tons of flowers that swelled up at the base, ready, willing & able.  None of them seemed to get pollinated & the little swellings fell off.  Maybe the tiny melon flowers couldn't compete against the huge pumpkin flowers for pollinators.

Once the pumpkin vines began to die back, though, I saw this greygreen thing hanging on the back trellis. 

There's another melon on the ground at the foot of the trellis, but this particular one worried me, lest its weight compress the vine.

Break out the pumpkin hammock again.

I have no idea if these 2 guys're gonna have time to get ripe, but their appearance is exciting!  I'll try them again next year, but in a planter where there's no competition from the big guys.

So there's my Six done for the week. 

As always, thanks so much for stopping by.  Now I'm off to see what's been happening in your garden.

And that's all she wrote.

Subtle Shift

Six on Saturday is hosted by Mr Propagator to give us a weekly look into each other's garden.  For more links, be sure to check out Mr P's comment section & Twitter's #SixOnSaturday hashtag.

There's plenty still blooming in the garden, but this week, the focus has begun to shift towards getting ready for colder times.

So let's do this thang.









1.  New hydropod propagator.

It's that time of year you collect cuttings in case your favourite plant doesn't survive the winter.

I'm terrible at getting cuttings to take.  Every year, I chase some new bit of advice in hopes the tides'll change.  Nope.  Nope.  Nope.  They never do.

This year, I bit the bullet.

It's now been assembled & loaded with cuttings, rumbling away in the living room, waiting for a boisterous DoodleFace to crash into it & flood the place.


2.  Visitor.

This fella came in with some rose cuttings.

His innards are visible through his ectoskeleton, which makes him pretty ugly.


3.  Gaura.

I'd wanted gaura for a coupla summers now.  This being our first year here kept me pretty busy, though, so planting the seeds got postponed until about the time everyone else's were blooming.

Mr P'd mentioned his sometimes didn't make it through the winter.  Because mine got a late start, I worried they'd be more at risk, so left them in the potting shed, expecting them to reach about middling size.

Now they're blooming.  Aren't they just smashing?  (Photo bomb courtesy the basil.)


4.  Bessera elegans.

These fellas, on the other hand've been outside the whole time.  While my neighbour's have bloomed & gone over, mine've been like this for a while now, getting deeper & deeper in colour, but not opening yet.

That's Lord Butte Pellie blooming at the bottom of the photo.


5.  Echinachea.

Even as they fade . . .

. . . these guys are never dull.


6.  Welcome to Gilead.

Where producing big beautiful seed heads . . .

. . . gets you hung on the mattress spring trellis.

That's my Six for the week.  Thanks so much for stopping by.



See you next time.

Late Summer

Six on Saturday is a weekly gardeners' hashtag hosted by Mr P.  To join the fun, check out the action both on his blog & on Twitter.

Even the pigeons know Mizzy BunnyButt's a terrible hunter.

Though temps haven't gone below 9C this week, neighbourhood trees've begun to turn, which starts me worrying about pumpkins making it to Halloween.

However, there're a few other things of interest in the garden this week.








1.  Sacred bamboo.

Despite the 9C lows, one morning the sacred bamboo was covered with an off-white patina.  Close inspection showed it to be not frost, but a heavy dew.

I was delighted to see flower buds.  Its first year with us, I assumed it wouldn't bloom at all.  Hopefully they'll open before there's frost.  Next year, berries.


2.  Tough guy Actaea.

This guy's perplexed me.  When the shady border turned out to be not-so-shady, this was the only plant that didn't go crispy, including 2 other actaeas.  So it got left behind during the mid-season move to the shady front garden.

And it's done fine.


3.  Bird feeder plant.

Both this plant (below) & the gangly grass behind the actaea (above) came out of the bird feeder, & got spared by my curiosity.  While the one above served its purpose, never to be repeated, I like the one below, much like the miniature ragwort growing under the bird feeder (shown in the first photo) that I mow around.

Now that the seeds are changing colour, I'm even more enamoured.


4.  Blanket flower.

When I broke out my seed cache this spring, there were some 6 year old blanket flower seeds amongst them, so what the heck, right?  Only one germinated but it was healthy enough to get ignored.

Until the woodwardia moved from the not-so-shady border to the front garden with the rest of the shade lovers.  Woody was in an elephant planter but, as there are hordes of marauding students around here, I didn't want to risk the elephant out front.

Taking over from Woody, the blanket flower has some big shoes to fill, but looks like it'll manage.


5.  Random canna.

I planted way too many plants with the canna lilies this year, so everything's had to find their own little space.

This one's a gymnast.  Love all those curlicues.


6.  Oregano update.

A few weeks ago, I saw Oregano Amethyst Falls during a search for another plant, & bought 2 (as well as the original lusted-for plant).  The oregano started blooming on arrival & though it hasn't hit full stride yet, o what a beginning.

The first flowers were lighter, & now are this deep pink.  The hops-ish bits of the flower (to use the scientific term) seem to grow out of each other, getting a longer & longer chain that gets more & more pink as it grows.

Against that gray/green foliage, it's something else.  And promises to be even more so.

Pigeons're gone, Mizzy BB. Come inside for some Dreamies.

That's this week's selection.


As always, thanks for stopping by.

Season Change

Six On Saturday is a weekly gardener's hashtag hosted by The Propagator.  Be sure to both drop by his blog & check out Twitter for links from all over the world.

As the days get shorter, my M.E. gets more evident.  It's been 2 weeks since I've had energy to read SoS blogs & I really miss keeping up with you all.

Here's hoping this week'll be different, just in case y'all've done something scandalous that I might wanna try myself.

In the meantime, can you believe this spider captured a honey bee?  I'm feeling like Eve when Cain went after Abel.

So let's do this thang.



1.  No good deed goes unpunished.

Last week, Mlle DoodleFace & a visiting dog took full advantage of our back garden, smashing a few plants in their glee.  I very kindly brought in some broken sunflowers & what does one do?

Vomits in the kitchen.


2.  Calendula.

Also last week, some volunteer cosmos sulphureus showed up in the flowerbed.  This week's volunteer . . .

. . . Calendula Snow Princess, with a verbena adornment.


3.  Cucumbers!

When we were growing up, a large pickling crock would get hauled outa the basement in late summer, take up residence in the kitchen.  Although my younger brother could fit inside this crock, my mother pickled her cukes in it.  I don't remember which kind, as she made both dill & sweet pickles. 

Mmm, mmm, those pickles were fine, but my favourites were Grandma's horseradish dills.  O. Morgan (as she signed our birthday cards) was the only person I ever knew to make horseradish dills, so a singular treat from a singular woman.  A treat I'll never taste again.

Keeping with family tradition, I killed my first cucumber plant this year & the 2nd one's been a slow producer, giving us maybe 2/week.

Just when I think the vine's done, though, I find another itty bitty cuke flexing its spines.


4.  Zinnia.

About the time my zinnia Queen Red Lime were starting to go gang busters, I read that a second sowing at that very moment would keep them blooming into October.  I needed more seed for that, so got 2 other types.

The tall, spindly Red Spiders are covered in buds, but the flowers are small, about the size of a 20p coin (smaller'n a nickel in the US).  I hadn't expected them to be that tiny, but the flowers are fascinating, all squiggly & weird.

Peaches & Cream are as robust as the Queen.

Got a bit of alpha-omega going on here.


5.  Room with a view.

I garden in about 10 minute spurts in order to fool the M.E. into believing we're resting.  My current big project would've taken me an afternoon only a few years ago, but I've spent the last coupla weeks moving plants from what I'd thought'd be the shady border (but isn't) into the front garden, which is partially shady but small.

The key is making sure those 10 minutes are well planned, so I'm not caught out having to stop at a point that'll cause plant murder.  For this project, I do a lot of pondering about placement during my breaks.  Since my bedroom is at the front of the house, I do some of that pondering when I'm allegedly taking it easy.

This actually gives me a better sense, than standing in front of the beds does, of how much room I have, though I don't really know why that is.  Alas, this photo also shows me how many plants are still waiting for my attention.

One of my neighbours keeps offering to help, but I just hiss at her.


6.  Chocolate daisy.

These seeds were flouted as growing into wondrous 12" plants covered with yellow flowers that smell like chocolate.  Though healthy enough, by mid-summer, they were half the expected size with no buds.  Deciding they must be biennials, I kept a disinterested eye on them, lest villain slug venture near.

Look what happened behind my back.

One flower on one plant, & what an interestingly creepy looking flower. 

I dutifully got down on my knees to sample the scent, dressed in my shorty nightgown for the benefit of my neighbours who had sex in their window this week while I was watering plants.

It smells more of honey, though there's a faint chocolate whiff.  Perhaps in a day or so, the scent'll be stronger.

That's it for this week.  Thanks for stopping by - don't be shy about leaving a comment.



See you next time!