Six on Saturday: favourites

Tags

Allium Purple Sensation, cerinthe, Eschscholzia californium, euphorbia griffithii Dixter, hebe hulkanea, Iris Sibirica, New Zealand lilac, six on saturday

Good morning. I am joining The Propagator with a quick six, favourite sights in my garden.

First is a shrub I purchased from a garden in Winslow. A family were about to complete the sale of their late mothers house. A developer had purchased the property and the place was about to lose its garden to concrete and brick. The family invited Winslow & District gardening society their local garden group, to attend at a certain hour on a given day to dig up plants from the garden for a donation in aid of their chosen charity.

You can imagine the scene as gardeners in anoraks, armed with trowels and garden forks arrived. Hellebores, snowdrops, ferns were the main plants of interest. A polite-ish dig-up began.

Whilst the garden was under siege, I got talking to a lady who turned out to have been the owners longterm carer. She handed me a scraggy shrub in a pot. Take this for your garden, it is something special, I cannot remember what but I always had to pay particular attention to watering it. Inwardly thinking, yuck that looks dreadful, I politely accepted it and made a donation of £5.

I planted it in the ground in about February this year. Clearly delighted to have space to send its roots, it is now flowering happily.

It is New Zealand lilac, Hebe hulkeana or right now, Happy Hebe.

2 .

This is the outlook from my chair where I enjoy my morning coffee. Purple Cerinthe in the foreground with masses of Eschscholzia poppies behind. These are all self sown. Bargain.

3.

These may not have been fashionable at Chelsea this year but I don’t care, I still love Allium purple sensation.

4.

The border in morning light before the sun gets to it. The contrast of green with the dark burnt orange from Euphorbia griffithii Dixter.

5.

I have always admired Iris sibirica for its royal colour and neat form, somehow refined. I planted these last year and am delighted to see they made it.

6. Another view of a different part of the border.

Again before the sun reaches it, this is a pleasing gentle froth of green, pink and white. Persicaria bistorta, Anthriscus sylvestris Ravenswing and Thalictrum Elin.

Wishing you an enjoyable long weekend, wherever you are. D.