Six on Saturday: 3 October 2020

Tags

Aeoniums, amelanchier, Helianthus salicifolius, Leucanthemella, Rudbeckia, six on saturday, Succulents, Verbena bonariensis

That was September

Into October and how the weather has changed. Deluge from Friday and for days to follow. Ghastly gardening conditions but thankfully mild overnight. Flowers will continue although most of us are unlikely to want to venture out to see them. My six were taken on Thursday, a dry day which already seems a distant memory.

Joining our host The Propagator

Leucanthemella

These are such good flowers, I cannot recommend them highly enough. Tall daisies, late flowering and fresh as, well, as a daisy. No staking needed. The funny thing is that they are facing towards the light and are looking away from the garden towards the fence!

Amelanchier

This is Amelanchier turning-to Autumn colour. A good reason to find space for one, that and the early spring blossom.

Rudbeckia

These bright yellow daisy types are great for autumn interest. Vivid yellow petals but these do need staking on my rich soil. A good back of border perennial, shown here against the backdrop of the woven willow fence.

Now is a good time to put all succulents in the dry. Actually with this weather they should already be under cover, a sunny garden room, window cill or a greenhouse is ideal. They dislike our winter wet and will not survive a frost. Mine are now in the cold frame until it gets very cold when I shall bring them indoors. Mollycoddling very necessary.

I grow the willow leaf sunflower this for its bonkers foliage and height. I do not like the flowers and generally dead head them however next week, I have a National Garden Scheme, by appointment, visit. I shall allow them to beam. I’m all heart.

Verbena bonariensis. You know it. You grow it. It’s everywhere.

At this time of year it’s an invaluable blast of colour.

That’s it. Have a good weekend wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: last days of summer

Tags

Aeonium, Aster, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster, Rose "Lark Ascending", rose a shropshire lad, September, six on saturday, Succulents, Symphyotrichum Little Carlow

Beautiful Rose, a Shropshire Lad is flowering again. A soft, gentle scent can be detected, deep within the many layers of petals.

Rose Lark Ascending is also flowering, continually to be honest. How gorgeous it is looking in this September light.

Rosette type flower in the form of an Aeonium. I have no idea which variety this is but it is looking particularly handsome in this light. The succulents will need to come under cover at any minute but today they can soak up the last gasps of summer.

Grasses are at their most glorious right now. This is no exception. Calamagrostis brachytricha. My new favourite.

Mind you, I still think Calamagrostis Karl Foerster takes some beating, especially back lit like this.

Last but not least are these delightfully cheery Aster

Now known as Symphyotrichum Little Carlow. How are we supposed to keep up with name changes? Mind boggling.

These are my Six and I have put them together to share with you lovely folk and The Propagator our host.

With one week to go to my NGS opening I fear that the weather will have changed to soggy yuck. These images will be a mere memory.

Right , I need to get a wiggle on. ‘Jobs to do ‘ list awaits!

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: it’s August

Tags

Alex Moore, August, Echinacea Delicious Candy, Echinacea purpurea, Echinops ritro white, Helianthus salicifolius, madebymoore, sempervivums, six on saturday, Succulents, Vitis coignetiae, weather

It is August yet the weather seems to think otherwise. I took these pictures yesterday morning when they were blowing in the wind and covered in rain, rather than basking in any glorious August sunshine. Hey ho, it could be worse, it could be today! What a shocker. Truly atrocious summer weather.

Here’s the six:

Six succulents. Some are Sempervivums I hear you cry.

I don’t have names for any of these apart from Aeonium zwartkop (that’s the fourth one). These grow well in coastal regions in the UK but here in my garden on the Herts. /Bucks borders, mine survive, rather than thrive.

The succulents are precious to me and they are carefully placed in the house over the winter months as they are not at all hardy and they hate our wet cold winters. Don’t we all.

The Houseleeks or sempervivums are left outside but under glass to protect them from the worst or the weather. They are quite tough really.

I enjoy these every Summer and forget how annoying it is in the Winter to find space for them.

2.

This is the third year for Althea cannabina and it has hit its stride. Wonderful, wafting in the wind, oodles of soft pink, mallow like flowers, taller than me. I wouldn’t be without it. Here it has fronds of Molinia Transparent and Coreopsis Verticillata Moonbeam behind it.

3. Echinacea ‘Delicious Candy’

I purchased this last August, drawn to its luminous colour and name. It is beginning to bulk up. Cathy remarked that these do not do well in her garden ( frankly the only thing, everything she grows looks so good) after one appeared earlier this week in my IAVOM. Echinacea do like an open site and with room to bulk up, to thrive. They only lasted one year in my last garden.

3. Echinacea purpurea

This is their time. Flowering when the roses are recharging their batteries. Good with grasses. Just great for bees.

4.

This pile of green leaves may not look very interesting but trust me, it will be a stunner this autumn. Vitis coignetiae or Crimson Glory vine. It is climbing over the garage wall and has reached onto the roof. It will be in for a major chop soon enough.

5.

The willow like foliage is what I grow the perennial sunflower for. Helianthus salicifolius. It will have small daisy like flowers in the autumn and will reach 2.5m tall.

The yellow flowers I like less. I am even considering pinching out the flowers as they will detract from the shaggy texture which is so intriguing. Alas the wind is battering them today.

6. Echinops

These pale Pom poms are taking over. Echinops ritro white. I like them less than E Veitch Blue but these are better suited to my heavy soil. In case you are wondering what is in the centre of the picture, it is the bird feeder made by Alex Moore.

I love how it is fully surrounded by plant life now.

Joining our host The Propagator who is on his ‘olidays. Enjoy !

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend wherever you are. D.

Six on Saturday: summertime

Tags

Cercis canadensis, cornflowers, hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, July, poppies, seed heads, six on saturday, stipa tenuissima, Succulents

Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle is opening, surely a sign that it is summer. These are flower filled mops, in a creamy lime colour tone that looks as if it was lifted from one of those Farrow&Ball colour charts. Gorgeous.

This is my first of the Six On Saturday I’m sharing with our host The Propagator

2. Another sign of summer has to be that the succulents are outside

Not the best examples but loved nonetheless.

3. Forest pansy is a beautiful specimen and a real favourite of mine.

Back lit the colour is arguably unbeatable. Cercis canadensis.

4.

Haze. This haze is created by the delightfully tactile Stipa tenuissima. I love these grasses for their movement; the slightest breath of air is all they need to move.

5. Opium poppies

These are very short lived but so pretty and wonderful for bees . Today they have finished flowering and I am left with fat grey seed heads.

I love these almost as much.

6.

Cornflowers are such a wonderfully intense blue, not unlike a Sir Terence Conran shirt. Great for cut flowers, great colour in the border. An easy plant. Sprinkle some seed in the spring and Bobs your uncle.

Whether Bob is your uncle or not, you see that this selection includes some of the easiest peasiest plants to grow. What are you Six favourites today? Join us.

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are. Thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: 15/9/18

Tags

Coreopsis moonbeam, Erigeron karvinskianus, pelargonium tomentosum, persicaria affinis, six on saturday, Succulents, Verbena bonariensis

Hello. Joining The Propagator with a quick six from my garden this morning.

Verbena bonariensis tall, willowy and beautiful, a firm favourite with most people. Against a blue sky, what is not to like.

Just a green leaf?

This is a fabulous leaf, soft and furry to touch, think puppy soft, and such a magnificent scent, strong, powerful like those extra strong mints. This is Pelargonium Tomentosum. ( Not grown for its flowers which are very insignificant but white).

You know I love daisies, this is Erigeron, it’s everywhere.

Ground cover, Persicaria affinis gets into its own at this time of year. I enjoy seeing the flowers in various states of open.

The best yellow? Certainly gentle and rather charming this is Coreopsis Moonbeam.

Succulents are always fascinating and my collection is quite old but some years they do better than others. Whilst this years long, hot Summer was fabulous for them the long, dark, cold and wet Winter really harmed them. Even under glass they hated the dark and they came out this Spring looking withered and shrunken. Those that survived are looking much happier now.

Have a wonderful weekend. D.

Wordless Wednesday: succulent sighting

Tags

Darsham Nurseries, slightly obsessed, Succulents, Suffolk, wordless wednesday

First of April, first watering.

Tags

End of month view, Succulents, watering

First watering, Summer is on its way.

The succulents I have collected over the years have spent the Winter in a cool but bright room in the house. They have not been watered since the beginning of November.

Looking less than perfect, now the light levels are increasing, I will begin watering them every ten days or so. Then, once the risk of frost has passed, I shall put them outside. Sited against a south facing wall they will happily stay, sunning themselves.

Let’s hope for a hot dry Summer; we must be due one after such a wet Winter.

This is my end of month view which I am sharing as part of Helens meme https:// thepatientgardener.wordpress.com
Do take a look at some of the other end of month views, some of the gardens are looking beautiful. Dorris.

Wordless Wednesday: Succulent

Tags

Succulents, wordless wednesday

Sun, sea and …….

Tags

Agave, Cacti, Mallorca, Oleander, Palm trees, Succulents

Sun, Sea and Succulents…….(bet you were hoping for something different there). I love Mallorca for many reasons, not least for its wonderful climate, tapas, local wines and landscape, its great city, Palma, and of course its plant life.  

Those towering Palm trees photographed for many a postcard, run along beach fronts, in gardens and line roadsides, their long shadows providing welcome shade. 

Great big prickly pears, Opuntia, can be seen growing on the side of the road, often against tumble down abandoned houses, and I understand that these were planted by peasants because its distinctive smell kept away insects from the outside loo “facilities”! The fruit which ripens in summer is used as food for pigs or made into a jelly.  Other road side plants are Oleanders, a colourful show of pinks or whites softening the infrastructure.

Olives, Almond, Carob and Citrus trees grow to proportions we can only dream about.           Big Olive/ small car.

We were lucky enough to be given a crate of oranges upon arrival and used them to keep us supplied in freshly squeezed juice each morning.  If only we could bottle that smell for the depths of Winter.

Bougainvilleas are planted along walls and  scramble over boundaries all over the Island, their distinctive colour dazzles in the bright light.  In the evening light, sheep got to work with a little light pruning, seeming to be rather partial to a pink snack.

Hibiscus are knockout show stoppers and as much as I love to see “Oiseau bleu” here in Blighty they really do not compare with these:

There is fennel, self seeded on the road sides wafting its liquorice like aroma in the warm air. Rosemary, Lavender, all wonderful, but my love is a Succulent. There is something really great about the way that they thrive in baking conditions, never asking for anything, putting up with little or no water. To me they look fabulous, shades of green, grey, terracotta, with or without a soft grey down, like velvet or peach skins.

 

Many inhabitants on the Island live in flats with perhaps only a small window box or balcony to grow anything in, some just use the space around the front door to satisfy the need for a plant or two.

Then there are the more architectural  Agave and Cacti which in this setting look worthy of admiration rather than those dusty,somewhat sad looking varieties on chilly dark window cills of Suburbia.I love the way the spine of needles on a new Agave leaf leaves its imprint on the surface of its outer neighbour.  And these Agave grow to mammoth proportions, this is quite a small one, broken off and placed next to crockery to show scale.

These pictures were taken on holiday and understandably will not make it into the family album, here’s hoping you like them.

I would be interested to learn the names of any of the succulents, so should you happen to be in the know, send me a message via the comments section.