#SixOnSaturday – Six things happening in my garden this week

Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations.

This week has seen another dry spell so it’s watering cans at the ready again. There’s no end in sight to the hosepipe ban until, Thames Water inform us, there has been a substantial period of rain. That means months, not weeks. Of course if we get that we won’t need to use a hosepipe anyway…

One – A very hungry caterpillar chomping away on the leaf of a rose bush. A search online reveals it’s the caterpillar of the Grey Dagger moth.

Two – A fuchsia I thought was dead has turned out to be very much alive. I don’t know the variety as it was a gift from a neighbour who doesn’t do labels. To be fair, she probably told me and I’ve forgotten.

Three – I have a lot of crab apples to clear before I can do anything with this border.

Four – Very baby carrots. I haven’t grown carrots for years and they’ve really struggled because of the dry conditions. Taste good though…

Five – A clump of penstemon, some dead and some alive. It kind of sums up this year…

Six – The cream, highly-scented flowers of Elaeagnus ebbingei. It’s alive with bees at the moment.

Do check out the posts of other participants by following the links in the comments section of Jim’s post. If you fancy taking part yourself but don’t know where to start, here’s the participant’s guide.

My Henley Literary Festival 2026 Preview @HenleyLitFest

Henley-on-Thames

This year’s Henley Literary Festival takes place between between Friday 2nd and Sunday 11th October. Authors appearing at this year’s Festival include Ben Okri, Susie Dent, Meg Mason, Kate Mosse, Lucy Worsley and Victoria Hislop. There’s also a varied programme of children’s events. All in the beautiful setting of Henley-on-Thames.

I’m going to seven events this year and links from the author names will take you to the event details on the Henley Literary Festival website where you can purchase tickets, including for livestreamed events. [Availabilty shown as at time of writing.]

Please note, I have no commercial relationship with Henley Literary Festival and buy my own tickets.


Sebastian Faulks, author of the recently published Farewell to Eden [In person event sold out, livestream tickets still available]

Ann Cleeves, author of the recently published The Dying Light

Elif Shafak, author of the soon to be published In One Brief Moment All Eternity [In person event sold out, livestream tickets still available]

Hodder Proof Party with Abigail Avis, author of Wet Ink (publishing February 2027) and Niamh Connolly, author of We Go Way Back (publishing April 2027) [Event sold out]

Crime & Wine with Chris Chibnall, author of The Parkwood Murders, Harriet Tyce, author of Witch Trial, and Louise Candlish, author of A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder

Robert Harris, author of the recently published Agrippa [In person event sold out, livestream tickets still available]

Maggie O’Farrell, author of Land [In person event sold out, livestream tickets still available]

Are you hoping to attend a literary festival this year? Are there authors you would love to see in person?