Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations. I haven’t done one of these in a while but what else is there to do when it’s too hot to garden, your water butts are empty and you’re fed up with lugging watering cans up and down the garden? If you can find the time, check out the posts of other participants by following the links in the comments section of Jim’s post – or share your own six.
One – (Left) Erysimum ‘Walberton’s Fragrant Star’ bought at RHS Wisley a few months ago that seems to be thriving despite being in direct sunlight – and not being watered.
Two – (Right) Similarly, the herb garden is soaking up the heat and attracting loads of bees and other pollinators. They’re especially keen on the thymes.
Three & Four – (Below) A couple of lovely foxgloves growing in the shade of one of our apple trees and a rather rampant rose of unknown variety. Foxgloves are one of my favourite flowers… until the hollyhocks come along that is.
Five – (Left) I don’t know if it’s just me but this year seems to be terrible for blackfly – or wonderful, I suppose, if you are a blackfly. Our broad beans are absolutely covered in them, including some of the pods. Despite that, the plants themselves are still doing well and starting to develop decent sized pods. I harvested some last week although my husband said it was too early and they’d only be the size of peas when the pods were opened – and he was right. Patience, Cathy…
Six – (Below) Our stone frog – in the absence of a real one – standing guard over Alchemilla mollis near our small pond. Enjoy your garden, and pray for rain.
One – (Left) The bell-shaped flowers of arbutus unedo. I planted two earlier this year which I’m hoping will eventually form part of a low hedge to replace one of box which developed the dreaded blight.
Two – (Right) A butter yellow rose – variety unknown – flowering for the third time this year and pushing its way through the berries on a pyracantha.
Three – (Left) A hebe – variety unknown – rewarding me for chopping back several shrubs that had overwhelmed it by producing a few pale mauve flowers.
Four – (Right) An apple – or possibly pineapple – mint fighting a battle with Japanese anemones that have spread everywhere in this patch of the garden. I think it’s winning at the moment.
Five – (Left) There are only a few berries on this holly bush probably because I gave it a drastic prune a few months ago as it was crowding out one of our apple trees. By the way, is there anything more lethal to a gardener’s fingers than dead holly leaves?
What Cathy Read Next... 