Tag: gardening

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

Still no rain to speak of here in Berkshire although we’re forecast to get some on Monday. I hope so because our water butts are all empty and we’ve had to resort to using the hose, watering only those plants that absolutely need it. They all need it really. Anyway, enough grumbling, here are my six:

One – Clematis growing up the supports for our cordon pears. I think it’s ‘Étoile Violette’ but the label is hidden beneath a large clump of purple sage growing at its foot, providing the shade its roots like.

Two – A penstemon of unknown variety, a gift from a neighbour who does not do labels.

Three – The purple flowers of campanula persicifolia.

Four – A lovely deep pink shrub rose of unknown variety (it came with the house).

Five – What I think is a nice combination of Salvia nemorosa and – at the moment – a diminutive Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’.

Six – Another combination, this time of foliage. Alchemilla mollis, bronze-leaved heuchera, hardy geranium and bergenia all getting along together.

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.

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

With apologies to Irving Berlin – ‘We’re having a heat wave, A tropical heat wave, The temperature’s rising, It isn’t surprising… Some plants are not thriving.’

One – Reprising last week’s pink theme, a rose of unknown variety.

Two – Tanacetum coccineum ‘Robinson’s Red’ growing alongside viola. In the background are two, now very tall, teasels I sowed last year that I hope will attract goldfinch once their prickly flower heads have appeared.

Three – The wildlife pond I constructed last year has developed a lot of algae. I probably didn’t choose the best location for it although in fairness there weren’t that many other options. A lot of leaves fell in the pond last autumn and have sunk to the bottom. I think another factor is the pond is in full sun at certain points in the day. I’ve started to plant along the front edge in an effort to create more shade. I hope this sesleria autumnalis, also known as autumn moor-grass, will do the trick.

Four – I have a fondness for heuchera and I couldn’t resist this heuchera pulchella with its delicate pinky-white flowers when I spotted it on a recent garden centre trip.

Five – Chive flowers and fennel foliage in the herb garden.

Six – A rather tatty looking flower of Leucanthemum × superbum but it’s welcome anyway.

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.