#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.

No sooner had we been celebrating the arrival of rain than it’s disappeared again, at least here in the south of England. It would do wouldn’t it just as we’ve installed two additional water butts to collect water from the guttering on the new potting shed. Any sign of rain, I’ll be rushing out to check how much they’ve harvested.

One – I don’t think I’ll need to be sowing borage again next year as there are already loads of seedlings.

Two – ‘Bishop of Dover’, the final of the three dahlia varieties I grew this year, has finally made an appearance. All the dahlias are growing in raised beds in our south facing front garden so I haven’t yet decided whether to risk leaving them where they are or lifting and storing them.

Three – I thought the squash had given up when it produced two fruits that have already ripened nicely, but it had other ideas. This fruit is growing rapidly and if we get enough sun just might ripen too. It’s another plant growing in our sunny front garden in a raised bed. I’m planning to turn over one of the four raised beds completely to vegetables next year. Courgettes and squash are the front runners.

Four – A bee enjoying the flowers of Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’ as much as I am.

Five – Suddenly the rosemary is blooming again.

Six – Cyclamen hederifolium are popping up everywhere 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.

#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.

There’s a real feel of autumn in the air. Does anyone else find it slightly depressing to have to put lights on in the house in the evening? There’s a sense this year’s growing season is coming to an end and it will soon be time to tuck up the garden for the winter. Before that though, there are lots of things to do: collecting seeds, sowing hardy annuals, harvesting the remaining summer vegetables, mulching.

One – Talking of mulching, one of my favourite sights is the arrival of a large bag of this lovely stuff. Following the recent rain, a few beds in the front garden have already had a thick layer applied. Once that’s completed it’s on to the back garden. Quite a few wheelbarrow trips.

Two – A flower head of Verbena bonariensis against the feathery Pennisetum villosum.

Three – The seed heads of Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’ just waiting to ripen and become both food for the birds and plants for next year.

Four – Berries on the hawthorn hedges.

Five – A seed head of Echinacea purpurea. I’ve already got several drying in the potting shed.

Six – Fruits forming on Arbutus unedo which will soon change their colour to justify its common name – strawberry tree. It’s a shrub that has tolerated the dry conditions quite well.

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.