N is for Nasturtium

Hurrah it is Nasturtium time.  I knew it was time to feature some in a vase, as yesterday whilst having breakfast Mr S mentioned the vibrant red display at the end of the path.  I didn't see red but an orange, and when I questioned him he said it was on the plant I sometimes use in salads.  I knew it just had to be the nasturtiums for this week's vase. 

The seeds were kept from last year which I was pleased that I did.  Usually nasturtium seeds overwinter, but for the first time, none came up in the garden, and I started these in pots.  The original seed came from my friend Carolyn's old garden.  She has just moved to her new house after being in temporary accommodation of over a year and ought to ask her if she would like some seed back.

Although not obligatory, the Queen of this weekly get together Cathy always has a story: this week Cathy pays a tribute to her mother. This post will be linked into hers as will others.

I had a root around in an effort to find the old printers' block made of wood with the letter N. The ginkgo leaves which are the same as the ones posted a couple of weeks ago and are still fresh and a similar green to the nasturtium leaves.  My mind then wandered to things Japanese and the beautiful Japanese paintings of nasturtiums.  

As for books, it is along with the post on flowers that I sometimes show what I have been reading.

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon is excellent, and also enjoyed by Mr S. It is the second book by Ariel Lawhon for the book club, the first  being The Frozen River. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot isn't a book club book, and I love its sense of place, the story too.  I would love to visit those far away islands but somehow they are too far away, I had a good sense of place from Liptrot's narrative. As for The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr, I wanted more hours in the day but also wanted it to continue.....

Interesting online read:

Just a short quote from the article about Nasturtiums from the site of Isabella Stewart Gardner.  I'll be spending the hot afternoon exploring this amazing Museum, of course without having to put my foot out of the door.

It received its common name “nasturtium”—which in Latin translates to “nose-twister”—from Renaissance botanists due to its peppery flavor and spicy fragrance similar to watercress (Nasturtium officinale). 

Six on Saturday - 4 July 2026

Each week as I write the post, I am already thinking about the following week and if there will be anything I can scrape together to write about.  Recently I have felt there was so little, but my garden continues to occupy me, both with simple activities such as deadheading and maintenance. Viewing other gardens are a source of delight and inspiration, whether it is through visits or joining in and viewing other bloggers' gardens.  For a limited Six things from the garden and more if you read between the lines the place to gather and cogitate is over at Jim's.

So here are my six for this week: 

1. Betonica officinalis 'Alba' has a certain poise and is just right for the front of the border along the path.  

Betonica officinalis 'Alba'

A piece of this was given to me a couple of years ago and last autumn I divided it and placed it along this border, where it quietly put down roots amongst the spring bulbs.  Now those have died down, it is flowering time for the Betonica.  I've cleared all the ladybird poppy plants that were just finishing and now they have a little space to themselves.

The individual flowers are a beautiful pure white, and each evening this week, we have had a small hummingbird hawkmoth visit and spend some time hovering and feeding from the tubular flowers.  It seems to be on the small size compared to some I have seen visit. Earlier in the day they are certainly popular with some of the bees.

Close up showing the flowers

2. Over the years this path which slopes down and around the conservatory bed has gradually become slightly clogged with soil, aided  by ants, worms, birds and visiting cats.  It was not altogether a negative as little seedlings especially the violas loved seeding into it.  However it had started to be colonised by tougher perennials such as the Viola odorata 'Kim' and some campanulas which I had removed before taking this picture.  This week I have started to clean it off, and have been using the garden sieve to separate out the stones, and bring the path back to some semblance of order.  I found it less messy sieving out the dry soil, as compared with washing the mixture I dug up through the sieve. It will take another week of the odd hour here and there, during dry weather. The work is strangely therapeutic, and it is a delight to listen to the birds: blackcap, chiffchaff, gold crest and wren being notable this week. 

3. Alchemilla erythropoda was a little plant I used to grow in the garden.  It was probably removed in order to grow something else.  I had been missing it, however to my delight within the seed bank in the soil up popped this plant in the path.  When I get down to that section this little plant will find a safe place to continue growing. 

Alchemilla erythropoda growing in the path

4.  It has also been a week that I have been cutting back or removing plants.  I had two large Honesty plants which I grew from seed starting last year of course as they are biannuals, and had planted under the apple tree.  They were cutting out far too much light from the Chrysanthemums so it was time to give them the chop.  Much was binned, but I have salvaged a few stems and here they are in the conservatory. I rather like the green seed pods and being able to see the seeds.

Honesty in a vase

5.  Other plants that were cut down were most of the Love in the Mist and a big clump of Pseudodictamnus acetabulosus. Following an offer of these on the WI WhatsApp, several friends wanting these for drying turned up to collect. The pseudodictamnus was much admired, and following my suggestions of taking cuttings from the bottom of the stems, I have learnt that indeed they are now several in the ground or in pots, plus stems have been hung up to dry. The plant will soon bounce back, send up new growth and I may well have another set of flowers later in the year.  I usually cut it back again in early October to give a neat tight cover of growth to overwinter. In a larger garden of course, one could leave the growth but I am unsure of what it weathers like over the winter.

Pseudodictamnus acetabulosus awaiting collection

6. Earlier this week I went to visit a great gardening friend Hilary who is also a specialist and speaker for the Alpine Garden Society.  It is always a treat for me to be invited over and after coffee we walk around discussing what has changed since my last visit.  My garden easily fits several times just in part of her garden adjacent to her summer house!  However the last part of the garden we were in was the walled garden which has her glass house and several raised gravel beds.  My plant of the visit, or at the least the plant I would like to grow had to be this one:

Teucrium ackermannii

At the time we couldn't find the label, no the one in the foreground belongs to another plant, and AI gave it as Teucrium aroanium.  However when I got home I realised I had been looking up T aroanium only a few days previously, and Hilary's didn't match.  I did some further searches on line and found the correct name, and a couple of days later Hilary replied to my suggestion of the correct name, by email, saying  she had found the label and indeed it was T. ackermannii.  I had already set some cuttings and I shall now be rewriting the label.  Hopefully I shall have one or two good plants for next year.

Teucrium ackermannii cuttings

I wonder what I shall write about next week....

 

Plants I have read about this week and would like to grow: Penstemon ‘Garnet’

Six on Saturday - Through heat and thunderstorms

 What a week it has been for the garden and gardeners in Somerset and the south of England.  We had the most amazing storm on Monday and a lesser storm still with lightning last night, and in between severe heat with tropical night time temperatures. Apart for the early flowering plants such as the ladybird poppies which were going to seed anyway, being severely buffeted around, we had little damage.  I am sure the weather was an even greater challenge for gardeners with glasshouses.  Today Saturday, the morning is much cooler. I am joining others over at Jim's for this weekly meme.

Last week I posted a Teucrium in the gravel garden, and so this week I thought I would show you two of the others ones I have. 

1. Seedling itself gently around the garden and useful in its form and upright flower spikes is Teucrium hircanicum. I also find the leaves very attractive, this plant in the front 'Mediterranean Garden' and is completely unfazed by the sun and heat, unsurprising given its origins.  This is a plant that I have also had growing in different parts of the garden, and  a plant worth leaving through the winter without trimming as it holds its form well.

Teucrium hircanicum

2. Another Teucrium that I like in all its stages is Teucrium scorodonia 'Crispum Marginatum'. It has the most charming leaf form with ruffled edges.  At this time of the year there are also some fine small flowers.  Again another plant completely unfazed by the heat and drought. Neither it nor me  had read the guides to planting and it does really well in my heavy clay soil, at least in this garden . 

Teucrium scorodonia 'Crispum Marginatum' flowers

Teucrium scorodonia 'Crispum Marginatum' leaves

3. First thing in the morning, it has been cooler in the garden than in the house by a few degrees, and spending an hour or two in the garden doing jobs in the shade before breakfast, is most probably something I shall continue to do.  I've trimmed the Golden Lonicera Balls in the front of the house, and also tackled the Topiary which I started a few years back just by the bird bath. The Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold' (Golden Box-leaved Honeysuckle) is perfect in place of box.

4. I have a little creeping thyme, which started off being planted in the gravel garden. By taking small pieces and just pushing them into the ground, it has now spread to different places, and I find that growing it at the edge of the gravel path, means than the soil is less likely to be dug over and therefore get mixed in the stone, by birds or visiting cats.  Again doing very well in the heat. It is very easy to reduce its size once flowering is over, and during the winter when the underlying bulbs are getting ready to emerge.

5. I have two types of Betonica officinalis along this bed, and looking at how they are coming along, I can definitely say that the dwarf form 'Ukkie' which was  divided and planted early this spring, is not quite in the right place.  It will be moved to somewhere closer to the path but probably not in this bed.

6. By the edge of that path is a clump of White Sea Campion. Silene Uniflora Alba.  I have a couple of other plants somewhat out of sight, and these will probably be moved as well to that edge. This is a wildflower of coastal areas, but is quite adaptable to the clay soil.

White Sea Campion. Silene Uniflora Alba 

I've just learnt that in Roman mythology the Goddess Minerva turned the young boy Campion into this plant after he fell asleep instead of catching flies for her owls, with the bladder representing the bag he should have filled.

Back to the weather this week, not mandatory of course for six on saturday, but I feel that the weather really affects the garden, so often mention it.  I also like to watch the skies for different clouds and try to foretell weather.  The first storm arrived and so much light cut off that it was as if we were in a total eclipse and all the street lights came on.  Strong constant wind felt what I imagine like the wind on the edge of a tornado, and there was loads of thunder and lightning, with hail in the rain, though not large enough to cause damage.  We are at the top of a slope luckily we were not subject to flooding, and the rain soaked in well. Later in the week, but this time during the night we had a less severe repetition.  As it was so warm, the remarkable thing they did not clear the air or reduce temperatures.

In a Vase on Monday - 22 June 2026

It is already hot, and forecasts are for even higher temperatures later in the week.  I have just read that in Korea Hydrangeas are associated with perseverance and resilience.  Cathy who heads this weekly blogging get together certainly has these in plenty, having been at the helm for a number of years.

I was expecting my friend Eileen to pop over on Sunday, and with the seating circle being in the shade, I went and gave the chairs a wash down and the circle a sweep.  

Nigella and shadows

A clump of the white Love in the Mist had already formed the attractive pods, and since they were leaning well over the circle, they were removed, and just some of them formed the start for the arrangement. I took this photograph of the nigella a couple of weeks ago to submit under the title shadows for our WI monthly photograph get together via zoom. I also cut down some of the overtall stems on the verbena bonariensis, and added three heads of Hydrangea. 

Alongside is my 'pebble vase' with some of the leaves which I pulled off the stems I had pruned off one of the Gingkos. The shade of matt green and form of these leaves feels cool and calming and have been on the mantel for a couple of weeks now. 

The reason Eileen was coming over was to exchange a vase for a cake tin, and of course enjoy a drink and a tour of the garden.  Eileen had entered a sponge cake for the Bishop's Palace Garden Party competition and I a couple of vases, one of which was this larger one.  I had little chance with the amazing very professional looking arrangements using florist flowers for an arrangement for a table for lunch.  Eileen's kind offer of cake was gladly accepted and I reciprocated with my arrangement.  After a slice each, the delicious cake was passed along to our neighbours with two teenage boys, they all very much appreciated it. 

This was my arrangement with a few of each of the flowers looking good that week in the garden.

Arrangement from different sides

Six on Saturday - 20 June 2026

It is already nearly midsummer.  I am linking in this post over at Jim's where should you wish to you can find out how to take part, or can simply follow links to find out what six things from their gardeners others wish to share. 

In the gravel garden I have some small plants which are amongst my favourite, and it is certainly a place where these plants can be given a space without growing into each other.  At least that is the plan  and to fulfill this I often have to keep plants in check, reduce, or remove them.  My very favourites of course need propagation just to ensure I don't end up losing them all together.

1. Origanum Emma Stanley is my favourtie origanum for its display of pink blooms. This year I managed to root two small cuttings.  Here it is this week in the gravel garden.

Origanum Emma Stanley

2.  This plant isn't standing out that well against the gravel: Sisyrinchium 'Biscutella'  may well be moved somewhere different where the blooms can be better seen. However I rescued it late last year from an arrangement with other things in a shallow pot,  Its roots had almost been completely destroyed and I suppose I ought for now, just be pleased that it survived, it probably needs another year to get its roots well down.

Sisyrinchium 'Biscutella'

3. Easily standing out and attracting so many bees is this Teucrium pyrenaicum, which I have now had since June 2024.

Close up the purple shows up.

4. Another low grower with long roots and completely weatherproof, and drought proof in the gravel garden is this Phyla nodiflora aka Turkey tangle frogfruit. It is just starting to flower.

5. Over by the bird bath is Dierama 'Snowbells'.

Dierama 'Snowbells'

I was visiting a garden last year, where there many ripe seeds hanging across the pathway on the long stems of Dierama pulcherrimum. I sowed them last year and they were very easy to germinate outdoors in a pot.  Now I have divided them up and hope to plant them on the far edge of the gravel garden. Here they are in 'potting trough' getting a drink. It is said that they can take five years to reach flowering size. They will probably overwinter inside the shed in these pots.  

6. Cheilanthes lanosa aka Hairy lip fern is an unusual fern, which prefers a sunny situation and should be drought-tolerant when established. 

I bought it for its attractive woolly-grey dissected foliage but I had planted it in a place where it was outshone, outshaded, hidden by a campanula, but not the one of the shelf below.  It is back in a pot: as it is ' a dry land fern that prefers a loose, gritty rock garden setting and partial or full sun' it may well make its way to the gravel garden.

The little Campanula pulla is now in full flower, and doing well, and I may well be able to spare a piece to go into the gravel garden. It is such an intense blue and will show up there nicely. Nah I'm not bovvered either, you could call it 6b or  plants that will be going into the gravel garden! The penny will drop if you read to the end of Jim's post.