From my small back garden - Six on Saturday 21 March 2026

 Our current leader for this weekly six things from our gardens was on Gardeners' World yesterday and everyone who watched the programme saw the Camelia specialist Jim.  This morning as we come together for our weekly chinwag, we know he will still be the kind and generous host that he has been.  So I shall be linking this post to his.

1. Last year I bought these lovely tulips as plants rather than bulbs just for their lovely rich golden yellow form, planted them and didn't expect them to come up another year and yet they have.  I didn't even show them last year or noted their name.  However they may well be Tulip Praestans Shogun.  Later I shall scrabble through the bed and check to see if there are any labels.

2. Not all bulbs do well or shall I say they may not have been planted in the right place or given the correct attention.  Out of the beautiful White Thalia daffodil bulbs just this one remains.

White Thalia daffodil 

It still has thoroughly charmed me, and having read a little further about it, I have a little planting combination ideas and hope to set that up for next spring.  

3. A short distance from Thalia in the shady border and some seedling of the original white Dicentra Spectabilis trying to grow through the Fatsia japonica Spiders Web.  When I planted out the Dicentra the Fatsia was smaller.  The Fatsia will continue to grow so this is another moment when I need to think of when and where I shall move the Dicentra to: a problem of gardeners of small gardens who have too many plants!

4. A star on the far edge of the gravel garden is this Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo' planted a few months ago.  It is bigger and brighter than the others in the garden,

Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo'

5. I have a few Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon' and find each spring as the soft purple leaves emerge to form a low dome, it gives me such pleasure and is finding some attractive combinations as it does here at the foot of the Cornus Midwinter Fire.

6. I have a number of violas in the garden and as they self seed, I tend to leave some to see what form the flower will take.  This garden hybrid resulting from insect pollination is a little gem in the gravel garden. I can see a cross perhaps between Viola 'Bowles Black' and Viola Corsica.

I did go to the Plant Fare at the Bishop's Palace in Wells, and after a few windy days maybe Gill's message got blown away, but I left an gardener's halo for someone else to find.

I didn't buy much: a pot of Allium Millenium, a pot of purple sage which I have already but wanted a fresh plant 'immediately' to plant in the back garden as it is my favourite for cooking with, and an impulse last minute plant which I will perhaps regret: Persicaria campanulata, should I plant it or should I bin it?

A Vase of Nodding Tulipa Sylvestris

This morning I picked all the lemony yellow tulips from a pot and decided to also use the clippings of the maple which had been slowly opening in this very vase.  As I walked back with the tulips wondering what else to include,  my notice fell upon the green and yellow foliage of just the right hue on the Chamaecyparis a dwarf threadleaf cypress. 

We have enjoyed looking out at the two pots I planted out with Tulipa Sylvestris on the garden tables for a couple of week.  The Tulips have swayed in the wind but remained unscathed by the hail storms but with their sinewy stems they would look far better in a more natural planting scheme, so this week, I shall relocate the bulbs.

I'm linking this post to Cathy's blog for the In a Vase on Monday get together She talks about clouds and books on clouds.  I too am a  lover of clouds and very much enjoyed the book she mentioned 'The Cloud Spotters Guide'.

Six on Saturday - 14 March

 It is going to be a trot or more likely a gallop through six things from the garden this week.  As I write this after 4 p.m. having spent the morning busy in the garden after coming back from the market, and the afternoon walking out into the countryside. Rules and guidance should you wish to note things from your garden too and join in is over at Jim's where I shall be linking this post to.

Well it was a surprising start start to the day as I looked out at the blue skies, but down below there was a frost and I had not taken anything in.  

1. Last autumn I planted a few Snakes Head Fritillary in pots and a few weeks ago once I could see where other spring beauties had been planted, into the borders they went. I have both the white and purple checkerboard varieties.

Fritillaria meleagris

2. Nearby the dark leaved  Irish polyanthus with  burgundy-striped pink flowers Primula 'Dark Rosaleen' has survived the winter.

Primula 'Dark Rosaleen'

3. Canna Tropicana came out of the shed a couple of weeks ago and braved the frost, but with another one possibly on the cards for this evening, I am going to have to move it back.  Also it looks as if next week during one of the sunnier days, I shall have to empty out the post and divide the many shoots.  I'm going to have a go growing in straight in the soil this year.

Canna 'Tropicanna'

4. A few years ago I was delighted that this little violet Viola labradorica had perched a ride in one of the pots from  my last garden.  There are quite a few around the garden now.  The richly coloured dark purple leaves make for a great little plant, whose seed is spread by ants.  They are already active in the garden.

Viola labradorica

5. Another violet which has been full of bloom is Viola odorata 'Kim'  I have now have several good clumps minus one which I removed from the conservatory border as it was outgrowing its space, which I wanted for some different plants.  This one seems to have selected its own spot along the edge of the path, where it does not have much shade.

Viola odorata 'Kim'

6.  I have a little dwarf Forsythia which really needs to have a different sort of year, any suggestions as to what I ought to do to increase flowering next year would be really welcome.

Tomorrow it is the Rare Plant Fair in Wells, the garden is full, but being just a short cycle away, I will not be able to say no to a visit!  

White Split Tin Loaf

This month's loaf from Bake with Jack Homebakers' Club lesson was looking back to a loaf of old.  During the online 'lesson' we had quite a bit a history and what different yeasts have been used over the centuries.  Although I have made bread with sponges before I had never seen it being done, and had not realised how well to mix the liquid and yeast mixture bringing in the surrounding flour until it was a thick paste.  Jack explained that this was a technique giving extra time and hence taste and this could be used with almost any dough.  In future I shall have all the ingredients ready and start this part of the process early in the morning.

I then had the dilemma of what loaf tin to use. I didn't have the shallower rounded loaf tin that Jack used, and my various tins and those above are just a selection I felt were not quite the right size.  I have what was bought as 1 lb and 2 lb aluminium loaf tins from Silverwood.  Ages ago I realised that certainly for the type of bread I baked they needed more dough, and this was confirmed simply by measuring the volume using water and comparing them to my reliably 1 lb and 2lb loaf tins.

In the end I  used my 1lb Silverwood loaf tin for the dough which weighed 862g when mixed. Another recommendation from Jack was to make a baking parchment sling to line the tin, which certainly removed the fear of the loaf sticking and made it easier to remove.
 

For 500g flour there was the addition of 10g sugar and 25g butter, which certainly gave a wonderful aroma and colour.  I have often used milk in a white loaf but here there was just water. As instructed I used the bread knife to draw the cut and I did this right to the level of the tin.  Then there was a further rise of 15 minutes before going into the oven.

The  loaf is excellent and here they was absolutely no egg needed to achieve that glossy golden crust.

I rarely make a white loaf these days, and there are already things I want to make with this such as a lovely toasted sandwich, pain perdu and a good bread and butter pudding. Next time I shall definitely double up the recipe to bake two loaves. 

Whilst looking for the history of the split loaf tin I came across a blog with a whole list of recipes with history too, which I shall most probably dip into from time to time.  The Bread Club 20 Blogspot.

In a Vase on Monday - Botanically inspired

Botanical drawings are beautiful and fascinating and shows the beauty of structure and details of plants. I love them and from time to time like to try my hand at studying and drawing specimens.  Yesterday whilst gardening I decided to remove the 'rogue' tulip from the garden table pot, and just plonked it a vintage apothecary bottle.  I thought no more of it until this morning when some of the blooms had opened.  We are having a strange day with mists swirling around, and the subdued light was perfect for this species multi headed Tulipa turkestanica.

This 'In a Vase on Monday' get together is the creation of Cathy, and just follow this link if you would like to learn more, and even join in.

Tulipa turkestanica

This morning as I walked through the dining room, I realised the copper stock pot and a large platter needed cleaning, then I realised the sideboard was overloaded with dried arrangements. I had started to clear some of them when I realised that they could also feature this week for In a Vase on Monday.

I knew that I would be wanting this tall narrow vase soon, and for several months it had been just the right height to show off the dried stems of Allium carinatum  subs pulchellum.

Allium carinatum  subs pulchellum

Needing my pie dish, the dried poppy heads were next to be spread over the garden.

Dried Poppy seed heads

With the ones which I had rescued from the garden last year, I tied into a little bundle which I have now moved into the conservatory.

All that is now left is the vase containing other flowers which I picked from the garden and dried last year. 

I think most of them featured last year in vases.  Just as some people like artificial flowers, I rather like dried flowers during the winter, reminding me of the beauties of summer.

Tulipa turkestanica closeup

When I see a multi headed tulip now I am reminded of the time years ago when we visited my uncle Noel.  He was a great prankster and had that reputation from a youngster.  When we arrived he took us straight into the garden to such us his prize tulip....there it was: a multi headed red tulip, a sole one in a bed of other straight up 'traditional' tulips.  Of course we could not reach it to inspect it or even see it that clearly, and we all just creased up at the joke, absolutely no one believed him and thought he had planted an artificial bloom.  Knowing what I know now, it was no joke, it was indeed a multiheaded tulip.