Six on Saturday - 14 November 2026

 At this time of the year, I feel impatient for the spring or at least for the next season's plants and flowers which will most probably start with the snowdrops.  En masse the garden is looking pretty good thanks to the Chrysanthemums that continue to give colour, it is the leaves that take me out to the garden. We had our first frost during Thursday night and another one again last night. This time it is a hard one with the water frozen solid in the bird bath and heaving up.

For more about this weekly get together of gardening and plant fans, and for lots of topics on gardens visit Jim over his 'Garden Ruminations'.

1. Growing in the gravel garden is this attractive leaved Cyclamen Graecum.  This one was the lesser of the two growing not far from each other.  Since the really pretty one succumbed to something and I found it just a mushy mess, the one that remained becomes the one to focus on.

 

Cyclamen Graecum

2. Unnamed but lovely leaved Gingko turning butter yellow soon,  to be scattering its leaves over the Conservatory border where the Cyclamen coum are already coming up, but not yet flowering.

3. Of the few chrysanthemums in the garden Chrysanthemum Hillside Apricot is the latest flowering this year.  It is to these that the butterflies have been coming even this week.

4. I used to grow a few vegetables, and still grow a few herbs.  When I visited my friend Alison a few weeks ago, she was potting up some tiny seedlings and they were a form of greens a hybrid I believe of mustard and kale.  I had a few bare patches, I have yet to try it, but is has done fairly well.

5. Each year I wonder what is stopping me from getting rid of the Mahonia Soft Caress. It is still here and come the winter it is a fairly OK green mound.

It does hide my little heap right in the corner of the garden behind the Acer.  Poor Acer it is in a dire state, with its finer branches and twigs chewed whatever the month by the squirrels.  However in the corner, formed purely as a refuge for the bugs, lady birds and slow worms, are some dried cuttings from around the garden: not so much a bug hotel but a bug 'camping au sauvage'.

6. When we are missing rain drops, or even dew for weeks, some of the damp stuff can be so refreshing to plants and to the eye. No doubt there will be frost this morning, but having just got lovely and warm from my Strong Woman for Life Exercises, I simply await my Saturday breakfast, made as always by my lovely husband.

Pseudodictamnus acetabulosus with heavy dew

To be honest I am suffering from a sort of writer's block, a gardening sharing sort of block or whatever block it could be called.  I haven't even read my club book for next week's meeting, and I haven't written up about our Northern Ireland holiday.   It is not that I don't like going out into the garden and pottering around, its not that I don't notice a plant or the butterflies that have been flittering around the garden right up to yesterday visiting the remaining flowers. It is just that I may take an occasional rest from SOS posting. I may write up about the odd plant(s) on a post. I may even write up about six and join you all occasionally. I will most definitely be visiting from time to time to enjoy what you have to say about your plants and gardens. There is nothing wrong with me, so don't worry my friends.

As compensation here are a few pictures from the Hauser and Worth gardens, which we visited yesterday for our date day.

Seeds floating away from an Anemone
probably A. hupehensis 'Pamina'

Seeds of Asclepias incarnata

View of one of the courtyards

A Walk along to Sandpoint

We decided on the spur of the moment to have a day out and quickly made up a small packed lunch.  We were heading for the car park just past Woodspring Priory.  We stopped first by the Priory and were fortunate to be there on a day when you can just wonder into to part of the church that is still standing. From the car park which is at the end of the track to the right, where we parked the car, we followed the footpath to the coast to St Thomas's Head, then along the edge of the land to Middle Hope. There as the tide was going out, we went down onto the beach and found some rocks to perch ourselves on and enjoy our lunch.

Towards St Thomas's Head looking over Middlethorpe

Towards Sandpoint

The views along the path towards Sandpoint were wonderful. At the end we sat on the bench looking out to Steep Holm and Flat Holm with its lighthouse. It was from this little island that Marconi successfully transmitted the world's first wireless radio signals across open water, to Lavernock Point on the Welsh mainland. A fact we didn't realise when we were just enjoying the sea and sunshine.

I recognised a number of rock outcrops as limestone and it was on those patches that I found a little of the flora and insects left from the summer.

Bagot Goats blocking our path

Clouded Yellow Butterflies on a late flowering Milk Thistle

Even on the very end of October, the sun was a little warming and we enjoyed the walk.  Mr S had been for several long walk with his friend Paul, and I was walking a little slower than usual, but we still made a lovely effort to be in step most of the way.  If I lingered behind to take photographs, I would trot along to catch him up, or if he knew I wanted a little longer to botanise, he would stop and be companionable.

Another plant that I had not noticed before was this Wild Clary which had only a few tiny flowers at the tips left.

We would definitely next time park at the NT carpark at the end of Sand Bay, but would walk along to coast back up to the Priory. 

Wholemeal Bran Rolls from Bake with Jack

 To calm me down this morning, I baked some rolls...

The wholemeal flour is sifted, and some of the bran used to coat the outside. The technique was beautifully demonstrated over on the Bake with Jack Homebaker's Club.

Wholemeal Bran Buns

In the freezer now, as we already have a seeded sourdough in the breadbin.  I'm in a state because we are about to have the kitchen floor redone which means being separated from the kitchen for three whole days!

Six on Saturday -31 October 2026

 My Body Clock is still on British Summer Time, no surprise there, and the garden is still looking wonderful considering all the rain and wind we have had.  For more ruminations of matters gardening there is a bundle of links worth chasing around, over on Jim's post, from plant enthusiasts.

Lets get on with Six observations from my garden this week

1. Colour: I like colour, and the little maple has moved from her green outfit, to the colourful one.

Acer Wakaranai (Japanese for 'unknown')

2. I do like a little violet, and amazingly this little one has been flowering throughout the hot summer, it is in a shady place, and didn't have any water.  For some reason it has a 'receding' bottom lip.  I don't know whether this is standard.I have s pied a better form, and may have to get this one. 

Viola hederacea

3. It was really hot and dry as we all know in the UK this year.  One plant that didn't do well at all was the lovely frothy white flowered Thalictrum delavayi 'Splendide'.  Maybe I ought just to have dug it out and thrown it away.  It was probably in the wrong place anyway: too hot and dry.  I just couldn't bear to do this, so I dug it up the roots, repotted them, gave them a good water, and just look at them putting on good new growth.

Thalictrum delavayi splendide

4.  Cyclamen are not just for flowers, some of them have different leaves.  I like all of them. The Hederifolium like this one, make super winter soil cover.

Cyclamen Lysander Ashwood Nurseries

5. There are still flowers over in the sunny part of  the garden too.  Such as this Chrysanthemum given to me by Erica as a division from the plant in her garden. We think is it called 'Dulwich Pink'.  There were some very large bumblebees visiting the flowers this week.

Chrysanthemum Dulwich Pink

6. Over in the middle of the gravel garden is a Verbena.  Its dark metallic leaves and thin arching stems of seeds adds a dark mysterious element, and is nicely contrasted against the pale gravel.  Yet it is not easy to photography, yet so pleasing to the eye.

Verbena officinalis 'Bampton'

On the  31st day of  strength training during October, which is today, I am delighted to say that I have been convinced that it is possible to see a marked improvement in just four weeks of exercises. Today all the exercises for seven days plus warm ups and cool downs were done in just under half an hour.  Any further donations will help the British Heart Foundation.  I had set a goal of £250 and thanks to you all for helping me raise even more.  I shall continue with 'Strong Woman for Life'.

Six on Saturday - 24 October 2026

With the first two storms of the season Austen and Boelo bringing squalling showers but no damage, I feel lucky to be able to have six things to show from the garden, which get shared over at Jim's. Yesterday here Austen was less severe than they forecasted but today Boelo is impacting us more than expected, with a couple of pots blown over.  Down in Cornwall where out leader Jim lives it has been more grim, but we shall all meet over there and 'ruminate' over six items from our gardens.  Nothing quite like good gardening conversations.  

1. One of the delightful little alliums, the last to flower in this late season is Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa' originally bought from Edulis Nursery when they were at The Bishop's Palace Wells in September 2021.  This form only grows to just under 15cm and is quite content in the gravel garden. 

Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa'

I remember before planting it into the gravel garden, dividing it  into tinier clumps and planting the pieces just a couple of cms apart and the feeling at the time that I may have left it too late in the season and risked it dying from its wounds in autumn weather. I am pleased to say to each piece still thrives five years later. There will come a stage when it will probably need dividing, but I will make sure I erect some metaphorical Japanese Shrine for prayers to be said at before sterilising the Hori Hori and performing the division.  

2. There has definitely been some rain this week, and autumnal colours are creeping in. Strangely this Ginkgo in a pot which has been watered is turning golden but the one which was unwatered in the garden is still green.

Autumn colours starting

3. I had a fight on my hands this week caused by my own silly fault.  Earlier on this year after I acquired Actaea Brunette, and having been entranced by the mixed planting in pots in my gardening magazine I combined the Actaea with Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' and a few violas to make a pretty combination. This week I looked at the pot and decided the Actaea Brunette would best be placed direct in the soil, and the separated Hakonechloa in its own pot. Firstly it was the devil to get the growth of only 4 months out of the pot, then I tried at first gently to tease out the separate roots, which were fairly easy to identify as they were a different colour and form, but they were quite intertwined. The lesson to be learnt was not to grow together in the same pot, plants which I intend to separate and keep. I wonder about the maintenance in those fancy mixed plantings? Are they just a 'salad' of plants brought together, to be discarded later like bulbs.  What a waste!

4. Fancy cyclamen: I was probably punching well above my level of knowledge and dedication when I obtained seed from the Cyclamen Society two or three year ago.  I ordered several different types and as they do labels faded, several pots failed etc.  Thankfully on the CS's Facebook page dedicated Cyclamen enthusiasts gave a few suggestions.

Cyclamen intaminatum

Cyclamen graecum

Cyclamen cilicium

Labels will be written and pots correctly identified. Lesson: grow only one or two different types of special seeds each year, and check labels each season, probably planting in different shaped pots.

5. For the seed which I sent out a few weeks ago, how many of you have sown the Poppy Ladybird yet?  I sowed these on the 11th October, covered them with an old chopping board and uncovered them every two or three days.  I think it did the trick.

 Last year I left them growing in their modules and without thinning placed them in the garden in the spring.   I have just one of two that are growing in the garden having fallen from the plants.  Some seed has been kept back to sow in situ in the spring. It will be interesting to compare the flowering times  next year, and whether is has been worthwhile growing in modules or not.

6. Certainly looking amazing, and thriving despite the summer drought, is the fab small flowered hardy Chrysanthemum Picasso. I must admit to giving the three clumps the odd watering can of sea weed feed  during the season.

Chrysanthemum Picasso

I wonder if I shall have six to write about next week? If less, I shall keep them by to bunch up together another week, and enjoy a week off whilst I complete my last seven days of the Strong Woman Challenge.  I am not far off the target I set myself for raising funds and thanks to friends and family who have helped.  This week new exercises learnt have been Goblet Squats, floor wide 3/4 press-ups, Sit ups, Upright row with weights, Walking Lunges with weights, Arm curls into shoulder press last three with 2x 2Kg weights, and Bodyweight bicycle crunches.  

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/strongwoman2026-noellemace