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 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 the 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 an 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.

In a Vase on Monday - A mini arrangement

 This is not an arrangement I made specially for today's In a Vase on Monday, but a photograph of an arrangement I made for the competition at the Bishop's Palace Summer Fête just over a week ago.  All these flowers are still available in the garden.  This In a Vase on Monday was the brainchild of Cathy, and I am joining with her and others today.

Included in this vase are Rodohypoxis,  Achillea x lewisii 'King Edward', Sea Campion: Silene Uniflora Alba, the little daisies are Erigeron karvinskianus, smallest of the Tiarella Spring Symphony, white love in the mist, and some little sprigs of the seed heads of Omphalodes Linifolia, and finally the purple edged leaves of Semiaquilegea.  

It was a very small vase and the whole thing had to be no more that 10 x 10 x 10 cm.  Well it was that when I had it at home. I had asked if I could position it myself but no that was not permitted.  Anyway it was deemed to be too large at judging,, and my thoughts were that when the arrangement was carried up, and watered the next day, the flowers must have loosed and just got a little larger than the required size.  Anyway I tried to be the best of losers, and at the end of the day offered the little posy to the judge. 

I was a judge for the preserves and originally our 'self made' rules, ie not written in tablets of stone, were that judges couldn't enter the categories even for which they were not judging. Just a few days before the date,  when our WI, who was for the first time undertaking the organisation of the competition, sent out a plea to members to find friends etc to enter, as we had a poor show.  I then asked if judges could bring entries for other categories.  The 'rules' were then altered, and the entries were to be brought the day before, and brought to the entrance when 'runners' would take them and place them in the exhibition room. 

Six on Saturday - 13 June 2026

It is more or less the middle of the year, and I shall probably be shouted down, in saying that I have loved the cooler weather we have been enjoying, as well as all the rain.  The garden is lush and green, and I am delighting in how many of the plants have responded without the harsher higher temperatures. I'm joining in with others over at Jim's.

Six things from the garden this Saturday. 

1. One of the plants on the shelf is this delightful little Campanula pulla. I bought this last year from Graham and set it up in a bonsai pot in the Kusamono style.  I have loved the bud stage with the arching stems over the last couple of weeks and now the inky blue buds are opening to reveal the deep blue blooms.

Campanula pulla

It overwintered in the pot and been very nicely behaved. The plant is really quite small, and one of my little treasures.

2. This Filipendula vulgaris multiplex is looking particularly nice this Saturday, it has just started to open with lots of buds waiting to open. It might well make another appearance in a couple of weeks time.  I enjoy every stage of a plant, and often appreciate it before it reaches its peak, and afterwards the seed heads, though I cannot remember these ones, as I probably cut these down too soon.

Filipendula vulgaris multiplex

3. Last week I showed the 2026 plug plant from Henton and District gardening club.  Last year there was a choice and I opted for the Pelargonium 'New Century White'.  It had flowered all winter in the conservatory, and a few weeks back, I decided to cut it back and repot it. As usual my fingers itched to create a few cuttings.  Now one of the cuttings is flowering!  Here they are alongside with the repotted Pelargonium, which is a real 'cracker'.

4. A few weeks back I showed the Rhodohypoxis which had been left all winter in the gravel garden.  It flowered first and now the ones which I had not divided, ie they are still in the same soil and the same pot as they were last week, and absolutely full of flower and I have one each for the tables.

5. When it comes to promises about pots in the garden,  Mr S pointed out that I had not kept to my plan on reducing them. Well maybe not, but I am now planting up several plants together. The golden leaves of Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' where already growing in a smaller pot, so I can safely say no extra pot was used.  When I saw this Actaea Brunette at my friends little shop, I was beguiled by its deep purple leaves, so much so that I did not even read its label where it describes it as reaching 1.2 metres.  It will of course have to be liberated into the garden.  But where, and until I have decided it makes for a nice little grouping 'in a pot'! I added a few of the self seeded self hybridised violas.

Actaea Brunette in a pot

6. The hydrangeas definitely welcomed all the extra rain, and are starting to open.  I haven't needed to water these once.

Now that my lunch has gone down, I am out into the garden to play. 

Plants I would like as seen on

Off the Edge gardening this week.

Abutilon ‘Souvenir de Bonn’

Gloriosa speciosa