Six on Saturday - 16 January 2021

This morning I joined a Zoom talk given under the auspices of the local branch of the Hardy Plant Society.  I've taken a few ideas, and made some notes too.  I mentioned the meeting to Anna who contributes here and also to In a Vase on Monday.  These talks are open to non members for a fee, and if anyone is interested, next month's talk is on Euphorbias given by Timothy Walker.

I'll just pop over and link in with Jon and anyone else who is posting this Saturday.  

 1. Its toes leaves are turning blue pink with the cold: some succulents let you know when they are stressed. It is kept very dry and it will have to enjoy the minimums of about 6c at night! I usually split and repot them before they become this congested.  If anyone is a knowledgeable succulent grower they probably think this is cruelty. By the way the standard colour is that aqua blue right through all the leaves.  It will be interesting to observe what happens to those pink leaves as the season progresses.  Some younger plants in larger pots have not 'turned'.

2. Our gardening club is a member of the Gold Scheme at Castle Gardens Group, and each year they offer composts delivered to your door at competitive prices.  It is the first time I've put in an order.  Ordered before Christmas, the bags arrived this week.  The very nice delivery man from Castle Gardens had several orders from our club members, but he still had the time to move them all to my potting area right round the other side of the house.  Thanks John!  I thought to move just one bag to the shed and now it smells divine in there.  Am I alone in liking the smell of a good compost or manure? The grit, sand, and other composts are outside.

3. I read Jim's post about the history of his garden where he mentioned that he probably had not taken sufficient pictures of the garden layout.  Of course I would not deem to compare my garden with his, but I did lean out of the study window and took a picture of what my garden  looks like now, at the bleakest time of the year.  I'm not happy with the winter look, but boy,  there are a lot of plants out there, just waiting their moment of glory.  It is mainly the plants which I am interested in! But I shall have this picture to look back later in the year, and also in years to come.

4. Mr S came and had a look to see why I had opened the window and was letting all the warm air out, with the cold air flooding in.  He happened to look down and noticed my row of cyclamen hederifolium.  He was taken by the similarity of the colours: dark grey green leaves with what looked like aqua, ie silver markings of different kinds, and also how the leaf shapes were quite different. For a 'non-gardener' I was impressed by his observations. However he does have great powers of observation, and enjoys detail.

5. Being encouraged to grow from seed.  Apart from veggies, I am fairly new to growing shrubs, and other plants from seed.  I am delighted by how easy it has been to grow hardy geraniums, and this little pot has been in front of me each day, in good light in the conservatory. It may be Geranium Harveyi.  Whatever it is I have enjoyed watching it.  It will probably need potting up singly soon.  When it flowers I'll be posting it to the HPS Hardy Geranium group to see which they think it is. Thanks again to Jim for great quality seed.

6. Reading and books. I had another SOS contributor: Off the Edge gardening recommend  this book.  I managed to get it from the local library before the current lock-down.

The Garden Jungle or Gardening to Save the Planet by Dave Goulson: Earth worms, hover flies, bees, etc. Which are the best plants to grow for wildlife such as the specific lavender etc.