Saturday 6 February 2021

Six on Saturday - 6 February 2021

 

Thank goodness for Six on Saturday and being able to read posts from other gardeners.  Jon collects all these, and makes a good job of supporting us all with his master post, and support with comments in return on ours, should he have time.

In a week that seems to have been the soggiest of a very wet winter, interest in matters botanical and a little light activity in the garden has kept me sane.

1. Let matters gardening keep us sane.  Find just one thing, if you can, to focus on and be in the now.  My little Buddha which I have had for yonks catches snatches of the even shortest moments of sunshine.


2. His temple however is not so resilient: it needs rebuilding  rejuvenation, repotting from time to time.  I read somewhere that if it has cooler temperatures during its 'dormant' period it is  more likely, as with many succulents,  to flower.  It last flowered in 2014, about three  regenerations ago.  Crassula Buddha's Temple is looking  sturdy after its previous refurbishment last summer.


3.  It may have rained, snowed and frozen but the 'sacrificial' pot of echeveria elegans, planted out at the end of summer last year,  is hanging on in the front garden.

I have as many as I need sheltering in the conservatory, one of which is at the side of Buddha's Temple above.  This is a super easy succulent and works well as a house plant or, in mixed summer planters with other succulents and as bedding in the garden: all coming from a single original plant given to me whilst I was judging gardens for Kenilworth in Bloom.

4. Each winter I 'suffer' from too many birds visiting the garden.  On one side there are the wonderful moments when flocks of long tailed tits can almost bring a tear of joy, then to counter these the ever breeding wood pigeons lumber around the soil, snapping off irises, and flattening the soil.  Each time I prune or have some spare twigs the worst areas end up protected with a little thicket.  I have added some twisted hazel branches given to me, and can tolerate the eyesore by persuading myself that it is a little piece of art installation.



5. Last week I picked up an order of snowdrops from a local grower, and have been contemplating the different structures, and very careful observation can tease out differences.  Here in the plant labelled as Jaquenetta there are several distinctive curled but longer petals in the middle. I appreciate help and Cathy and Anna have been supporting me with help and advice.

Early this evening I shall be joining a zoom talk on Galanthus by Anne Repnow.  For members and visitors to various gardening group, there are some fabulous lectures via zoom.  On 20th Febraury there is another lecture on a group of interesting plants: Euphorbias:  Timothy Walker – ‘Euphorbias: Probably the Best Plants in the World’

6. This week I received my copy of The Flora of the Silk Road.   As I cannot get out there and enjoy finding and observing plants in the wild, then this is the best thing. With all the knowledge of  authors Basak and Christopher Gardner and the quality of their pictures, this book will bring me hours and hours of interest. Only a few days previously, I joined a zoom meeting via the Somerset branch of the Alpine Garden Society where Christopher Gardner talked about the richness of the flora across a vast stretch from Turkey to China.  He was at home in Turkey. This lock-down has opened up the opportunity have having speakers from around the world.





My mother often used to spurt out to me,: "If Mohamed can't go to the mountain, the mountain must come to him."  Yes she knew she was using it the wrong way round.  This is because I used to try and look for things, then just sit down and sulk, and someone would need to fathom out what it was I wanted, and bring it to me. I think this trait all started when I call only crawl, but having been indulged, it could be said to be a small flaw in my character now. 

Looking up the meaning of the saying, one source gives it as: If things are not going your way, you'll have to adjust to the way they are.  Is that resilience or adaptation?  May blessings come your way.

14 comments:

  1. Your Crassula Buddha's Temple is a success ! I've never grown this one but it makes me want to. I think it's a slow grower though...

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    1. Well you wouldn't want it romping away and have to repot it every few months. Grab one if you find it, you won't regret it.

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  2. Wow to the Jaquenetta. Wood pigeons can be a nuisance as they land or trample on delicate plants. Greedy things too. They are entertaining though sometimes as they puzzle how to get on the bird table.

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    1. I only have a hanging feeder, and they just wait underneath, not a crumb left by the chaffinches, tits, gold finches remains after a couple of minutes.

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  3. Interesting Six-on-Saturday. Maybe we should all look more closely at our snowdrops the centres are so detailed.

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  4. I am very impressed by Buddha's temple, what a fascinating plant! I think it is important, especially at the moment, to keep stretching our minds, to keep learning. And I wish you blessings also, Sis x

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    1. Thanks Sis. I've taken many cuttings of Buddha's temple over the years, about every three, there are spares.

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  5. A great selection of succulents! It's funny you mention Flora of the Silk Road - I was looking at a review of it just this week.

    Pigeons are a real nuisance in terms of trampling things. I had a minor success in someone else's garden with planting the bomb-proof Campanula poscharskyana underneath their bird feeder.

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    1. If only it was was just under the feeder Andrew, and they seem to walk round that campanula which is just near the feeder at the base of a golden lonicera. It is anywhere in the garden free of a shrub. If I say that the index to The Flora of the Silk Road mentions 20 different corydalis, with some stunning pictures, would that help? I explained away the cost to Mr S by saying two cups of coffee and snacks just on the outward journey could probably cost more! PS I'll be taking my flask of coffee on my walk this morning to the Bishop's Palace, and beyond to make up.

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    2. I'll definitely put it on the list! My better half has recently said to me the exact words: "I've just bought ... is that okay? You can buy a yourself a few books."

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  6. The snowdrop journey continues - I had forgotten that I had given Anna herJaquenetta and will check on mine later. I currently have my own mystery which is puzzling both Anna and myself - perhaps I will post it on SoS next week to see if anyone can help...

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    1. Where you one of the crowd like me on the Webinar on Saturday evening? I wonder how many years will pass before there are affordable bulbs of Galanthus bursanus available? Apparently they bulk up very quickly

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  7. Sorry to hear about your wood pigeon trials. They seem such clumsy birds. They are always trying to nest in idiotic places too. I have had to net the lollipop laurels which are either side of the front door as they tried to nest in them. They also had a go at nesting in the garden shed in an old swallows nest. They seem to have no idea how large they are!
    I hope your defences keep them out of the borders.

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    1. I must say you appear to have even more problems with your pigeons. I often have a nest which they build just balanced on a big branch come crashing down into the garden.

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