Six on Saturday - 22 May 2021

1.  When I feel the garden is in the doldrums, or maybe it is just my mood, I find satisfaction in caring for my succulents and propagating them. I don't have very many, and on the whole have them for many years.  From time to time the house plants get brought out to be rained on:

Caring for succulents only involves  gentle work such as removing any dead material and potting up, propagation and rejuvenation etc. Unless of course they are in large pots, but I am working on reducing those, as with my manual handling hat on, they do not make safe weigh training items!  The larger ones are in the conservatory for the moment and had their moment of care last week.  These succulents are mainly house plants.  The pan in the foreground is a Haworthia:  Haworthiopsis venosa subsp. tessellata (Veined Haworthia).which has the longest of flowering stems I have seen.  Back in 2015 I took a picture of the stem when it was about 1 metre long.  The pot on the blue table was repotted last year, but it has now had its three flowers removed! 

Portulacaria afra variegata. was bought late last year and I had been admiring it elsewhere for some time. After spending the winter in a small pot on the kitchen windowsill, it was time to take it up a pot size. 

2.  At the same time the crowded pan of Echeveria elegans, which spend the winter in the conservatory was turfed out, some fresh young rosettes selected and replanted in new well draining compost, topped with grit.

I had so many rosettes which I could have make something of, if I had mixed sufficient gritty compost, and found several local people who would have wanted them.   It was 7 am and threating to pour, and what would I do with umpteen little pots of these? 

I ought to be more disciplined and just throw the lot away, however here it is in the front garden, just by the small clump that successfully overwintered and is now coming into flower.  This has survived, frost, snow, rain etc.  It had a few leaves swell up and go black, but these have been removed.

3. The nasturtiums grown from seed found in the bottom of my posh coat pocket are wondering when it will be summer or even just stop raining and the sun come out. I must have been in a 'posh' garden and found some old nasturtiums seeds last autumn. The original plants were very compact with dark flowers, and yes I do remember where I was.  To repay my debt I did take round a couple of my unusual Pelargoniums for their collection. I'm sure a mouse would have eaten the seeds as they lay on the ground, and now I feel that I have deprived a mouse of its winter store!

4. The  Corylus avellana Scooter, planted a few weeks ago,  is coming into leaf.  In the very early morning light the dew/rain drops catch the light, and my eye, but I can't quite get the right picture...

Corylus avellana Scooter

5. Clematis Sugar Sweet growing in a pot a mixed perennials is fully coating the hand made trellis.

6.This dainty little plant from China is growing in my estimation,  Semiaquilegia ecalarata is starting in flower.  I was a little under impressed with it previously.  I allowed it to self seed, then moved a few plants around and they seem to be much happier, or maybe they are in  a position better to be appreciated. The green and purpled infused leaves are also rather attractive the rest of the year. Now that I know I can easily raise new plants from seed, but this I mean they self seed, and are happy to be moved, I shall be viewing up different parts of the garden to try it.  I'm not quite sure how long lived the plants are. As they are described as short lived perennials it probably is a good thing to keep a few new seedlings in different parts of the garden, and discard older plants.  I like the way they are growing through surrounding encroaching plants, just as seasonal wild flowers do along the edges of woodland and fields.

Semiaquilegia ecalarata

We had our first 'in person' monthly Henton Village Gardening Club meeting, and  we were delighted to welcome Alasdair Moore from Heligan. He came up for a 'break' to visit a friend, who is also a member of the club. Along the way, during a visit that morning to another 'Holy' garden, picked up another great gardening mind who came to the talk.  At the meeting I was wearing the same jacket when I visited their garden on the day the nasturtium seed was acquired!  My blushes were well hidden by my mask.

Almost as much  excitement now, as I go over the the Prop's site, when Jon gathers a few of use that enjoy cataloguing things from our garden, sharing etc, each week.