Six on Saturday - 14 August 21

 Again another week of rain: not constant but wet enough not to have to think about doing any watering, except of course it doesn't rain in pots where the  rain drips off the foliage beyond the perimeter of the soil in the pot.  For smaller pots I check the weight to guage the dampness, but having seen some of the evergreens flag, I knew I had been a little remiss in the watering.  The waterbutt is full, so the hose has remained wound up which seems so unusual for this time of the year.

1. I pricked out a couple of varieties of lettuces, in the hope there is some growing time before the winter sets in.  In any case I am quite happy to cut them young and eat the whole head.  I had to buy a lettuce today.  It was huge and beautifully grown, but still I would rather walk out pick a few leaves, and not have to find room in the fridge, nor have to throw away yet another plastic bag.

After growing the seeds in the small pots having sown just a few well spaced, each was carefully separated and put one to a module in some fresh compost.

Using the movable potting trough, the tray is placed on about 4cm of water, and is allowed to draw up the moisture from below, before it is taken out and allowed to drain.  Afterwards I put the tray higher up, out of the reach of the slugs, overnight and then on the ground in good light but not in harsh sunshine.  Should the forecast be for heavy rain, then I put on the clear cover to protect the tender leaves from the rain.  I like to grow small seedlings on in the modules for a week or two, until they are a little stronger and stand a chance of not all being eaten by slugs.  Also the ground where they are to go is currently being used and the lettuce will be planted out when that crop is over. 

I can just hear you all wonder why am I showing you all this beginner stages?

A friend's son had asked if he could come round to learn a few gardening skills, but he has just passed his driving test, so I guess it might be through the medium of emails and links to posts such as this one, that he might continue his interest in gardening! Most gardening tasks cannot be carried forward for too long, the stage that the seedlings are at dictate the optimum pricking out time.

2. As regular reader may have reaslised, I have a bit of a thing about alliums. Another new allium this time the yellow flowering Allium Flavum.  Its form is similar to the pink Allium carinatum  subs pulchellum .  Just as with the later, I shall keep some seed and grow on for more clumps in the front 'Mediterranean' planting scheme.

Allium Flavum

3. Another yellow close to the bird bath is a Potentilla fruticosa which was alredy herein the garden, when we moved in, but since moved to that spot.  I haven't any idea what the cultivar is but it takes to being chopped back, and just keeps on flowering.

4. Also close to that area is a shrub that arrived as a tiny cutting last winter from 'Over the Edge'. Carefully nurtured I like this Salvia Leucantha's leaves and pale semi arching stems.  It flowered once but all the flowers were soon hidden with strong side growths taking over, so on the next flush, I removed the side shoots, but the plant just did not like this and the flower spikes morphed into stems with remnants of the flowers along the stems.  What a shame as I wanted to get the flowers to be at the very end of the growth.  Is it just this season, or the soil conditions at that location, or the natural habit?  Maybe it has just not liked the weather.  I'll take some cuttings soon and try it on the south wall outer border next year.  That area is drier, sunnier, and not as fertile.

5. The various Origanums have on the whole suffered with the rain, and some have been cut back to removed the 'manky' flowering stems allowing what sun we get to reach newly emerging shoots.  

Origanum Bristol Cross is holding relatively well and is a magnet for bees when it stops raining.

6.  One plant that is doing far better now that it has been moved to a shady spot is the purple leaved Chinese Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Fire Dance.  That won't need to be moved again!

Taking over a new garden, even a small garden, one can see growing conditions are not even,  with not all areas suiting all the plants.  Then one has to get to understand what conditions best suit the plants, and that is without even working out which plants look best growing together.   All in in the eye of the beholder and of course at the mercy of unpredictable and very varying weather!  Who would garden?  

This week I have been arranging the details to go on our gardening club webpage for our next speaker Mary Payne. Whilst chatting to her over the phone we compared notes on our small gardens.  We chatted about the advantage of having small gardens and being able to look over everything most days and spot things.  I liked her expression that good gardeners have "Green eyes", it got me thinking that it is observation which is paramount. 

Looking at our garden each week in readiness to posting SOS is certainly one of the joys of joining up with the Prop.  He has a rather lovely gladioli to share....