Six on Saturday - 26 February 2022

We have remnants of storms, rain and pea sized hailstones, but yes: Friday was calm and sunny.  I was able to have a little time in the garden. For 'ruminations' numbering around Six, do go to The Props page where he starts us off and links us all together around his Shed post for a gossip.

1 Gunnera magellanica is not quite up yet, but it will look like this in a couple of months time.  Its a Lilliputian form of Gunnera.  I only learnt on Wednesday just gone that it is found in the southern parts of South America in the Falklands, and is native to Chile and Argentina. So why am I posting this?  I had planted up three pots a little while ago, and was holding them back for the HPS Sale.  However on Wednesday evening I went to my first live meeting at the Somerset Alpine Garden Society, and had taken two different plants which went onto the raffle table.  The talk was by Hilary and Austin Little on the plants of South America right down along the Eastern side of the Andes, it was thanks to Hilary and Austin who live nearby and gave me a lift that I was able to go.  I was delighted that a Member selected this plant and came to tell me how they had been on an expedition botanising with Hillary and had seen this growing in the wild.  I have promised  to take some for Hilary also in a week or so.

2 Lucky or What? Donated to the raffle by Paul Cumbleton and won by me. I've never grown a garden orchid before!

3. Is it bad, or is it ugly, it certainly ain't garden worthy!  Each spring the earliest Daff to come up must be some self seeded thing which was in the garden before we arrived.  It grows tall, but the head is so heavy it falls over, and is normally consumed by slugs before I have time to look at it.  There are only a couple of bulbs. When I cut it and brought it inside I could see that it was very heavy with 'growths' in the middle.

4.  It may just be two bulbs but they are MY two bulbs of Galanthus Melanie Broughton photographed in the sunshine yesterday close by Plum Mirabelle de Nancy.  It will take a few years to form a clump.

5. There's always a smart Alec that somehow gets off the starting blocks early:

6. I think I now have as much as I can cram into the Conservatory Border having planted four pots of Narcissi on Friday: Oxford Gold, More and More, Hawera, and Spoirot,. I have to keep things in pots so that they can be planted when surrounding plants are up, or else I may plant one on top of the over!

At the front of the border low sunshine catches Crocus minimus Spring beauty.  My favourite crocus in the garden.

That all this week friends, going gardening....