Six on Saturday - 4 June 2022

 It has been a strange sort of a week, a roller coaster sort of week, with a series of ups and down, of excitement and frights. Some plants are doing well, others I have been less happy with.

Linking in as usual for our get together beneath the branches of The Propagator's leading post.

1. Let me start with the splendid.  For the second of my Gardening Club open afternoon after a grey and raining morning, the sun came out, and we were able to enjoy cake and tea in the garden.  That was splendid as were the hardy geraniums.  When I was asked about this one and said Splendid, they repeated the question and I said "Geranium Splendid, that is its name!"  as soon as the flowering one of the clumps is over, it will be divided as my neighbour also admired them and she was delighted when I said I would give her some. HOWEVER....I got the name wrong it is Geranium x magnificum!  It is just coming into flower and will make a great show for a couple of weeks, but then maybe just a second meagre flowering, and after that just leaves that often give a good autumn colouring.

2.  Another pretty Hardy Geranium which was admired was the pale pink G. sanguineum var. striatum, a Bloody Cranesbill which I am sure would have raised a certain titter, had I used that name or even remembered its name at the time.

3. The fright was real and possible serious injury was avoided due to my quick action. I had removed the black plastic Darlek shaped exterior and  had started to removed the top mainly leaves from the remains of last year's compost heap. Then the border fork went in,  to start the turning of the mass, and suddenly a large number of angry bumblebees emerged.  There must have been over one hundred.  I was not about to be stung to death surely?  They rarely sting, but you cannot imagine what I was thinking! I have worked around bumble bees in the garden, surely they see me as the person who brought all these flowers to the garden?  How deluded was I, best approach to drop everything all the tools etc, and leave the scene of my destruction as quickly as possible. A little while later, they had calmed down, I removed the tools, and replaced as carefully as possible the covering.  I didn't rate the compost much, it is too hard work sieving etc..far better that it is home to a bumble bee nest.

4. It is time to say goodbye to the Euphorbias. This is the largest one back in March this year.

Euphorbia characias subs wulfenii

It only went in two years ago 

and by the time I came to cut out the old flowering stems very very early Wednesday morning, the new shoots had grown a foot longer than the old stems, and was already overshadowing all the surrounding plantings.  At first it was going to be a removal of the old stems, but I as I got splashed a couple of times by the sap, and had to quickly go and wash it all the small patch of exposed skin on my face, it dawned on me that going forward this was not something I wanted to repeat.  I had worn protective clothing all over and maybe one of those  covid see through visors to protect the face would be useful. All the stems were cut back using long handled loppers and everything placed straight away into the recycling bins.  

The Euphorbia Ascot Rainbow which had fared poorly recently were also despatched.  The only euphorbias remaining the are dark leaved Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon' in the back garden, which being much smaller are easier to deal with.

5.  Mystery green eggs.  Mr S spied these tiny green eggs on the voile...

They were so small that a magnifying glass was needed to see them clearly. Then of course I had to look them up!  Had these been laid on a leaf, they would be very difficult to see.

             

We seem to be getting more and more shield bugs. They are already active in the garden, and from time to time we find one or two dead bodies in the conservatory. I wonder if anything predates these eggs. 

6. This morning it is a little breeze and overcast, and it is raining leaves and spent male catkins from the evergreen Holm Oaks which grow on the other side of our boundary wall. 

Zooming in you get a sense of the task ahead of me as I clean plants, pavers and conservatory so that the tannins in the leaves and catkins don't cause too much staining. In previous years we have had a westerly wind when this happens but the easterly wind blew them all over the garden this year/

For the beaded eyed, you will have noticed that this week, the superb variegated Weigela also has had its first trim  since being first planted.