Six on Saturday - 10 September 2022

Leafing through a free paper these few words "Gardening is like a game of poker.  You've got to hold your nerve" written by Ritula Shah, I looked out across the garden and thought that is a bang on description of my 2022 Gardening 'Game'. I don't play poker but I was on the verge of loosing my nerve last week, and just had to take a break and maybe to be point I've had a bout of pain just after I thought I was recovering.  However my chums with their weekly Six things on Saturday from the garden all under the Prop's are often playing the right cards of encouragement.

1. At last rain has arrived.  There is beauty in watching the rain drops and imaging them penetrating the hard baked earth. Even watching the rain pitting patting against the conservatory or dripping on the new table is a thing of beauty. The succulents were removed as they were drowning in water.  Luckily most are in smaller pots or I would have had Mr S's wagging finger, and have been placed under the porch .

2. From my favourite vantage point under the conservatory, I have a long view of the gravel garden, and this clump of  Allium senescens montanum var glaucum, here taken through the double glazing. Planted in 2020, it is now probably as large as I would want it to grow.  I'll be dividing this next spring.

3.  Erodium Fran's Delight rather drastically cut back, it too had outgrown its space.  I wonder if it will survive? I need to hold my nerve. It may grow back, maybe I played this card at the wrong time of the year?  I've placed a few cuttings in the open ground some way away, and hopefully there will be a new plant to take its place if it fails.  I do have a rooted cutting now flowering which was created in the same way last year.  It did survive in the open ground which hopefully can be relied on to continue the line.

4.  There is a nice show of blue against autumn coloured leaves as with this Aster King George and the Dogwood Cornus Sanguina Midwinter Fire, again taken through the glass.

5.  This Summer the Pelargoniums Capricorn did very well, and a few weeks ago I took some cuttings.  They have taken very nicely and this week I potted up the best four separately,  but still couldn't resist setting a few more.

6.  Suddenly seeds are germinating, where other plants had been given a bucket of water, and taking full advantage of gaps such as this nasturtium: what a bonus to have fresh new plants for free late in the season.

That's it folks, off to The Bishop's Palace Plant Fair tomorrow, to view delectable plants and maybe get tempted.