Six on Saturday - 10 June 2023

 It has been another very warm and bone dry week.  The soil is cracking and daily sweepings of leaf fall and now added to this all the male catkins on the evergreen oaks  have been adding layers of detritus all over the garden.  Sticky green pollen is laying over everything and requires daily washing down of external surfaces.  Mr S will tackle washing the outside of the conservatory once all has fallen.  Despite all that the front garden planted out with Mediterranean plants continues to surprise me. 

Twice a day I have been cleaning out and filling the bird bath, and as I write the bird song is just so lovely.

 Let's get on with six specific items, or else Jim with award me the 'rambler' of the week prize.  It is over on his post that any of us that care to post six things about our gardens congregate.

1. Another sort of Rambler is this pretty rose: Ghislaine de Feligonde. It is looking really beautiful this week, and is right in my eyeline when I sit in the conservatory where we love to have our breakfast.  Yes I do listen to Mr S chatter, but my eye is always on something in the garden.  This week we have had young foxes, quite small ones, who ought not be far from mummy, wander in the garden.

Rambler Ghislaine de Feligonde

2. Rose Munstead Wood is far happier having been moved from near the wall to the middle of the conservatory border, where once the Salix Mount Aso was growing.  She has to have a hosing down and the detritus removed to have her picture taken. Mount Aso really only had a very short period of looking attractive, so it went last autumn.

Rose Munstead Wood

3. It has been my turn to be on the receipt of plants albeit a donation for our club funds was requested.  All that I know is that these two are cherry tomatoes.  When asked about the variety, Janette looked at me with glazed eyes. It is a question of 'wait and see'.  Is there a way from telling just looking at a young plant whether they are bush or cordon varieties of tomatoes? During the week, Janette found the seed packet and these are Roma Plum Tomatoes.

I also picked up a couple of courgette plants from another open day of the gardens at the Museum in Wells.

4.  Our WI gardening group 'Blooming Fun' had an outing to Bristol Botanic gardens on Monday, and it is strange how one notices something out of the corner of one's eye, and it suddenly twigs, excuse the pun, there is a plant I have.  It reminded that I haven't shown the Japanese Umbrella Pine for some time. It continue to grow and am considering a spot in the garden to replace a plum tree which each year is absolutely riddled with green fly. I have now had it ten years! It is considered a living fossil. 

 Japanese Umbrella Pine Sciadopitys verticillata

5. This bowl full  proves that Pea Mangetout Norli is a sure winner, and the taste is very good too.

Pea Mangetout Norli

6. If a plant has silver leaves plus is covered with minute hairs, you know it can resist the sun, and this little shrub in the front Mediterranean garden is not minding the dry weather.  

Ballota pseudodictamnus is easy to propagate: I find a little piece of spare soil and just push some cuttings in. let them root, then find a new space or give plants away.  That way is far easier than caring for cuttings in pots.  I find after a few years,  the older plants as they get a little straggly even when cut back, and new plants looks neater..  I got my first plant in 2018.

That is my six this week, hope the weather breaks and it starts to rain a little.