Six on Saturday - 20 September 2025

The garden has finally started to recover with the rain, so it is with a lighter heart that gardened this week, and according to custom Six items from the garden are being posted, and linked into Jim's post.  Lots to see there from several other SOSers.  You are welcome to join in if you wish, with Jim explaining the guidelines.

1. When I posted this  Allium senescens ssp. glaucum growing in the gravel garden in 2023, I wrote that I intended to divide it.  I didn't and now it is even wider and full of flower.  It may flower late but all summer it has still been attractive with its curling grey green leaves. Yesterday the sunshine brought out the butterflies and they just loved this, but could I get near enough to photograph clearly...they certainly were camera shy.

Allium senescens ssp glaucum

2. One of the trees I have enjoyed particularly in the autumn when visiting other gardens is Cercidiphyllum japonicum -   I love scents in   garden and The Katsura Tree as it is called in Japan gives off a lovely toffee apple scent.  Of course the garden is far too small for such a tree, but I could start to grow one and keep it small, and to my delight found that you can buy very young trees.  I got this one from Jurassic Plants, and it shall get lots of tlc and we shall see how it develops over the years.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum

3. Since I found the tree that I really wanted on line at Jurassic Plants, I had a look to see what other little plant caught my fancy and I decided to give Corylopsis sinensis a go.  Its common name is Chinese Winter Hazel and again with its fragrance in the spring, and good autumn colour. I hope to bring it on for a few years till it starts to flower.  The planting instructions were clear and straight forward and very detailed.  They were very well packed, and planted up as per the instructions within an hour of their arrival.  It seems strange to plant the pot with its pot into the larger pot which I shall use, but knowing the reasons why it makes sense to me. 

Corylopsis sinensis - Chinese Winter Hazel

4. Early morning low light in the garden: a special time and a plant from Special Plants: 

Miscanthus nepalensis

5.  Some of the cyclamen I grew from seeds received from the Cyclamen Society are throwing up flowers for the first time. I was not quite sure that it was as the packet said, and thanks to posting on the Cyclamen Society Facebook page, I had identification by Steve Walters and John Lonsdale that the two plants I showed were Cyclamen intaminatum. Isn't wonderful that such experts give time and help through these societies.  I even had the comment 'nice leaf'! New labels with the correct name are now in the pot.

Cyclamen intaminatum

The flowers are much smaller than Cyclamen hederifolium, so I shall be keeping these in a pot rather than releasing them into the garden.

6. The cosmos that I bought as seedlings are finally flowering.  The plants are very tall but finally they are showing their colours.

and only when I was looking at some of the pictures and blowing them up on the computer did I see that one of the blooms was host to a Flower Crab Spider, it is still small and if you want a hint it is at about 31 minutes past.

I'm out this morning to my local HPS monthly meeting, and taking a great specimen of the Chrysanthemum Picasso.  I took the tiniest of material early in the year as cutting, and it has made an extraordinary good plant in just one season.