Six on Saturday - 25 April 2026

 During the week I had my good gardening friend Alison visit and she brought another friend whom I met for the first time.  Not dissimilar to SOS where we visit each others gardens via Jim's post. 

We had a  tour round the small front and back gardens, and of course had coffee and cake in the garden.  It was so warm we sat in the shade.  It probably was not the best time for digging up little patches of plants, but hopefully with care and shade they will soon perk up and I hope Julie will enjoy them.

1. One of the plants which Julie had a piece of was Saxifraga stolonifera which is a fantastic ground covering plant for shaded areas with' if one stretches the point, purple or rather maroon and green leaves, especially as later it will have some delightful flowers.

Saxifraga stolonifera

2. Alison asked for a piece of this little plant growing very successfully in the gravel garden.  The little blue pom pom pom flowers are just starting to open which of course called out to be admired. Globularia cordifolia, commonly known as the heart-leaved globe daisy or matted globularia, is a low-growing, evergreen subshrub.  

Globularia cordifolia

3. Nearby the Thyme 'Jekka' is looking glorious, and as it extends, it roots itself into the gravel and pieces of that too were easily prepared.

Thymus 'Jekka'

Loved by the bees and also frequently used in the kitchen, it is the most floriferous and easy going thymes in the garden.

4. Early this year I took one of the biggest of the Polemonium 'Lambrook Mauve' and refreshed it by pulling it apart and replanting the most vigorous sections in a piece of 'improved' soil, and therefore it was easy to pass on a good young plant onto to Julie, with the strict instructions to cut off all the flowering stems just this year so that the plant could re-establish itself nicely.

Polemonium 'Lambrook Mauve'

5. It looks as if the theme for this week could be purply blue especially if I showed you one plant that I had been seeking out for years, ever since I saw it in 2016 in the Birmingham Botanic gardens.

I moved it to the shade this week, and I think I may even have to move it to a plastic pot as it is not coping very well in this hot dry weather. It is a tricky one and this time I will not be dividing it as I did with my blue one, which I lost.

Viola Pedata bicolour

Luckily another little blue one is soldiering on, but it is in intensive care right now, and no visitors allowed!

6. The Scilla Peruviana are in full swing..including these newly divided ones sheltering close by the Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’.

The rest of the gang are rather raucously enjoying the sun on the dry southern side of the front garden amongst other plants that enjoy this position.

Scilla Peruviana

Extra Growing Angels Fishing Rods (Dierama) from seed

My seedlings are up, it will be ages till they are large enough to flower.  I shall enjoy watching them thrive and hopefully not falter.  Please do not make me admit to where I obtained the seed from!! They were only falling across the path and being trodden on my lord!