Six on Saturday - 5 October 2024

It is getting harder to find lovely clumps of pretty flowers to talk about, and I can feel the boss will have to be a little lenient with me.  The great gardener is Jim, and he is such a generous host so it is always a delight to see what he, and our SOSs are talking about each week. I loved how he describes himself this week '"as cheerleader for the Six on Saturday memettes". You too can become memettes, it is quite uncompetitive but we often have colourful photographs to draw attention.

Although the week has ended on a drier sunnier note, this magical sunrise potent of Red Sky in the morning Shepherd's warning was followed by very wet and winder weather during the earlier part of the week.  I took this through the glass of the conservatory a view of the garden, but I don't know if it counts as one of the SOS.

Colourful sunrise in the garden

Now to ones that I think count as six!

1. I acquired Scilla hughii earlier this year and have since learnt it has been renamed Oncostema hughii.  I noticed it had just come into growth again and decided to place it in the gravel garden. I think it will look good there.  

This is the picture I used to sketch and keep a record of this. 

Oncostema hughii in the gravel garden

I keep a spreadsheet of the plants I acquire, I write a blog showing many of the plants, and have tried to make a map of where some of the snowdrops are, and labels in the ground get lost. I enjoy writing notes, and woke last Sunday morning with an idea to help remind me of what plants are where in the garden, it wasn't long before I got sketching, in that quiet time after lunch, whilst Mr S clears up the kitchen and washes up.  This is my first entry.  

The colours are not quite right, but this is not art, it simply a nice way of observing the garden and noting the names of plants in a certain section and which plants are up on in flower at that particular time.  I hope to keep this up , and getting better at drawing and keep a visual record on paper of new plantings or the look of a section. 

2. The Crassula perforata which I bought from The Newt in 2022, is looking well formed and gaining some bulk, and is almost as good as the one was in their glass house.  This one will be moving to the conservatory here soon. Next year it will get an even bigger pot.

Crassula perforata

3. One of my favourite little plants in the gravel garden and also recently in pots is Phlox bifida 'Ralph Haywood'.  After flowering earlier this year I took several cuttings, which all rooted really well, and now I have placed them in two half pans, and this one is destined for the large square garden table to add interest in the spring.

4. I love the way the little Violas seeds itself no doubt aided by ants. They are either very easy to grow or the garden is well suited to them, probably a bit of both.

5. When we have a couple of days of dry weather, then the roses shine out as does 'Grace', but the blooms don't seem to last very long. Do blooms go over faster in the autumn than during early summer? Having consulted with my friend Hilary who came over twice this week, my roses are in need of a good dose of manure to perk them up, so I promise to follow a much better regime next year.

6. It is always nice to see gardening friends twice in a week, and share garden thoughts and cake.  As we went round the garden the first time, I pointed out that I was feeling cheery as I had finally written labels for all the auriculas that I had split and repotted.  As I had potted them up I set up little groups of the same name around the garden to help me identify the plants. The ones in clay pots are for me, the others were to share with friends. Hillary showed interest in them, and as she is yet to get into this group and has a very large and lovely garden and plenty of room on walls for an auricula stage, I was delighted to give her a good selection.

The second time Hillary came was to bring me a large clump of Nerine bowdenii Wellsii. On the first visit I showed her the empty space by the wall in the front garden where I had only just finished digging out the Ceonothus, and she suggested I try some Nerines as the area is predominately planted with Mediterranean plants. 

After feeling a little in the doldrums, my gardening mojo is starting to return, thank goodness.

In my Garden at the end of September - SOS

 Even from a small garden there are six things that caught my attention and which I am willing to share on my frequent Six on Saturday ruminations, which are again shared on Jim's Blog 'Garden Ruminations'. 

1. The week started off with a last hurray from the two courgettes which were thankful from their watering.  I haven't been at all attentive as to the watering and feeding this year, , and until it gets cold I shan't clear these away and will hopefully harvest a few more little baby courgettes. 

2. Dear old Ghislaine de Féligonde has been in need of a large parapluie, however there is still some late season beauty there.

Rose Ghislaine de Féligonde

3. I had just left my pots in my 'potting tray' ready to be stacked away forgotten out of sight down the alley way.  After half a bucket full of rain of Monday, yes I still haven't got round to getting a range guage, this is what I found: 

This won't do the clay pots any good, if they are left in soak like that, the frosts will jut damage them.  Yesterday during our little mini spot of dryish weather meant I toddled round and gave them a brush down, and lay them out to start the the air drying process ready for storage or use.

4.  There is still a little colour in the garden as these couple of views show, but I am still waiting for the Chrysanthemums to flower, I fear the lack of sunshine this year has affected them.

5. I must say thank you to the person who brought a 'six pack' of what my co-worker on the HPS Summer Plant stand believed to be runner beans.  They turned out to be French Beans, and being unlabelled I would not be able to buy similar seed for next year.   From a culinary point of view, the French Beans have been more of an asset compared to runner beans, which I did not grow for the first time this year.  French beans are lovely hot or cold, and many a salad of cooked cold French Beans have been enjoyed.

French Beans seed saving

On Thursday seeing that we would still be having much rain over of the next couple of weeks, I decided to pick these and finish off the drying and ripening in the conservatory, as I fear they may start to go mouldy and rot on the plant.

6. For the last few weeks or so I have been watching some foliage of young plants emerge. They have managed to grow in what is sharp grey builders' gravel just outside of the back door.  Along this narrow fully shaded alley, on top of the low wall, I stood my best potted Cyclamen hederifolium in the heat of the summer.  At the time the seed ripen some of the seed must have been scavenged by the many ants we have, with the seed simply dropped at the foot of the wall.  I shall move the largest of the corms to better sites of course, leaving the rest to develop in their well sited and prepared seed bed until I find them a new space.

Cyclamen hederifolium growing where the ants left the seed

It is getting harder to come up with Six things from the garden, let me see for how long I can keep this up!

 

Six on Saturday

 Growth is slowing down remarkably but there are still treats to enjoy around the garden.  I love the early morning light catches the large cobwebs, and casts shadows as it filters through plants.  I'm taking cuttings and in my mind wondering whether I can move plants to better places. I'm expecting Jim who gathers together us SOSs will have some seasonal musings and delights from his garden.  We join up together there where we can see what others have been getting up to this week.

1. A few butterflies are flitting around the blooms and this Small Tortoishell Butterfly didn't want to go far from the many blooms on the Allium senescens ssp. montanum var. glaucum.

Small Tortoise Butterfly on Allium senescens ssp. montanum v. glaucum

If you know how small the heads are on garlic chives you can understand how small the butterfly is here, with its body much the same size as that of the two other insects here.  Are they bees?

Small Copper butterfly on Garlic Chives flower

2. I seem to be falling in love with grasses, and this Panicum virgatum 'Sangria'  now in the ground close to the Pittosporum Tom Thumb makes a good combination and I love the way it sways in the slightest breeze. The tips are just starting to redden, and from the description I am looking forward to its gradual reddening as the weather gets cooler.

3. So what did I manage not to resist at The Rare Plant Fair a couple of weeks ago?  For a start just as I was thinking I had finished with my purchases I caught a glimpse of the top of
Miscanthus nepalensis with the light shining through.  It was on The Special Plants Nursery stand and since I have never been disappointed by choices made by the owner Derri Watkins, I thought to give it a try.  Growing to 40 inches it is the perfect size for my small garden.  As it is a new plant by that I mean young, and it is not said to be hardy in the coldest winters, I have decided to over winter it and have moved it on to a larger pot, rather than plant it in the ground. It also goes under the name of Himalayan Fairy Grass, just how cute is that!

I also bought from that stall a label pen, and a Pelargonium which will make its debut another week.

4.I was pleased that another favourite grower Rob Potterton was there and enjoyed catching up with him. He had some delightful things and I came away with three lots of bulbs: Iris Alida, some very special Crocus heuffelianus 'Shock Wave', and Crocus speciosus 'Oxonian'.  The special crocus and the Iris are now planted up in half pans, and the 'Oxonian'  autumn flowering crocus  are now in the ground.  The garden is really full and to get them in meant digging up a tired clump of Origanum Bristol Cross, but taking several nicely rooted bits from the edge to grow on in the quickly emptying veggie area.  

Crocus speciosus 'Oxonian' planted

We have a troupe of young blackbirds, and I am hoping this covering of twigs will entice them to cultivate the ground elsewhere! The soil had already been spread across the gravel path before I put these precautions in place.

5. I've managed to empty out two pots in which shrubs have been growing for some time.  Just arranging or rearranging plants around the garden is one of my favourite seasonal gardening activities.  The Sorbaria Sem is finally released into the garden and the Tree Peony too has found its spot. Underneath the shrubs many of the Cyclamen hederifolium are in flower.

Cyclamen hederifolium

6.  Hylotelephium formerly called  Sedum erythrostictum ‘Frosty Morn’ has been an asset to the garden for several weeks. Its creamy white edges on light green leaves are topped by it large pinky white flowers.  Its colour was not dulled nor turned brown even with the rain and cold.  During this warm and sunny week it is another favourite with the butterflies and bees.

'Frosty Morn'

I hope that the weather will continue to give me time to go various other gardening tasks this coming week.

From the garden - Six on Saturday at the start of September

 It feels as if Summer is over, the light levels have plummeted, we have had lots of rain, and very little sun.  Sadly I cut a slow worm  when I was cutting back the thick top growth off the Phuopsis stylosa, which really upset me.  Later I saw another large one disappear down a hole, and today as I started to clear the Kenilworth Ivy from the wall, I was surprised to see a few of them quite a way off the ground.  They probably were enjoying the warmth of the wall.  For now I am leaving this job till much later in the year when they will have gone into hibernation..  The weather forecast for next week is much better, and I look forward to seeing a different phase in the garden.  Meanwhile I am linking this post to Jim's blog, where lots of other keen gardeners congregate.

Here are my six this week: 

1. This allium seems to be later than usual this year, compared to last year it is nearly a month late. 

Allium carinatum  subs pulchellum

In the front drier Mediterranean plantings it hasn't fared so well. I have decided to dig them all up, separate them and replant them with a little enrichment of the soil in slightly different positions.

I continue to cut things back especially as they get bowed down with the rain, but in several cases , I feel that I need to leave the remaining flowers for the last bout of foraging by the bees and other flying insects.

2. It certainly pays to cut back plants at least ones such as these Nemesia Wisley Vanilla from time to time, I did this about five weeks ago and now it is flowering again.  I first acquired small plug plants in 2022, and with heavy pruning around twice a year, these plants bounce back and there is a nice froth of white blooms ready to scent the garden again for a few weeks. After I cut them I apply a compost dressing and give them a feed.

Nemesia Wisley Vanilla in the same pot for two years

3. This Echeveria is spilling out around the pot, and is almost a colour match for the blue table. 

Echeveria elegans

Rather than have the bottom of the half pan sitting in water in the saucer, I turn the saucer upside down.  I could remove the saucer altogether but little bits of soil are apt to fall through and stain the table.

4. This week a friend noticed and admired another succulent.  It is Crassula perforata variegata which I purchased as a small plant when we were staying on Tresco last year.  I cut back the mother plant when it was growing well, and placed the cuttings in a pot of gritty soil.

Crassula perforata variegata

They grew tall over the summer, and only recently I have noticed that new growth is starting from the axils.  I have a 'succession' plant, and some to give away.

I have now cut them right down to these and potted them on individually.  I could of course start again with all the cuttings, but I don't really have enough room especially through the winter when they would need to be under shelter.

5. As well as the alliums, the asters have been a magnet for the bees, and this one has so many flowers.  It has a pleasant lax habit, but I have chosen to prop up some of the stems to add height to this section.

What is great about this plant as well, is that it is definitely mildew free.

6.  I've already picked a few tomatoes, and I am hoping the sunshine next week with ripen those now turning red.

I'm off to the Rare Plant fair at the Bishop's Palace tomorrow morning, just for a look and to see what is on trend.  I shall report next week if I fail to keep to my no more plants promise!  I do have a few plants on my wish list, but I have not yet cleared space for them. 

Celebrating the Fig

 What can be finer than a perfectly ripe fig?  I've loved figs since I was little, so I am bound to be drawn to them. It is the time of year that brings ripened figs from across the continent and sea, and I certainly enjoyed the two trays of Turkish figs from Wells Fruit and Veg up at Rocky Mountain Nursery bought last Thursday.  At £4.00 a tray with more than 1.5Kg of fruit in each one, it was just the moment to feast and to make preserves for the winter. 

Fig and Orange Preserve infused with bay

I made some standard fig conserve, using the zest of two oranges and their juice, with just half their weight in sugar, meaning 500g sugar for 1Kg prepared fruit, plus three bay leaves. I didn't add any extra spice, this time.  If you follow this link, it will lead you to various Fig preserves I set out over several years over on my other blog.

For my second lot of Fig Preserves, I wanted to make something a little different.  Inspiration came flooding in.  As I was preparing the figs, my mind wandered over to the holiday we had near Dubrovnik and the dried figs I had bought straight from the grower at a small market for locals. Then memories from our holiday to Sicily ten years ago got me inspired. Though since it was spring, there were no fresh figs, enjoying sweet meats made with dried figs and  pine nuts and other delicacies as well as our visit to the famous Marsala wineries and our tastings at the Cantine Florio. It is no wonder therefore that when I was leafing through 'Mes Confitures' by Christine Ferber and coming across her recipe for Fig and Gewürztraminer with Pine Nuts, I thought why not create a preserve to celebrate Sicily!

Again on Sicily we visited a farm on the slopes of Mount Etna and enjoyed one of those lunches for ever remembered, with all produce from the farm, followed by a walk amongst their lemon orchards and an invitation to pick just two lemons each.  Instead of orange I used the finely zested aromatic skin and juice of two lemons.

Fig, Marsala and Pine Nut Preserve. The detailed recipe is on my other blog: 

Fig, Marsala and Pine Nut Preserve - Celebrating the Fig and Sicily

This will be the perfect filling for tarts or flans in the Italian or Sicilian style, with a covering of a Ricciarelli.