Five in a Row

Published on by Catherine

Five what? Five dry days without rain! The perfect cause for excitement, don’t you think? With heaps of sunshine adding to the joy, it’s definitely a reason for celebration. We’ve managed to accomplish a remarkable amount of work in the garden this week. Despite the chilly air, by afternoon, the garden’s been a ‘jackets off’ workplace. This weekend is shaping up to be more of the same! I hope your week has been as good as mine. Let’s take a look at my six subjects for today.

Six on Saturday

Exochorda x macrantha ’Niagara’ This was planted last year, so it’s still not quite large enough to create the beautiful waterfall of flowers shown in the marketing blurb. One day…

  • Exochorda ‘Niagara’
  • planted in dappled shade

Clematis Korean Amber is just beginning to flower. I keep hoping that one day it will bloom simultaneously with Rosa ‘The Pilgrim’ which grows beside it. So far, that hasn’t happened.

Clematis ‘Korean Amber’

Hosta emerging from a sea of Forget-me-nots. I’ve found some snails already. Which of the many tried & tested solutions will I try (again) this year…?

Hosta with Forget-me-nots

Tulip ‘Persian Pearl’ I found a surprise little tulip in the garden and couldn’t remember planting it. I worried about memory loss. I discovered more, one at a time, occasionally two, but spaced well apart. That’s not the way I plant. Then realized my husband had planted them for me when I was sick, with the instruction to plant them in threes, fives or sevens. Mystery solved! Now I just need to find the rest of the little tulips. 😁

  • Persian Pearl, one bulb
  • two bulbs
  • and another single

Erysimum ‘Fire King’ I haven’t grown this for a good number of years. I’d forgotten the beauty of their vibrant and rich colours. Even when they’re dying off the colours and textures are breathtaking.

  • Erysimum ‘Fire King’
  • Orange hues in background provided by Tulip ‘Orca”

Tulip Ballade. It’s hard to describe the colour of this tulip. We all see colours slightly differently, and that colour will alter when light sources change. Outdoors on a brightly but overcast day, these tulips (to my eyes) are a soft, slightly muted pink-purple. But whatever shade of pink or purple you see, they are a standout tulip in any garden scene because of their pure white edges.

Tulip ‘Ballade’

I’ll be away for most of the day, so I won’t be able to read your blogs until later or tomorrow. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Take some time to enjoy your gardens, visit the garden centre, or indulge in any exciting plans you may have.

If you’re new to Six on Saturday our host is Jim of Garden Ruminations. At Jim’s site, you’ll meet other participants who are also mad keen gardeners. Do pop over for a visit.

Catherine 😊

22 thoughts on “Five in a Row”

  4. The wallfower is a wonderful mixture of orangey hues. The photo of the hostas emerging from the forget-me-not looks great. I have a bad feeling my seedlings are going to get eaten by all the slugs and snails as soon as I move them from the window sill to the mini greenhouse.

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    1. Someday there will be a welcome solution to the slugs & snails. I think I need some predators in the garden to dispose of them, but I hope your seedlings survive. 🤞🏻

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  5. Oh five consecutive dry days must have been most exciting Catherine and sunshine too! I’m envious – here it has been another cool, mainly grey and occasionally wet week. Tulip ‘Persian Pearl’ is rather lovely whatever multiples it’s planted in 😂 All the rare planting instructions I relate to my husband go into one ear and out of the other but no doubt like your husband he has good intentions.

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    1. This is now the 7th day of dry, sunny (but still cold) weather! Heavy rain arriving tomorrow, but the ground needs it – can’t dig, can’t rake – it’s baked solid, so I guess the rain tomorrow is welcome. It’s been great though. I think we do have husbands of the same mould! 😆

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  6. Five days without rain? Very nice! We’ve had just the right amount of rain so far this spring–not too much and not too little. Currently, we’re under a severe thunderstorm warning, but that’s not unusual for this time of year in the Midwest. The tornadoes that occurred in two states southwest of us were wicked, though. Hopefully, we won’t get any tornadoes tonight. Your photos are lovely, as always, but I really love that last one of the “Ballade” Tulips. Wow!

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    1. Just the right amount of rain would be good, Beth. We get too much here, when it starts it forgets to finish. I hope your thunderstorm has passed you by without any damage by now. Over here we often see news reports of tornados and they look so frightening – they do so much damage to life and property. Our weather can be wet and windy, but we tend not to get extremes the way you do. Stay safe.

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  7. Hi Catherine. Tried to comment before but for some reason I had to resubscribe. Worked it out in the end! Anyway, lovely flowers, and exquisite photography. Isn’t that Erysimum just gorgeous! 💕

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    1. That’s a real nuisance, Cathy. I know some others have had this problem too and I think it puts people off posting. I’m having the same issue when I visit several other WordPress sites. I visit and post on them regularly, but have to log in each time and sometimes it takes several attempts before being successful, while others show I’m logged in as soon as I visit. I’ve no idea what the issue is, but I’ll have to go back to WordPress to see if I can find a solution.

      Thanks for letting me know. 

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  8. I think your tulip Ballade is fabulous closely followed by the hostas with forget me nots! The dry days were wonderful weren’t they, I was able to get a lot of work done, but we are back to rain once more.

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    1. Thank you, Pauline. The rain has arrived here too, but to be honest, the ground really needed it. There’s more rain ahead, but I hope it doesn’t forget to stop for a while! Have a lovely week! 😊

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    1. The forget-me-nots are everywhere this year, Noelle. All the borders have some blue in them and I love it. I probably won’t be saying that when it’s time to pull them out!

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  10. Five consecutive days! Oh, how I wish. But there was sunshine last week so I can’t complain too much. And bit by bit some gardening is taking place. Your hosta / FMN photo is fabulous. You really do have the eye when it comes to flower photography. As for Tulip ‘Persian Pearl’  I did plant about 20 of them a couple of years ago, but absolutely no sign of them this year.

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    1. The five days became seven and then we had rain, which softened the brick-hard clay and meant I could get a few plants in the ground. Thanks for the comment re the hosta & forget-me-nots. The garden is full of plants emerging from the FMN’s so it wasn’t too hard to find one with a strong enough presence to make a decent photo. That’s a pity about Persian Pearl in your garden. I can only hope they reappear here next year. 🤞🏻

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