Having a Ball

Published on by Catherine

It’s been a glorious week of sunshine, and the lack of wind meant that we had fairly decent temperatures again; 20℃ is high for this time in May. With no school runs this week (our nearby family were on holiday) we decided to call it a ‘home holiday’ and ease off a little on gardening. We had a lovely lunch on Monday to celebrate my husband’s birthday and the following day made a visit to Dumfries House, which is set in 2,000 acres of land and where I took some photos of the grounds. I’ll post them as soon as I can get time to upload them from the camera. We also took a trip to a couple of garden centres and I managed to find two pots for my new roses, plus a few other goodies too, of course.

But we couldn’t resist the pull of the garden, especially with such lovely weather. Thursday found us back at work in the garden tackling the tasks at hand.

At this time of the year, the tender plants are just starting the in-out process of hardening off, but the greenhouse and the cold frame have been too hot and the plants are all out in the open now. I think (hope!) they will all be in the soil by the end of next week. Weather permitting course. 🤔 Here are my six choices for this week’s Six on Saturday.

Six on Saturday

Tulip ‘Uncle Tom’ is a firm favourite. It’s a peony-flowered tulip in the most beautiful dark red shades with the flowers sitting upright on strong, short stems. The closeup shows more detail of the tulip’s peony-like blooms.

  • Tulip ‘Uncle Tom’
  • Close-up

Geum ‘Scarlet Tempest’ is always the first geum to flower. It hasn’t produced many flowers so far, but it’s early days and I’m sure there will be more during the coming weeks.

Geum ‘Scarlet Tempest’

Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ has been a resident for many years and seems to thrive on neglect. It’s growing well now and the colours are, as always fabulously autumnal.

Heuchera ‘Marmalade’

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’. While on the topic of leaves, Jack Frost has grown well since I lifted it from the raised bed where a hungry caterpillar (or more) was making a meal of it.

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’

Forget-me-nots are still flowering well throughout the borders and probably will do so for a few more weeks.

  • Forget-me-not close-up
  • Still looking fresh & pretty

Centaurea montana. The pollinators arrived as soon as the flowers opened. This little creature was having a ball delving in among all that lovely pollen.

  • Mmm…pollen!

You can see more garden photographs from across the world at our host’s website at Garden Ruminations, where Jim will be happy to show you the ropes if you want to join in and share photos from your own garden.

That’s all from me for today. Rain is forecast for tomorrow and much of next week, so today I’m planning to get some plants into their final pots. What about you? Will you be gardening, relaxing in the sunshine or have you other plans? Whatever you’re doing, enjoy your weekend!

Catherine 😊

28 thoughts on “Having a Ball”

  1. I have plenty of heuchera and ‘Marmalade’ too but it’s the variety that is least successful here. Dark colours work much better around here. (On the other hand, whatever the colour, slugs don’t touch them ! Phew…! 😅
    Very pretty 2nd photo of the tulip ‘Uncle Tom’ and of course this bumblebee/ centaurea

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s always good to find a slug-proof plant isn’t it! Another that does well here is H. ‘Lime Rickey’ it prefers a shady spot and is great in a pot too. They brighten up dull areas.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I thought “Uncle Tom” was a peony until I read your comments, it looks very much like some very old peonies in my garden. The geum is lovely, probably another one for my wishlist even though I already have about 6 different geums – can you have too many? But all your six are lovely, as always.
    I’m hoping the weather holds out here for tomorrow as we’re heading to a plant hunter’s fair some rain or shine – but shine is much better of course!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love the peony type double tulips, Helen. Some find them too fussy but I don’t see them like that – I think they’re absolutely gorgeous! I hope you have a great day for tomorrow – or at least – dry! No point saying ‘don’t buy too much’ the temptation is always too great. 😁

      Like

  5. I love your Uncle Tom. On the list for next year. The rest of your six could be from my garden, though my Geums are Red Wings and Totally Tangerine. This warm weather has certainly brought out the flowers at last!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tulip ‘Uncle Tom’ got a mention on Gardener’s World from the Malvern Garden Festival this weekend. I also made a note of Tulip ‘Fly Away’ and Tulip ‘Slawa’ for next year’s bulbs, although the bulb list is already far too long!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ah, yes, my bulb list is a bit like that. And I still have all of this and previous years too! Question is whether I remove them from their pots and let them dry out before replanting in the autumn, or leave them in the pots!

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Lovely photos of your beautiful plants, Uncle Tom looks to be a very good tulip, love the heuchera too. Looking forward to your Dumfries House photos, lucky you to be able to visit!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. T. ‘Uncle Tom’ is a favourite, it has such a rich colour and works well with so many other tulips. Dumfries House is just 45 minutes from home, Pauline, but our last visit was just before the pandemic. So glad it was a lovely warm day. The photos are off the camera now and I’ll take a look at them tonight. 😊

      Like

  10. Oh what a stunning photo of the bee perched atop the centaurea Catherine! It’s been a beautiful week here too with trips to a local garden and to garden centres too as well as time spent in the garden 😂 The rain arrived tonight. Belated birthday greetings to your husband.

    Like

    1. Thank you, Anna. Your past week sounds as though it was very similar to mine. I hope this week is as good to you. We also have rain and thunder, but it should clear up overnight. Hope you have another good week!

      Like

  11. Oh, I know what you mean about the garden pulling you in when the weather is perfect. We’ve had several days like that lately, too, and the extended forecast looks perfect. So, I’m spending much more time out there. Yay! Your images are stunning (as usual). I’m glad you had a pleasant weekend, and I’ll look forward to your coverage of your visit to Dumfries House.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s great to able to get outside in decent weather to do some gardening, Beth. Good to hear that you’re finding the same. We’ve had a few days of heavy rain, but it’s starting to clear away now and I’m sure the gardening tool will be back out tomorrow!

      Like

Comments are closed.