A Floral Six

Published on by Catherine

We’re still being blessed with mostly dry, sunny and warm weather. We’ve had thunder, a few torrential downpours and heaps of sunshine. Friday was very warm, prompting my 10-year-old granddaughter to complain that it had been too hot for the school sports day! The teachers though, were delighted – it was a welcome change from rainy sports days that usually result in cancellation.

My garden has suddenly sprouted but it’s not only the flowering plants that love this weather – the weeds do too! I can’t believe the amount of weeds that have sprung up since last week! And now there’s abundant evidence of slugs and snails! The herbaceous plants are growing too big for their space – I should have predicted that and thinned them last Autumn, but here we are – I’ll have to lift a few here and there and put them in pots, otherwise the borders are going to be too congested throughout the summer.

Here is my selection for this week’s Six on Saturday.

Astrantia ‘Buckland’. This astrantia is an early-flowerer and I expect the others will follow over the next couple of weeks. Astrantia ‘Buckland’ has dusky pink flowers with green-tinged, silvery bracts.

Astrantia ‘Buckland’

Aquilegia. I think this is a McKana Purple Columbine. I’ve had it in the borders for many years, though the McKanas are described as being short-lived. It’s a very tall aquilegia that has been moved around the garden and divided a couple of times without too much fuss from the plant. One benefit of photographing close-ups is that the camera can see what the eyes often don’t – little white nasties crawling around the flowers – second photo, spotted when I zoomed in.

  • Aquilegia
  • Elegant buds

Tulips. There are two tulips left in bloom and I expect that they’ll be gone within the next few days. This one is the dark, sultry and dramatic ‘Palmyra’ which looks great against lily-flowered orange tulips. Alas, it was slow to bloom and all its orange companions have left the scene.

Tulip ‘Palmyra’

Tulip ‘La Courtine Parrot’. I’ve tried to love parrot tulips because they can add a fabulous arty look to the borders, but sadly, I haven’t found one so far that I can say I’m in love with. The colours of this one are exuberant and in the right setting I’m sure they’ll look spectacular.

Tulip ‘La Courtine Parrot’

Aquilegia ‘Kristall’. One lovely white aquilegia arose from the centre of a large clump of Forget-me-nots. It was made welcome.

Aquilegia ‘Kristall’

Two gorgeous Pelargoniums. The star of the show this week is Pelargonium ‘Australian Mystery’ but following hot on its heels is Pelargonium ‘Covina’ (second photo below) with similar colours, but not the fabulous ‘wings’ of Australian mystery. Both are Regal Type pelargoniums and I was very pleased to see them flower this week. All the pelargoniums are now in their final pots and sitting on my front doorsteps. I’m sure, as the others start to bloom, they will make an appearance here.

  • Pelargonium ‘Australian Mystery’
  • Pelargonium ‘Covina’

Jim of Garden Ruminations is the host of ‘Six on Saturday’. If you want to meet others who enjoy gardening, and they’re from all over the world, pop over to Jim’s blog. You can join in with comments or by linking your own blog with six photos from your garden!

That’s all from me this week. I hope you’re enjoying lots of sunshine! Happy gardening!

Catherine 😊

38 thoughts on “A Floral Six”

  1. I’m not really a fan of astrantia flowers but I must say that seeing how your photo turns out makes me want to grow them. I love the tulip Palmyra and of course the pelargonium which remains a mystery of beauty…

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    1. Thanks, Fred. Astrantias are very photogenic and look great when paired up with roses. I have a few in the rose bed – but they’re getting too large. I should have dealt with them last autumn. 😐

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    1. Thank you, Barbara, it’s a bold and lovely tulip, but just not a good fit for my garden. Perhaps next spring I’ll find one that works well with the rest of the planting.

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  3. Yes, it is all galloping along now. I smiled about the purple and orange combo that didn’t quite come to fruition, that has happened to me before, sometimes the plants just don’t play ball! Lovely pellies.

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    1. Thank you. 😊 More of the white aquilegia have flowered in a different spot. They’re fairly new to the garden but I think the plants will thicken up in time and put on a good show.

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        2. Interesting comment. I noticed we too, had an abundance of the self-seeding dark purple, despite there being pinks and whites, and a few shades between the two also nearby. The purple seems to be the dominate, so I began pulling those out to let the other colors heavily self-seed for a few years in an attempt to increase their numbers against the predominate purple. I struck gold and the idea has paid off.

          You should take Catherine’s advice and sow in a lot of the other colors you’d like to see. Give the new color choices a fighting chance against the purple by reducing the quantity of purple as competitors.

          You should see banner results. Good luck! 🙂

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  6. I still have a clump of red appeldorn tulips that were accidentally transplanted to the garden from their original location near the house. Because they are partly shaded, they are doing very well and the blooms still look good, but it will be hot today and tomorrow, so it will not last.

    I love the aquilegia, especially the white one in its forget me not setting. The flowers face upwards, compared to our native one that faces down. Really lovely pictures!

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    1. I haven’t seen red Appeldorns – I must look out for those. Some of my aquilegias face downward too, but the white Kristall, (grown from seed if I remember correctly) is a keeper.

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  8. Gorgeous photos Catherine. The Astrantia is lovely close-up. I really hope mine take off this year =- just planted three bare roots and I have noticed my older ones are making a come back! As for the pellies, that Australian ‘Mystery’ is the bees knees.

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    1. Thanks, Jude. I don’t think you can go wrong with six Astrantias. 😁 As long as you have the space. One of mine will have to come up this week, I think it was a self-seeder and it’s grown too large. I need its space for dahlias now!

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    1. Like most of my astrantias, Helen, ‘Buckland’ is getting a bit large for its spot – as are many other perennials. There’s going to have to be a lot of digging & dividing in autumn.

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    1. Thanks, Beth. I can easily say similar about your blog content – and your photos. Those of your woodland plants (especially the trilliums) are lovely! 😊

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    1. Pelargoniums aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, Graeme, but they seem to do well at the front of the house where they’re in full sun and shielded from rain. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by ‘Australian Mystery’.

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    1. The top step is always reserved for the leaf-scented varieties, Noelle. There’s one pot on either side of the door. Once fully grown they’re quite large and people brush past them and release the scent of the leaves. Those familiar with them always rub the leaves before going indoors and again when leaving.

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      1. I too love the scent of those pelargoniums, this year I ‘acquired’ ie the gardening club had a surplus of standard plug plant geraniums and to save a loss I bought them. However next year I shall focus on the scented ones.

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  13. The pelagoniums are the winners for me this week, such beautiful markings! Your photo of the white aquilegia has reminded me to buy some white seed for a new area that I’m doing which will be mainly blue and white. Lovely photos!

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    1. I like them too, Pauline. I love the shape of ‘Australian Mystery’ and its markings. I hope you get your white seed this week and I dare say we’ll all get to see the results of your new blue and white area in due course!

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  14. Love the Pelargoniums Catherine! And the aquilegia is beautiful too, especially between the forget-me-nots. It’s a jungle here too now after warm weather followed by rain. I just finished weeding and will start all over in a couple of days! LOL!

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    1. I’ve been busy this week pulling up the Forget-me-nots, Cathy. They normally come out so easily, but we don’t usually have such warm weather at this time of year, so the clay soil is baked hard. It’s proving a harder job this year. But the rain has now arrived and when it eventually eases off I can finish the job. Hope you get a decent break between weeding sessions! 😁

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  15. The weeds have been growing at a furious rate here too Catherine and after a warm spell today’s torrential non – stop rain will no doubt see all the molluscs come out to party. Astrantias are one of my favourite flowers. I have a few but I’m fairly sure that I haven’t got ‘Buckland’. It’s a gem so I must remedy that gap 😂

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    1. It rained here non-stop all day yesterday too, Anna – and more of the same today. My hostas will be reduced to lacework if I don’t get back out soon! 🐌 I hope it eases off for you soon.

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