Sweltering

Published on by Catherine

It’s just a quick post from me today as I’m heading out to a Family History Event. It’s been a hectic week, and tomorrow my daughter and her family from Aberdeenshire will be arriving for their annual July visit. I know they are hoping for better weather than we had last year, but I think there might be rain from Monday onwards. Today, it’s going to be hot, or perhaps ‘sweltering’ might be a more descriptive word; perhaps it’s best that I’m going to be indoors for much of the day!

Before I have to rush off, here’s this week’s Six on Saturday!

Hydrangea ‘Pink Annabelle’. After some very heavy rain last weekend, I popped into the garden to find ‘Pink Annabelle’, which has recently started to flower, bent over and leaning on my bistro table.

A wet ‘Pink Annabelle’

It soon perked up! Pretty, isn’t she!

All dried out

Philadelphus ‘Virginal’ (Mock Orange). It’s beginning to go over now, but I think this plant has reached its maximum height of 3m (10ft). Too tall to prune and too tangled among the Berberis, it’s going to need serious attention in autumn. I think the Berberis will have to be sacrificed.

  • Philadelphus ‘virginal’
  • also known as Mock Orange

Clematis with Self-seeders. Papaver ‘Lauren’s Grape’ has flowered and is now producing pretty pepperpot seedpods, and, along with self-seeded Feverfew, looks good growing in front of this purple clematis.

Poppies, daisies and clematis

Rosa ‘Bonica’. There are several ‘Bonicas’ in the garden, but this one has grown from a cutting taken some years ago, It’s now a large bush and is smothered in these gorgeous flowers. It sits outside my study window and I’m always happy to stop and look out at it.

Rosa ‘Bonica’

Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’. The Heleniums appear to be flowering a bit early this year. This one has lost its label but I’m sure that it’s Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong!

Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’

Helenium ‘Wesergold’. I bought this helenium in a small 1.5 litre pot in April 2024. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to plant it so it was moved to larger pot and only planted out about 6/7 weeks ago. I didn’t expect too much from it this year but it has exceeded my expectations as the plant has flourished to produce a host of gorgeous yellow flowers. This one is a keeper.

  • Helenium ‘Wesergold’
  • Golden-yellow flowerheads with brown disk florets
  • Great for pollinators

Jim at Garden Ruminations hosts Six on Saturday and it’s there that you can see what’s going in other folk’s gardens. Be sure to go to Jim’s site for a look over many garden fences.

My family’s visit means that I won’t be able to join you next week – the garden and photographs will have to step aside for a week, plus some.

I hope you’re all coping with the heat that’s predicted to have a ‘feels-like’ temperature of 30C in my area over the weekend. I realise that this could be cooler than what you are experiencing, but, even so, it’s much too hot for me! I’ll catch up with your gardens later today/tonight or tomorrow.

Have a fun weekend and don’t forget to apply lashings of sun screen! 😎

Catherine x

25 thoughts on “Sweltering”

    1. Thanks Rosie. My family arrived this afternoon and typically the weather is to break tomorrow with thunderstorms, heavy rain and sunny intervals!! We should all be used to this by now. 😆

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  2. Here, my hydrangeas are dipping a little, because of the heat and dehydration and not the rain. Philadelphus very pretty, and with a wonderful fragrance, isn’t it! The conclusion after reading your Six is that I’m not growing enough heleniums because I must say that the variety ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ is very pretty

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    1. We have rain just about to arrive, Fred so I expect the plants will pick up again soon. I hope you get some of that soon too. I agree with you about ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’. 😊

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    1. Thanks, Graeme – the family history open day was worthwhile going to. I managed to get a one-to-one tutorial where I learned to use exciting new AI features that have been recently introduced.

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  4. Oh my, dear ‘Pink Annabelle’, you are a beauty. You are much more beautiful than all the pure white ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas that are so prevalent in my neighborhood. I am wishing for 30 C in our forecast.

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    1. It is a rather lovely hydrangea, isn’t it. We’re expecting cool and wet weather from tomorrow- back to normal summer weather! I hope 30C arrives soon in your area! 😊

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    1. I lifted the heleniums late last autumn and kept them in pots in a sheltered part of the garden – only because I wanted to move them elsewhere in Spring. I was quite surprised that they got through the winter.

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    1. You can probably grow many plants that I can’t, Noelle. I feel the heleniums have flowered too early this year and I wonder if they’ll be able to keep on going until autumn. Hope you get some much needed rain, soon. 🌦️

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    1. Ah well, what can we say about the weather! It seems there will be rain all day tomorrow so the gang are heading to the cinema to see the new Superman movie. 😆
      Sorry to hear about your hydrangea. 🙁

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  8. That is very warm for you, isn’t it? 30C/86F actual temperature is kind of normal for us this time of year, but it’s definitely warm. And lacking adequate rain it can be even more challenging. Your plants look beautiful, as always, though. The Roses and Hydrangeas are especially lovely! I hope your temps will come down a bit and you’ll get some precipitation. Enjoy your time with the family. 🙂

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    1. Yes, it’s unusual, Beth – but it was short-lived. The rain has arrived and temperatures have dropped. The rain overnight was very heavy and there are not many good-looking roses left on the bushes. There’s plenty of buds, so all will be well!

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  9. Mock Orange has survived the decades and quite rightly so. I remember it as one of the commonly available shrubs back in the 1960s. Unless you specialised, there wasn’t much available then. Thanks to the plant breeders, you can get doubles and even patio plants now.

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    1. You’re right – it’s amazing the number of different varieties of all types of plants available now. I have another smaller Philadelphus ‘Snowbelle’ that is very pretty though it has finished flowering now.

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    1. Thanks, Helen. Last week the forecast said that the weather here this week, would be lovely, with heaps of sunshine, but less heat than we had over the weekend. Sounded great!! But alas, forecasts are only to be taken with a pinch of salt. At least the garden has had sufficient water dropped on it over the past few days to last it for quite some time! But…it’s lovely to have the family here!

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  11. What a lovely selection, your Hydrangea and clematis are gorgeous and I have Bonica too and think it is a lovely rose. I bought one and then did 6 more cuttings and so far only one has died.

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  12. It was definitely sweltering yesterday Catherine and very much a day for indoor pursuits! ‘Lauren’s Grape’ looks beautiful with that purple clematis in the background. Your helenium could well be ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ but hard to tell from just seeing one flower. I’ve grown it for a while and the individual flowers can be quite different in colouring. It can flop a bit in very hot weather so mine had a good drink late yesterday evening.

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  13. I agree, Annabelle is very pretty. 😃 I really love the yellow Helenium too Catherine. I planted a yellow one in spring (I also have the orange Sahin’s…. looks pretty much the same as yours) but it has all but vanished…. slugs? Anyway, if I see this one I’ll give it another go next year. It has a German name, so I must come across it somewhere. Have a great week with family!

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