I’m back again for Six on Saturday now that my visiting family have returned home. The house is quiet except for the whirring of the washing machine as it deals with the mountain of towels and the heaps of bedding outside each bedroom door. I’m doing my best to ignore it all, because the garden is calling me back.
The garden is heavy with colour right now, but individual plants, and in particular, the roses, are damaged by the heavy downpours of the previous week. I haven’t had the time to get round everything with pruners to tidy them up, but before my family returned home, my daughter and my 14 yr old grandson son spent an afternoon in the garden deadheading the roses. Alas, more heavy rain has thundered down since then and now I’m having to repeat the process by myself.
Here’s my selection of six photographs for Six on Saturday.
Cosmos ‘Sweet Kisses’. There are few cosmos flowers in the garden this summer. I made a big effort this year to sow a variety of cosmos seeds, most of which, germinated. But between one thing and another, the majority of plants didn’t get out of their 9cm pots and into the ground. I know…a shocking waste. The colours and shading of ‘Sweet Kisses’ are gorgeous though.
Salvia viridis (annual clary). Two types of salvias were sown earlier this year, but sadly, S. ‘Oxford Blue’ were unsuccessful and I was left with only pinks. The seeds ordered were ‘Pink Lagoon’ but this looks more like ‘Pink Sundae’. I’ll put up with it for this year.
Wee bee. I was photographing the fuchsia when this little bee crawled out. It didn’t hang about to let me get a closer, second shot. The fuchsia bush is looking nice though.
Hydrangea ‘Red Annabelle’. This new ‘Annabelle’ didn’t flower at all last year, but just when I’d about given up hope for it this year, it didn’t let me down and produced four flowers. There’s very little difference in colour from ‘Pink Annabelle’, but I’m happy to see it flowering because I know there will be many more, and stronger, next year.
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Velvet Flame’. Last autumn, knowing that I lose my rudbeckias every winter, I lifted them and put four in the cold frame and three in the greenhouse. All three from the greenhouse made it through the winter, all four in the cold frame, died. Below is one of the survivors.
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Romance’. There’s not a lot that I can add to that which I’ve mentioned above, except that I adore the colours of ‘Enchanted Romance’ especially when the flower starts to fade and a huge range of colours appear, softening the image. The third survivor is the same as the one above, ‘Enchanted Velvet Flame’.
Six on Saturday is hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations. Be sure to pop over to Jim’s website to find out what’s growing in gardens near and far.
It’s been a nice week here, with dry, calm, and warm but not too warm weather—just perfect. I wish it had been like this when my family visited; they had some dry days, but a few more would have been better.
Next week’s Six on Saturday will take us into August, late summer, when we’ll start ordering bulbs, cleaning pots, and potting up our tender perennials. Each season brings new tasks just as we’re starting to relax and enjoy the plants blooming in our borders.
Have a good weekend – I hope our unpredictable weather is being kind to you!
Catherine x
Notes From My Garden 
A beautiful colour coordination again this week. I tell myself that every time I don’t sow enough summer flowers, and rudbeckias are definitely flowers I should think about adding.
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I’ve been saying for years, Fred, that I’m cutting back/stopping seed sowing. Recently I’ve taken out half the staging in the greenhouse, purely to encourage me to stop! The garden is changing in an effort to cut back on the amount of work we have to put into it. Perhaps by next year I’ll be looking at yours and admiring all the lovely flower in your garden. Enjoy your holiday. 😊
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The washing will wait:-) I always make the most of the days when the lure of the garden is very strong. The rudbeckias are beautiful and I love the cosmos, it’s so very pretty.
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It’s still waiting, Helen! 😁 The weather is changing and I still have many projects, started, but needing to be finished!
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Wonderful red Rudbeckia, Catherine.
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Got to admit I’m pleased with them, Rosie (especially if I can overwinter them again this year!) 😂
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Lovely flowers! Why do you lose your rudbekia every year? I can’t believe that it gets too cold for them, unless these cultivars are wimpy compared to the straight species… Is it too wet for them in winter? It is a great color – the usual color gets boring after a while, ho-hum, another yellow flower…
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Rudbeckia hirtas are usually grown as an annual here, even though described as a short-lived perennial. They’re frost tender and need some protection over winter (as you say, – wimpy!). I think the combination of cold, wet and clay soil is too much for them. I’ve thought about putting a cloche over them, but doubt if the cloches would survive the winds we have! There are more varieties in the ‘Enchanted Series’ and I have my eye on a couple of them for next year! 😁
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You are so lucky having had that amount of rain. We have only had very limited rain, and it was quite strange going for a walk with friends about twenty miles north of here, where the fields were green, they obviously benefited from the passing clouds. No problem drying all the washing outside here!
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The rain is one of those things that come under the definition in my part of the planet of ‘too much of a good thing’ Noelle. 😁 I shouldn’t complain if the rivers and reservoirs are full and the fields are full of crops! There are just some times we feel we need a break! Next week is looking dry for the most part, I hope that you get some rain soon where you are.
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Cosmos ‘Sweet Kisses’ is a very lovely indeed and I really like the pink Clary Sage. My blue lot have been a bit of a disaster this year. The weather has been very unpredictable this summer! It’s suddenly started blowing a gale here.
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The weather continues to be a challenge and there’s no doubt that weather patterns are changing, Graeme. I’m already wondering what this winter will bring. It’s relatively calm here at the moment, but the windmills are still turning, (I can see three from my house) and I expect a certain US leader, who is busy golfing just ‘down the road’ will still be demanding that we ‘get rid of the windmills’! I disagree.
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Oh, is his golf course nearby?! Good to see there have been some protestors out there!
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He’s at Turnberry, a few miles outside Ayr. Tomorrow Aberdeenshire will have the privilege of having him, where he’ll be meeting the FM, PM and playing more golf at his other course at Menie. 😐
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A lovely six. I haven’t even come across Pink Annabelle, never mind Red Annabelle. It’s gorgeous. And I need to look into the beautiful R.Enchanted Romance’ and ‘Velvet Flame’ I love the colours.
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Thank you, Chloris. I’m sure you’d love Pink (or Red) Annabelle. They’re lovely airy plants and very trouble-free.
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Oh, I know what you mean about ignoring laundry and other “indoor” tasks in favor of gardening and outdoor “tasks.” I grumble about the former, and lose myself in the joy of the latter. 🙂 I must tell you that I actually smiled while viewing your lovely photos of your beautiful blooms. Thank you. All are stunning, and I am going to scroll back through to view them again.
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Thank you, Beth. I appreciate your comments. The indoor tasks are still waiting, but the laundry is finished! 😆
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The colors of the blooms you have chosen for your photos are so appealing. I particularly like the ‘Pink Annabelle’ and the Rudbeckia. I usually grow yellow Rudbeckias. They are reliable perennials.
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Thank you, Richard. I usually have yellow Rudbeckias in the garden too, but not this year as the seeds failed to germinate. 🙁 I think I might just buy a couple of plants next time round! 😁
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Your cosmos look very much like Velouette, which I was supposed to have, but they aren’t. I’ll have another go at growing my own from seed next year. And the Rudbeckias are gorgeous. I brought the same ones a couple of years ago for the late summer border, but they didn’t survive the winter.
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Velouette is also a gorgeous cosmos. It’s so frustrating when your purchase turns out to be something other than what you paid for. I’ll dig up the rudbeckias again during autumn (well…I won’t personally dig them up…you can guess who will!) and keep them in the unheated greenhouse over winter. With my fingers crossed. 😁
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Gorgeous Rudbeckia Catherine! I have never tried to grow the non-hardy sort but am so tempted by those colours… I had no idea there are different varieties of Salvia viridis, having only ever seen Pink Sundae and Blue Monday on sale here. My ambitious sowing of annuals also didn’t produce much… it was simply so hot and dry when I had to plant them out, so I only have a handful of Cosmos too. But ‘Sweet Kisses’ is a nice bright one that no doubt stands out well. Have a good week catching up! 😃
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Thanks Cathy. I just hope that the rudbeckias continue to flower into Autumn. I’ll have to get out there this weekend and deadhead them, and give them a feed.
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Such a pretty cosmos Catherine. I love your rudbeckias which I remember from last year. I ordered three plants of rudbeckia ‘Enchanted Flame’ recently which arrived last week. The plants are really well established but sadly nearly all the flowering stems seem to have been removed. I’m hoping it was a deliberate ‘Hampton Hack’ and that there will be another flush of flowers. I’m wondering whether I should lift them in the autumn but this will not give them much chance to get settled in the ground 🤔
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