Category: Six on Saturday

Six on Saturday 2020 10-10

Published on by Catherine23 Comments

The warm September and early October weather has been appreciated, by me and by the plants, especially the roses. They’re not all looking good, some have succumbed to the advancing season and others to the effects of black spot, which has been awful this year. There are a few that are looking great, and although they’ve been shown on the blog in the past, I can’t let the season pass without allowing them another weekend in the limelight.

The warmer weather also brought back the aphids and I’ve been trying to squish as many as possible when I see them, but it’s turning cold now, and hopefully, that will finish them off because my gardening gloves have been getting into a terrible mess. Yuck.

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Six on Saturday 2020 03-10

Published on by Catherine38 Comments

There are times when gardening has to take a back seat, and I have two such afternoons each week. We had mixed weather again this week, some days heavy rain, others gloriously sunny. On two of those sunny afternoons we were back on the beach, and of course, the play park on the prom, with our two-year-old grandson, a little boy who has the ability to spread his own sunshine wherever he goes. I’m sure I could have been getting some plants and bulbs into the ground, and making the most of the good weather, but when you have a little person who waves, smiles and calls out ‘Hiya’ to everyone he passes, gardening jobs that you are desperate to tackle, become less pressing.

Every person we passed responded with a smile and a friendly acknowledgement and it’s nice to think that one little person’s warmth perhaps brightened up someone else’s day. We grown-ups could learn a lot from little children.

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Six on Saturday 2020 26-09

Published on by Catherine35 Comments

Our overnight temperatures dropped to 3C & 4C during the past few nights, and tonight is forecast to be a very cold 1C (33.8F). Brrr… I hope the dahlias can cope with this, it’s still September and I’d like to have them flowering in the garden for a few more weeks yet. I checked on D. ‘Chat Noir’ on Thursday evening when I went out to close up the greenhouse and I was so excited to see it covered in masses of buds – some ready to open. Just imagine what a display that would be if they were to open together…I can dream, can’t I?

This week, we have been treated to loads of gloriously sunny days and, in sheltered spots, it’s been warm too. I paid the nursery another visit (more below), sowed Continue reading “Six on Saturday 2020 26-09” →

Six on Saturday 2020 19-09

Published on by Catherine34 Comments
Garden Woes

We’ve just had a new fence built on one side of the garden, and it’s shared with a neighbour. We didn’t get much notice about the start date, so it was a bit of a rush to get trellis off and untangle multiple climbers. A few had to be cut back and dug up. It was a muddy boots job – this area is part of the already muddy and almost-empty border that’s due for replanting. The new fence is up but it has been problematic and not what I was expecting. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I can’t do anything about it, and I’ve moved on, I’m now trying to think of ‘the 10 best ways to camouflage a garden fence’.

New trellis will have to be put up, though I’m wondering if the rambling rose and two remaining clematis will be able to survive their current predicament. I’ve loosely tied them together and have them hanging on the fence…poor things, they currently have nowhere else to go. Continue reading “Six on Saturday 2020 19-09” →

Six on Saturday 2020 12-09

Published on by Catherine25 Comments

I’d love to share with you, photographs of my trolley full of fabulous plant acquisitions from my first visit to a garden centre since the start of lockdown – but alas my shopping list remained unfulfilled! I couldn’t possibly leave empty-handed, so I bought a Heuchera and a small packet of Iris reticulata bulbs.

It was pouring rain throughout this milestone visit, but my day did brighten when I met my sister there. I haven’t seen her (other than on Zoom) since early March, again due to lockdown. She brought me a dahlia from her garden, ‘Peach Brandy’ which also brightened up my day, but I failed to brighten hers as I forget to bring along the Continue reading “Six on Saturday 2020 12-09” →