PotsandPlots

I managed to get into the garden a reasonable amount this week as we had 3 consecutive days of non-wet, and even a day or so of real warmth. Normal damp service was resumed on Friday, so my pictures are on the soggy side.

Six on Saturday is curated by Jim at Garden Ruminations, and you can find the participation guidelines here.

1: My miniature cherry tree has come into full blossom and is joy to behold outside the back door. This week, I read Georgi Gospodinov’s Death and the Gardener, which is about the death of his father.

It opens with the line, “My father was a gardener. Now he is a garden.”

I’ve mentioned before that my dad was a keen gardener, and, as some of his ashes are in this pot, he too is now a garden.

2: Sticking with my dad, this pulminaria came from his final garden. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but when I was sorting out the house to be sold, there were a few growing, and I dug one up to bring home with me.

3: I have moved my Tête-à-tête put down the garden, and into this compost bin I bought and painted last year. It provides a focal point from the house, and the shock of yellow is very cheering.

4: You can just about make out the Tête-à-tête here. This picture is to illustrate that the lawn has had its first cut of the year. My lawn is pretty crappy, and I don’t look after it at all, but much like a freshly vacuumed carpet, it always looks better once it’s had a trim.

5: This month’s RHS magazine had a feature on climbing hydrangea, which are not plants I’ve considered before. I’ve been keen to grow something up our giant eucalyptus, but it’s a tricky place to grow things. I thought I’d have one more punt with this evergreen hydrangea seemannii. Gardening is often experimenting and seeing what work but if this fails, I’ll give up!

6: One thing my dad rarely did was grow things from seed. I can see why, as he worked long hours, and frankly, growing stuff from seed can be a pain in the bum. Nevertheless, I can rarely resist trying out a few packets.

I don’t have any labels, but I did find a box of little European flags in the cupboard (I think from a previous Euro football tournament). I used them to mark which tray had what in and noted which is which on my phone. If all goes well, I guess you’ll be seeing more photos of these as we go through the year!

Netherlands – Purple Bell Vine 

Spain – Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy

Poland – Foxgloves (I’ve noticed the Polish Flag appears to be missing in the photo, but looking at the trays now, I can see it poking out)

Turkey – Thunbergia (seeds collected from last year’s plants. I’ll be interested to see if they germinate)

Swiss – Cosmos Rubenza

France – Cosmos Antiquity

Belgium – Cosmos Purity.