PotsandPlots

It has been great to have some cooler weather, and even some rain, although there’s been no time to let my guard down, as there is still very little water to be found in and around the garden.

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

1. My first year growing cosmos has only been a partial success. The seeds were very easy to germinate, but some I sowed too early in the year, and a fair number of my later sowings got eaten by slugs when I planted them out.

I do still have a few plants that have made it, though, so far, I have this one solitary flower. At least it’s a beauty. There are more on the way though, so perhaps next week cosmos might feature again.

2. I mentioned last week that I had a couple of leafcutter bees visiting the garden. I still haven’t been able to take a picture of either of them, as they don’t sit still for long enough.

I did find evidence of the plants they’d been visiting. One is a rhododendron, and the other a patch of weeds I was going to pull up, but will now leave so my small visitors may enjoy them.

3. In the wildflower bed, these hardy geraniums are flowering; there are quite a lot of them, and they look lovely, but it’s hard to capture them on camera. Instead, here is a less shy bee enjoying the flowers. This area is teeming with bees at the moment, as the eryngiums are flowering too, drawing them in.

4. Also coming into flower are these teasels, another bee magnet. The tallest one of these is now about 12 feet tall, and I’ve very much enjoyed having them in the garden.

5. This year has been a learning year. It’s probably the first time I’ve truly considered what I’m trying to achieve with the garden. That includes this planter, which I planned and purchased plants for accordingly. The calibrachoa is perhaps a little too dark, but otherwise, it’s looking pretty much exactly as I hoped.

6. More fortunate was putting this pot of purple petunia next to this potted clematis. Both are prolific and make a beautiful cascade down to the decking from our patio. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good!

That’s it for this week. See you next time, and thanks for looking at my #SixonSaturday