PotsandPlots

A couple of weekends away on holiday, where I put away the blog and tried as much as possible to forget the internet existed. Many thanks were to my neighbour who kept my pots from becoming dusty wastelands.

The heat had become so much, that I’d become rather fed up with my garden. After a rest and reset I’m feeling much more kindly towards it. We’ve had some rain, and the nights are shorter. Autumn is on its way, bringing with it cooler air and the prospect of remodelling and fresh plans!

Not a lot here that I haven’t photographed before but I have noticed as the flowers fade foliage is coming to the fore.

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

1. We holiday most years in Bavaria, near Neuschwanstein Castle. In the local town, there is a shop that sells rusted metal artworks, including many animals (and christmas trees and Santas!). I have to resist buying out the shop on every visit.

I bought an ant last year, and decided I was going to add some more so I could have them marching across the top of my fence. I changed my mind at the last minute, picking up a stag beetle, a butterfly and just one more ant. I sort of wish I bought more ants to complete the effect, but I’m sure we’ll be back in a year or two.

2. Slight chewed hosta with banana and coleus. I do like coleus. I’ve tried to take cuttings in the past but they usually fail. This year I think I’ll save myself the effort and just buy a few new plants in 2027.

3. My Cobaea scandens was doing very well on my arrival home. The trumpets are shorter lived than I would like, but the vines have produced plenty of them.

4. More foliage. Ferns and maples. The red maple in the background is already turning an orange colour. I assume because of the heat its had to deal with this year. The one down the garden in a shadier aspect is looking more how I would expect it to in late August.

5. My seedling table has worked out pretty well, though I think slugs made a return in my absence as some seedlings had been eaten. I have some hollyhocks and honesty growing, but mostly the pots are dianthus carthusianorum. They seem to be ridiculously easy to grow from seed. I’ve planted quite a few in the garden and still have all these left. I may add more if the ground ever softens.

There’s also a few cuttings here, inspired by Jim. My variagated weigelia, and some hydrangea. I want to eventually remove the big hydrangea I have in the front of the house as it’s too hot for them. The cuttings I hope to plant in the shady parts of the back garden.

6. Finally, my indoor plants still enjoying their final days of summer.

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