Six on Saturday – Ennui

Posted byofftheedgegardeningPosted inChez Nous, Six on SaturdayTags:, , , , , , ,
Allium triquetral

Six on Saturday here we go again, all good friends and jolly good company.  Although I’m not feeling “jolly good company” this week.  On the contrary, I am rather uninspired.  Dull.  Boring.  Bored.  Perhaps a little bit grumpy.  But only a little.  Maybe I should ring in sick, but then again I’m away next weekend and it might look suspicious.  I can’t even think of anything cheeky to say about our leader The Propagator, other than he is our leader and of course that he is gorgeous (believe me flattery works every time).  I’d better just get on with, sitting here at the dining table, typing away within one hand whilst making a chilli for tea with the other, neither with much conviction.  OH is watching the rugby and shouting at the ref/touch judges/players/anyone who looks vaguely in his direction, his conviction never waivers.

On to the first photo.  This is no exotic bloom, but our very own, introduced invasive weed, the three-cornered leek, Allium triquetral.  I have no idea how it got into the garden, and although he denies it, I have my suspicions who smuggled this ferocious monster onto my patch. *follow my eyes to the hollering mad man on the sofa*.  It was looking rather lovely in the sunshine yesterday.

Papaver

Thank you to everyone who enquired as to the well-being of Simon the poppy, who had the misfortune to grow smack bang in the middle of the builder’s M4 motorway.  “Everyone” amounted to the grand total of “no one”.  As you can see, he is looking healthy and happy.  For all you lot care.

Sophora

Now we have Sophora microphylla which suffered terribly at the teeth of various beasts of 2018.  It has limped along ever since, like a horticultural Tiny Tim.  I am very pleased that it has gathered the strength to attempt a little flowering.  God bless us every one.

Exchorda macrantha

My relationship with Exchorda x macrantha ‘The Bride’ is turbulent.  Most of the year I am not enamoured with this tumblesome, unruly shrub, but as soon as the blooms begin I fall back in love.  A little bit of die-back there needs sorting, anyone know a good gardener?

hyacinth

I spotted this hyacinth skulking amongst the foliage of the libertia.   These loose panicled blooms are stunning, the iridescent blue of the bells perfectly set off by the midnight stems.

Salvia gesneriifolia

Lastly the Salvia gesneriiflora has just begun flowering.  Bang on cue, “late winter, early spring”.   But it was worth waiting for.  Furry.  Red.  Giant.  This was the one of the plants that I was unable to resist when I attended the Hardy Plant Society AGM last March.   I’m so pleased that my willpower is so weak.

I made it!  Now I’d better join in the shouting …….

33 thoughts on “Six on Saturday – Ennui”

  1. S. gesneriiflora is one of the species that I so wish I could grow, but there’s probably no hope. Too cold in winter and probably too hot in summer. I have to make do with ‘Amistad’ which is supposedly one of its offspring.

    Your gesneriiflora is lovely. Three cheers for lack of willpower.

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  2. Err, my good luck card for Simon must have got lost in the post. I’ve not heard of the three cornered leek before. Its leaves are rather fetching! The hyacinth looks almost iridescent.

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  3. I have a ton of the three-cornered leeks in my garden! They seem to seed themselves without regard to anything else, but fortunately easy (if somewhat smelly) to pull up. I might even try cooking with them this year. Your Salvia is very pretty, the colour is similar to my Pineapple Sage which is languishing in the conservatory. It flowered beautifully in December, but I think it needs cutting back now before it goes to spend the summer outdoors. I do hope you are feeling less grumpy. Time for that when you get old!! 😉

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  5. When I first came to Cornwall and encountered Allium triquetrum I thought it was lovely and put some in the garden. I realised my mistake quickly but it must be one of the hardest weeds of all to eradicate. That Salvia is a must have, I must have it. And people keep putting up pictures of Hyacinths, which I would have said I disliked, but now I’m not so sure.

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  6. If this is your grumpy mood I would love to see you in high spirits! Your posts always make me smile! Simon is looking very happy! I think he knows you are looking out for him…….can he be moved to your garden? Now about that leek, I am afraid I would be guilty of putting it in the garden too it really looks healthy and lovely!

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  7. Sophora microphylla looks so much like a NZ Kowhai. How can yo be growing one of those in England? I tried to germinate seeds of Exchorda bought online, but sadly none of them grew so much as a leaf.🙁

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  8. The Bride is just such a lovely name for a plant and I can see why you fall in love with it again albeit only briefly. I feel a bit like this about Spireas and Philadelphus in our garden. Like the first flush of love their beauty is transient (is that a bit gushy for a Sunday morning?)

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    2. Now then Gill, cheer up. There, I should be a doctor, I have an excellent bedside manner. I hope you soon dispense with the ennui and get back some joie de vivre.

      I have macrantha, it’s a crap shrub. I might dig it up. It’s a right droopy drawers.

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  9. I envy the size of your garden! It must be exhilarating to have such a large estate that, after residing within it for so long, you still find “new” things planted by the previous occupant. Lovely two-tone blue too! I do hope that you haven’t added a sore throat to your grumpiness. All that shouting for nothing. 🙂

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  10. Another lovely post to inspire us all to get out there and have a look, never dull nor boring.
    I will not be planting any three-cornered leeks and my very best wishes to that poppy. Have the builders finished so that he can get some peace? And commiserations to OH unless he is a Wales supporter.

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  11. It was a great match yesterday ( Wales-England), I don’t know how was the end of the day because of the team supported by your husband but one thing I’m sure of is that even if you are morose , I have a good time in the late morning with these beautiful colorful pictures (salvia!)

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  12. Oh dear, how can you feel down in the dumps when February is surprising is with such glorious spring weather? And you have such a lovely sophora? I feel like doing cartwheels all round the garden, it’s so beautiful in the sun.

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  13. I think that those leeks (which we know only as wild onions) just have a way of spontaneously appearing in the garden, like the Big Bang on a much smaller scale. Even though they are pretty, I dislike them intensely, like that yellow oxalis that is so impossible to get rid of. Someone suggested finding a culinary use for them, such as pickling them like small onions. I do happen to believe that the bland vegetables excel at absorbing the flavors of whatever they are pickled with. If you have only one, it is of course best to get rid of it now instead of just tolerating it until it spreads. Well, I don’t need to tell you that.
    Are you still slightly grumpy? This was two days ago. How effective is the flattery business on mild grumpiness? Rhody adores your yellow boots by the way . . . even though dogs do not see color . . . or wear boots. Anyway, he thinks they are totally rad!

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  14. Dear Gill, I composed a very long comment to you over two days and when I posted it this morning WordPress apologised (not very profusely) and said it could not be posted. In short, I love your flowers and I’m glad all is well again!

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