Six on Saturday – Stormzy and Soggzy

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

Of course it was too good to be true.  Last week was the intruder, the uninvited guest who agitated the party, whipping up the mob, charming us into believing we could have better.  But we can’t.  This is the south-west of the UK.  It rains.  It blows.  We have residual webbed feet.   I should have known better than to raise my hopes.  But I did.  Now everything is back to type and I feel disappointed.  Which is why I am here, far too early for a Saturday morning, on the set of Carry on Screaming.  The wind outside is making ridiculously clichéd sound effects, sleep is impossible.

But let us not descend into melancholia, this blip is nothing that a bit of Six on Saturday can’t sort out.  This cure-all is distributed by Dr Prop, medicine man and snake oil supplier to the stars.  If you dare, pop over and see what it’s all about.

To begin we have apple blossom, of which there is an embarrassment this year.  Or should I say was?  I am wondering how much will remain after these gales.   Still, we rarely eat the fruit these tiny twisted trees produce.  The jackdaws will be remiss, they love their autumn apples.

Next we have a surprise, to me anyway.  As the label had been stolen by the fairies/broken/never existed I was under the illusion that in this pot lurked a bizarre root vegetable I had bought from Lidl a couple of years ago.  Apparently not.  I believe I can say without contradiction that it is a fuchsia.  Then it all came flooding back.  It is Fuchsia jantasensis and it has been languishing for a few years not doing anything of merit, definitely not flowering.   I can quite honestly say that it was not worth the wait.  Apparently it is quite variable in form.  Not sure this is its best incarnation.  The pollen looks like broken biscuits which is rather sad.

Now for a something with a little more potential. Osteospermum ‘JK’ is just about to come into flower.  Dependable, weed smothering, bright and beautiful.  Sound like anyone we know?

What now?  Oh yes, strawberry flowers.  Shall we take a moment?  I think we need it.  Imagine a sun-warmed plump strawberry, plucked straight from the plant in all its virgin glory, at best wiped on the leg of your shorts to remove any slug slime, sweet and fragrant.  Better have another one.   Fabulous.  That feels much better.

The photo is a bit blurry because it was raining when I took the photo, and the wind had already begun its torment.  The things I do for you!

This little tulip, Tulipa batalinii, was bought at Marwood Hill Gardens a couple of weeks ago.  One pot for me, one pot for my friend.  For some reason we thought they would be bright red, possibly because this is what we wanted and somehow by wanting them to be that colour it would materialise.  Wrong again.  This flower has been wide open and has now quite sensibly decided that the better part of valour is discretion.    It is rather pretty, with its green tinged edge.  But definitely not red.

A few years ago I saw a truly gob smackingly amazing lily on the television which went straight to the top of the Lust List, Lilium ‘Forever Susan’.   Deepest mahogany petals, the tips of which are orange, as if someone has held onto the ends as each were individually dipped.   When I spotted a pack in a garden centre I was very excited.  When I came to plant them I realised that they were Forever Linda and not Forever Susan.  Close, but not close enough.  Nice, but not nice enough.  I mustn’t muddy my love.

There we have it, another week completed.  Stay safe.  Remember the strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

38 thoughts on “Six on Saturday – Stormzy and Soggzy”

  4. We have wind & pestilence, but not strawberries. There is however, an abundance of ricinus, should life & this weather get too much for me. Image searched Forever Susan & just, wow. Do a Wandering Angus & go find her. True love should not be abandoned so easily. Not when it’s Susan.

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  6. I can see why you’re hurting Linda’s feelings. She’s not a patch on Susan. But you’ve got to feel sorry for her. Not everyone is as dependable, bright and beautiful as you. Plant that osteospermum at the end of a walkway. Then, if needs be, you will always have your own, personal osteopath. Now back to bed with you. I’m off to glue the blossom back on the trees.

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  7. Oh my! I was out at 4am checking the greenhouse as I heard an almighty crash but phew..all ok here. Bloody Sarah though…honestly what is she thinking of ruining the garden party? The apple blossom? What apple blossom…it came and went in a week and now it’s all over the garden. I’m there with your strawberry dreams; I bought 18 plants this morning from a plant sale. Have a great weekend.

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      1. OK with me, but I have noticed that when commenting WP assumes I am not logged in to my WP account, which is rather odd seeing as I have been creating and publishing my own posts! Perhaps logging out and back in might resolve the problem?

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  9. I’m digging up all the strawberry plants that I inherited in the raised beds. I did remove old ones and plant the stolons a year or so ago, but last year the slugs ate most of the berries so I’m going to take them all out. I might buy some for pots next summer. I rather like the ones with the deep pink flowers!

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  10. Could I have picked a better week to start planting up a bog garden? Strawberry plants next week. By which time my luck will undoubtedly have run out. Relieved you, and the roof, survived the storm.

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  12. I know you will give that Fuchsia a chance, you know how I love them. My poor hatschbachii is still in intensive care after the vine weevil attack, I can’t bear to lose it.
    Hope you have had a good siesta, it’s still windy here!

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    1. Still windy here too! I was concerned about my FH, out all winter in the front, but it is now shooting. I will take a cutting for you just in case. Do you thing the evil weevils are worse this year? And you are right, I will look after it, it might grow on me 🙂

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  14. I put Fuchsia juntacensis in a six on January 5th and it’s still looking really good now. The plant I took the cutting from never did much, seems like it needs to be young and vigorous to perform, a familiar story.

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    1. Top tip! I will take a cutting from this one when there is enough material. I think it has been stressed (through gardener neglect) into flowering with little if any new growth. I’ll send it to the in-house plant health spa and see what we can do. Thanks

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  16. Did you say something about strawberries? I forgot. I am just a short distance from Watsonville, the Stawberry Capital of the World. Apples are more important. Martinelli’s apple cider is made in Watsonville too, from locally grown apples.

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