In my late teens, a few months after moving to Bristol, I returned to Cornwall for a first visit home. Whilst catching up with friends, someone commented that I was now “pale and interesting”. I interpretted this as he thought I looked ill. He was possibly right. This week’s Six on Saturday are pale and interesting, although none are, as far as I am aware, homesick.
First, we have Linaria ‘Fairy Bouquet’. As I am sure our Worshipful President The Prop, has a spreadsheet listing all entries in microscropic detail, double referenced, I would do well to confess that this little lovely has been featured before quite recently. This is a much paler seedling, and valiantly continuing to bloom, so doesn’t count.
Next we have a bonasi brugmansia. Brugmansia should not be bonsaied, it desperately needs to be repotted but the gardener has been lax. It is rather an embarrassment. The early morning dew captured on its hirsute foliage was an indication of the cold night. No frost yet though.
Now the ever delightful and diddy, Fuchsia microphylla. The common name is the small leaved fuchsia, although it is also small flowered. Pretty as a pixie picture. Try saying that after a pint of rough cider!
Next we have the skeletal remains of flower heads on the deep red hydrangea in the front garden. At the moment this shrub is holding new born, young, middle-aged and elderly flowers at the same time. I liked grandma the best.
Onto a rather tatty Salvia atrocyanea, doing its best in the circumstances. Blue flowers always make me a little giddy.
Lastly a magnificent tibouchina flower, but not the specimen featured last week in bud. I must confess to owning two plants, this one is Tibouchina ‘Groovy Baby’. Although not pale, it is very interesting and of course groovy, baby!
Stay safe and well my friends, I am especially thinking of those of you across the pond. Take care.
Off The Edge Gardening 
Ah, not so pale at all, but very interesting – the fuchsia, especially so!
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It is a lovely little fuchsia, one you could try, it would go very nicely with your gang!
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Groovy Baby is a great name! Beautiful flower too. I’ve grown Linaria ‘Fairy Bouquet’ for a few years now – one of my favourites. Lovely.
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Yes, I would definitely grow FB again, I must try and collect some seed from these. If I remember!
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Totes agree that Brugmansia should not be bonsaied. So pleased that you, instead, chose to bonasi yours – a definitely better typographical approach. 🙃 I’d suggest, though, that this is not the time to be transplanting specimens into larger pots. They’ll be OK as they are in their expectation of impending rhyddid. 🏴
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Quite! 😆 The problem is when you open we close and when we close you open. Was it something that I said?
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Ah … that this tibouchina flower is so gorgeous! The brug will never be able to be “bonsaified” but who knows, you will stabilize it until spring with its leaves? Mine are bared now and in they winter home.
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That is the plan, in spring it can go into a larger pot, I’ve got one set aside for the job.
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The Fuchsia microphylla is delightful as is the Linaria. My hydrangeas at showing almost every stage of flowering with some only just getting going and others well browned off
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The hydrangeas are as confused as the rest of us!
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The tibouchina is a wonderful colour. I’ll not be able to get Austin Powers out of my head now though.
I’ve got some bonsai Sedums (lifted but not replanted and dumped on the soil in a shady corner). They look rather cute , but I suspect they harbour ill will towards me for leaving them there.
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I suspect they will, eventually you will feel so guilty you will move them, until then I’m sure they will struggle on. Like the brugmansia. We are cruel aren’t we?
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I have a Fuchsia microphylla which goes by the name of ‘Cornish Pixie’ – never seems to stop flowering, but it is getting a bit tall so maybe needs a bit of a haircut come the spring. Your tibouchina is nothing like pale and interesting – more flamboyant and in your face!
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Yes they can get quite tall, can’t they? It is a great do-er and Cornish Pixie (should it be Piskie?) is a perfect one for your garden. Hope you are enjoying the OK-ish weather down there.
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Well it was nicer during the week, been grey this weekend and very wet yesterday. And I need to get the grass cut!
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I think your friend was trying to say that you had grown sophisticated!
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Bless you x
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Pitty as a pricksy pitcher; Priti as a pitsy prixture; you surely don’t have your groovy baby outside in this weather?
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Yep!
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Thanks for the linaria picture. You’ve helped me identify one of my mystery wildflowers. Love that diddy little fuchsia!
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Happy to oblige 🙂
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What a lovely Linaria and the Tibouchina is just gorgeous- there is plenty of colour in your six after all!
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I am coveting Groovy Baby – is it a granulosa? I took a picture of a gorgeous granulosa the other day…always amazed at what you must keep indoors in the winter or do you have a greenhouse?? Not pale all the way through, but very interesting…
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I have been trying to find out, I just bought it as T. Groovy Baby, nothing to say who its parents were. The other one is Tibouchina urvilleana. As for the winter, I wrap a bit of fleece around them and hope for the best. Happy days x
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Is that fuchsia also known as the Cornish Pixie? It is very similar. Mine is still going strong. Interesting Six-on-Saturday, quite a variety of plants.
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I am pretty certain this one is not Cornish Pixie, but it would be very similar, there are lots of cultivars that only their mothers could tell apart. Thanks Granny.
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How I love Fuchsias, and your little one is no exception.
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Thank you, hope all is good with you x
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I love it when I come across a new plant in SoS and your Tibouchina is a new one on me – I’m off to google it right now!
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And are you tempted?
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pale and very interesting, all lovely. It’s good to see so much variety in other SOS gardens, very inspiring.
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Thank you, yes we get to share some wonderful plants, it is a great gang to be in.
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I have never grown tibouchina though I feel I should, they look beautiful in your photos, and in the tropical border down at Rosemoor. Linaria ‘Fairy Bouquet’ is a new one to me, probably going on The List!
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I wonder if they leave them out at Rosemoor, or protect them insitu or just leave them to their own devices. They are tucked under the trees so they must help. The big one came from Lidl originally!
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All lovely, but I always envy you for being able to grow tibouchina. And not just one, but two.
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Pixie, fairy… and there’s that Diddy reference again! Not so much cider here as Baileys! That Groovy Baby is the business!
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‘Bonsai’ and ‘Brugmansia’ do not go together in the same sentence, unless someone says, “I removed the Bugmansia to get more space to display bonsai.”, or, “Bonsai is so much more interesting than the weedy and unwanted Brugmansia, which really should be cut down and burned and desecrated in the most tortuous way imaginable.” One of may annoyances on EBay is how everything, even palms and gladiolus, is labeled as ‘bonsai’.
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Now let me get this clear Tony, do you or do you not like bonsai? Only kidding, I also like things to be their true size, unless you are a bonsai master of course.
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Actually, I do not enjoy bonsai at all. It is too artistic for me. However, my Pa is a Bonsai Master in Washington. Because his name sounds like Tomayo, those who meet him for the first time are surprised that he is not of Japanese descent.
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