Six on Saturday – Dibbers And Pringles

12th Seprember 2020.

Summer weather has returned and I’ve been basking and cycling in warm sunshine (not at same time), but September is a working month so I’ve continued the daily garden tasks as needed. In the meantime, there will be lots to savour. Here are just six. In fact they comprise this week’s Six on Saturday from last Thursday.

1. Many of the Begonias have put out new flowers as they bask in the same warm sunshine. This is a blurred yellow one.

2. There’s a very small Fuchsia that I keep forgetting about. It’s a mere 30cm in height and it is almost hidden between a fern and Bergenia. Rest assured it will be reduced in height as I intend taking three cuttings. These cuttings bring my total to 102. By end of the month I estimate there will be 126. After that, a second Cold Frame 2.0 would be required.

3. Strawberries are in reverse mode. They looked spent a month ago and now there’s a flush of flowers and a few small fruits. I neglected feeding so they won’t taste great. Likely, with colder nights and slower growth, they may not fruit at all.

Bitter rhubarb made sunny-day strawberry face the realities of life- and taste all the better for it. (Judith Fertig) 

4. Feeding the Osteospermums also fell by the wayside, but they are surviving. There’s just a few flowers because I also neglected dead-heading. I normally do not like purple but this is go h-álainn. What’s in between purple and pink? I’m artistically colour-blind.

5. When I went shopping for pringles and pasta I added this variegated Hebe. It seemed a shame to leave it behind. It was in a sad, very over-watered state so I tidied it up and placed into the Holding Area until I make room for it somewhere. I’m tempted to pop it into a large patio pot, but will most likely wait until March. Three cuttings will be taken, but to give them a fighting chance, I’ll wait a few weeks as it settles into its temporary home.

6. Persicaria and Campanula are peeping through on the rockery under the tall fuchsia. This photograph took first place in my garden competition this week. It was a private affair and I won easily. The prize is a two-night trip to West Cork. Social distancing and hand-washing will be a top priority. Some Guinness will provide essential protein after cycling.

In Other News

We’ve jumped the gun already, as we are in Kerry for a few days. I’m cycling 160km with friends, while Marion is buying plants and dibbers, but not pasta. Likely, I may be on my rothar even as you’re reading this. Truth be told, if you’re reading on Saturday, I’ll be on it long after you’ve moved on. Naturally, I thought to grab some garden photos midweek, put a few words together in advance and set everything to auto-post. That way I don’t waste Guinness-time.

My wife and I have completed a list of six garden visits which we hope to make between now and the end of winter. Each has a nice café/restaurant for lunch nearby and each has some interesting local loop walks. If weather is good we may even bring the bikes. Drive to X, cycle for an hour or ninety minutes, have some lunch and browse for a plant or a new dibber. Home then to a cozy warm stove.

South Kerry Museum, Kenmare?

That’s my lot for this week, a cháirde. I’ll be back with more an Satharn seo chugainn. In the meantime, please visit Mr. Propagator’s garden blog where you can find many more Six on Saturday offerings from around the world, together with details of how to participate if that’s your thing. I hope you have a great week, be it in the garden, the potting shed or elsewhere. Slán go fóill.

Pádraig.

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Six on Saturday – Guinness, Whiskey, Steak & Onions

There was birthday cake on Monday as I celebrated the beginning of my sixty-third trip around the sun. Steak and onions too, with a glass of red wine. The celebrations continued unexpectedly for most of the week, as I met up with friends for coffee (and cake), and had lunch and dinner out with family on Wednesday and Friday. Prior to all this I had been just skin and bone, and now there’s a bit of flesh on me! I’m told it suits me. Unfortunately, there was little time to think about my six this week, and so it is somewhat factual without the added extra bits. Anseo, mo chuid Sé ar an Satharn:

Ground Ivy is a handy hardy annual for a tub of summer colour, as the plant is primarily a variegated leafy one. I bought a few in 2018 and this year’s plants are their descendents. I will simply leave these in place over winter and get literally dozens again next year. They root freely and give a balanced look to several areas of annual colour.

Persicaria is a wonderful ground-cover plant that looks very uninteresting until the flowers emerge. I’ve got them tucked away under several of the shrubs on Joe’s raised bed, and it peeks through to surprise me. A native Himalayan plant, it is sometimes known as mountain fleece, smartweed or knotweed but not the dodgy dangerous one.

I was given this Astilbe as a gift last year, and it is nestled between two larger shrubs. I was unsure if it was in a suitable place, so rather than plant it, I left it in its pot just in case it would need to be moved elsewhere. Apart from having to drown it twice during the drought in May and early June, it is definitely happy where it is.

Lobelia cardinalis is one of my top ten plants. It will flower very shortly, and as soon as it does, you’ll know all about it! Once again, these remain in pots rather than in the ground. In that way I can move them wherever I want and move them away when they no longer look great. I have three, and they will be very suitable for dividing in early spring. Next year there will likely be nine, and at that point I will plant some in a pernanent position.

I rarely take photographs of the Agapanthus, and I know why. It just doesn’t present itself well for the camera. Indeed it is a beautiful plant to look at and is a definite addition to the rockery. It will remain in flower for a long period, and in addition to that, I leave the dead spikes in place through the winter. Perhaps that will be worth photographing.

This clinging Hydrangea was bought in an attempt to hide the ugly wall, which was built badly by my great neighbour and his friend. Lots of Guinness and whiskey went into the building of this ugly wall, so we decided to attach a wooden camouflage recently. The hydrangea doesn’t mind whether it clings to an ugly wall or a wooden fence attached to an ugly wall. In 2022 this will be a magnificent backdrop to the area, and in the meantime I will take some cuttings to multiply the stock.

That’s my lot for this week. I do hope you have a great week ahead, whether there be gardening or not. If you’ve a mind to, pop over to Mr. Propagator to read about many more gardeners writing their Six on Saturday. There may even be one or two who celebrated a birthday this week with cake, steak & onions.

Eating cáca milis and extending a birthday beyond a one-day event is very rewarding. I’m reminded that if weddings are becoming three-day events, why not go all out when one reaches the age of sixty-two? I did manage to write my daily garden challenge this week, which cut into my time. I’m glad I did so, though. Overall, it has been a very very good week. Here’s to more next week, but without the cake!

Instagram @growwriterepeat and personal account @padraigdeb58.

Pádraig,

Saturday, 18th July  2020