It’s Saturday, it’s May, the sun has come out and it’s time for Six on Saturday. I haven’t had a moment this week to be outside, and won’t next week as travelling again, but there is no excuse to get out on this sunny Saturday and do some tidying up. Thanks once again to The Propagator for allowing us to share what is going on in our gardens.
First up, it is, of course, autumn. There are a fair number of leaves to sweep up and twigs to pick up.
The camellias beside the house are really beginning to bloom. Such lovely pink flowers to brighten up the day. Both our camellias have buds, but always flower later than our neighbours’ bushes. It is lovely to have these on the edge of our garden.
Yes, the next bowl of bulbs is showing spots of green. I am definitely delaying planting the next batch for a couple of weeks.
Round the back of the house, the magnolia is telling us it is autumn. I can hardly wait for the flowers again which usually appear around August.
Moving indoors, the two cyclamen plants are looking lovely. We have had a few sunny days, which has meant a bright and warm spot for the plants upstairs.
I am totally obsessed with keeping my basil plants going. This is one of them, enjoying the afternoon sun. None of them is looking particularly perky, but they are still providing some leaves to add to tomatoes, feta and other good things.
So that’s it from me. Looking forward to seeing the spring gardens in the northern hemisphere!
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram@thistleandkiwis. As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
The magnolias round me are just finishing blooming. Been stunning for the last month and now the rhododendrons are taking over. Though neither are really hardy enough for the conditions so spend the rest of the year looking sad.
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Magnolias are so gorgeous. Hope you enjoy them and the rhodos. Which part of the world are you in?
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I’m in the North East of England on the coast. Cold, wet and strong salty sea breezes leave a lot of planting options with leaf scorch. Need hardy plants.
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Oh I can well imagine. I used to visit Saltburn a lot when my aunt was still alive. Lovely part of the world.
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How funny, to me at least, that your camellias are flowering in autumn. What a fantastic world we live in and so clever those plants!
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As I mentioned to Jim below, we have flowers of some sort all year round. I love it.
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I’ve no luck keeping basil going, either indoors or out, & I love the taste! Any suggestions would be well received. Glad to see the 2nd bowl has started to come through!
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In the late spring/early summer I kept the basil inside at night but left it outside during the day. It is still about 17/18C here during the day, but much colder at night. It will be interesting to see how it survives over the winter!
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Beautiful camellias and your basil looks good enough to pick.
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That basil plant is OK but the other one is already a bit sad. I’m watching them carefully!
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Are your Camellias sasanqua varieties or early flowering williamsiis? I was just counting off the months on my fingers and you are the equivalent of early November here, when the only thing flowering would be sasanquas.
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I’m not sure – I think (at least after googling) they might be the sasanqua but I really don’t know. It is still 17-18C during the day here, and we don’t get a frost where we are. We seem to have flowers all year round here, which I found so different when we first moved down here.
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Your camellias look so healthy. Basil is always a challenge to keep some in the pipeline ready for use. You’ve just reminded me I ordered some purple basis seeds so must get them planted.
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Basil is a challenge I agree, Good luck with your purple basil seeds!
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Flowers all year round! And a prime minister worthy of the title! Might move there myself…
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Move to Cornwall! Though sadly we share the same PM 😦
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😀
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I have not been able to keep basil growing through the winter. Being an annual it will eventually flower and set seed, but I guess indoors you could grow more from seed as long as it is in a warm place. Strange to hear you talk about Magnolias and Camellias as we still have some in flower here!
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I have accepted it won’t last….but will keep going just now and then get some more seeds for the spring I think. I saw a rhododendron coming into flower in the Botanic Gardens yesterday….must be a special variety I think.
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