Six on Saturday 19.10.19

Spring is proving to be alternatively rainy and sunny. Just when you think it is safe to go out without a coat…the next day it pours down. It rained during the night, and I was unsure if I would even get outside this afternoon, but the sun came out and I was able to sweep the steps to the house (see featured image at the top of the post), do some tidying up and generally potter about. Thanks once again to The Propagator for allowing us to share what is going on in our gardens.

First up…there are still some gorgeous hellebores in flower, and the bugleweed is still looking good. The hebes are mostly fine (there are about 6, with some more covered in flowers than others), the anemones are at an end and the lavender is still gorgeous and attracting bees.

Next up, this wild strawberry (smultron in Swedish) plant I bought last week at the plant sale at the Katherine Mansfield House. I have put it into a larger pot for now but really need to find a good place for it. Fingers crossed I get fruit in the future.

What’s hot and what’s not….the small rosemary, the lemon thyme, the mint, the bee balm balm bergamot are all doing well. The lemon balm is not…the new growth seems to have faded. I don’t know what has gone wrong, but I may move it and see if that helps. The one surviving basil plant is not going to make it, so time to get some more (the lemon thyme below is slightly out of focus as there was a touch of wind and it just didn’t want to stay still).

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I’ve planted out the chillies and spread them to different locations (including two outside) to see what works best. I have had great success with chilli plants in the past, so fingers crossed as it has been a while!

There are several clumps of these violas around. You can see things were still a bit damp this afternoon from the rain during the night too. On a side note, I have planted some edible violas which I hope will flourish and be added to summer salads or mixed with cream cheese.

Finally, the rhododendron, that had been cut back earlier in the year, is flourishing and full of flowers as you can see. What a joy to behold.

As usual, I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s beautiful gardens in other parts of the world.

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