Here we are, another Saturday, another Six on Saturday. We are back home in Wellington, and happy to see that nothing suffered in our absence, except all the wild strawberries that were almost ripe had been eaten by one of our feathered friends. I hope they were enjoyed! At least there are quite a few more on the plant so hopefully I can get to them first next time around. Anyway, thanks once again to The Propagator for allowing us to share what is going on in our gardens.
First up, this rather nice bowl of marigolds, adding a lovely bit of colour. These ones I grew from new seeds, but last year, I collected a bunch of marigold seeds from old plants, and popped them into a spot near the bay tree and promptly forgot about them. I can see there are several seedlings, so I should get another small display in a few weeks. The seed packet seems to have disappeared, so I’m not sure which variety they are, but it is a ‘dwarf’ of some sort.
Next up, my herbs. I bought a lemon verbena, which seems to be doing nicely in a shady spot. The shaggy looking lemon balm is actually recovering, and I will need to repot it soon. The supermarket basil plant is doing surprisingly well, so I’ll just keep using the leaves until the autumn and not worry about it. Something has enjoyed eating the pineapple sage, so I have shifted it to a different part of the patio for now and will keep my eye on it.
At number three, well it is agapanthus time! If you have ever been to New Zealand at this time of year, you will see hundreds of them growing by the sides of the roads. They are not native of course, but just seem to love the weather and conditions here. There are really too many, but that blue colour is stunning (see the featured image above). We have some white ones at the side of the house, blue ones at the back, and lots of both colour everywhere around us.
Moving indoors, the chilli plants are doing fine, with one in flower, one almost in flower and one that needed a bit of encouragement. To be fair, it wasn’t in a particularly good place, and is looking much happier now it is in a brighter spot.
The small dill plant – another supermarket buy when I needed dill for a potato salad – is flowering, and so going to seed. I am going to wait and harvest any seeds and use them in pickling. Well, maybe! That is the plan at least.
Finally, I vowed I would not put any pictures of nasturtiums this week, but I can’t help myself. Here are two of this week’s beauties.
And that is all from Wellington for this week, where the weather has been very mixed, but all in the garden is blooming.
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
Thistles and Kiwis 
Great to see flowers and greenery. We are in the middle of winter so not much of that here. Thanks for sharing!
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Those marigolds are fantastic. I’ve not had much success with agapanthus. One plant finally flowered for the first time 2 years ago but last year not a single bloom. Fingers crossed it might flower this year.
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Agapanthus grow like weeds here… I am very pleased with the marigolds this year. Good luck with your agapanthus this year!
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The agapanthus are stunning! Lovely, colourful Six-on-Saturday . I’m sure I say this most weeks. but opposite seasons do cheer me up….at this time of year anyway!
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I find it interesting that your pots are never full of compost, yet your plants are so healthy. My potted plants’d be whining in harmony & sending roots out the bottom, if I did that. What’s your secret?
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I’m wondering if it is the angle of the photo?
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O, maybe that’s what it is, as you often take a shot from above. Here I was hoping for a secret recipe to be shared (but then it wouldn’t be secret, I suppose). Anyway, w/o the secret recipe, the flowers look just as good.
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Lovely photos, especially of the agapanthus. They have been blooming here as well. You do have a nice selection of herbs!
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Thanks!
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Gorgeous marigold flowers and so nice to see your first chilli flowers ! Mine have just sprouted …
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Yes I am very pleased with my chilli flower!
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Who can resist nasturtiums? Mine were glorious last summer and would have taken over the patio if I had let them. Pretty bowl of marigolds.
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Love the Nasturtiums and Chilis well done. I planted Aleppo Peppers and have a bad feeling I won’t see any!
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You might be lucky! Fingers crossed.
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The Agapanthus look amazing. I’ve got one pot of them that produced several stems of blue flowers that lasted ages. I was quite chuffed at the superb amount of flowers from one pot plus the Agapanthus I’ve had in the border. So, look forward to our coming summer display. Hoping to add to the collection this 2020 too.
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Good luck with your agapanthus. They really grow like weeds here. Happy gardening in 2020.
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These photos are a joy to see! It’s quite wet, windy and miserable here in the UK, so these are a colourful change. 🙂
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