Six on Saturday 16.10.21

Where has time gone this year? It is only 10 weeks to Christmas and so only a bit less time to the longest day of the year. It is Super Saturday today in New Zealand, a day with the aim of getting as many people who haven’t been vaccinated, vaccinated. According to the Ministry of Health website, 62% of the population is now fully vaccinated, with 83% having had at least one dose. Let’s see how today goes. Anyway, the sun is shining today after some cold, wet weather earlier this week, so all is good. Thanks to The Propagator who encourages us to share what is going on in our gardens in all parts of the world. Check out the participant guide if you want to join in. Photos taken on Wednesday, Friday and today.

There has been a huge amount of sudden growth all over the place this week. While some of this is obviously welcome, it also means a lot more weeds, The shady side of our house though is looking so lush and verdant, with a few hellebores still to be seen, lots of bright blue ajuga and strong signs of a good future display of alstroemeria. Those little violet weeds are also spreading…but honestly the place they are in is pretty inaccessible, so they will just have to stay. At least they look pretty.

At number two this week, herb corner part one. There are lots of chive flowers at the moment, and I have taken to adding them to salads. The rosemary really needs to be re-potted (garden centre visit needed!), the rue looks like it has tripled in size in a week (slight exaggeration there…but you get the picture!) and one of the sage plants is also in flower.

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At number three, this little surprise popped up to gladden the heart. I have new edible viola seeds to plant this coming season, so you will be seeing more of them I imagine in the weeks and months ahead. I also found, when I was tidying up this afternoon, a hyacinth bulb that I could not find to plant when the time was right. You just never know what you might discover!

At number four, the gorgeous red flowers on the pineapple sage. I did read that some salvias flower in New Zealand in the late spring, so obviously this is what has happened here. Apparently you can scatter the flowers on salads, though I have yet to try.

At number five, two randoms that I love, lavender and wild strawberry, the latter of which is covered in flowers. It is, like most things in our garden, in a pot, but seems quite happy at least in the spot it sits in.

And finally, the rhododendron, which is full of flowers. I just love the contrast of the bright pink with the blue skies, which you can see clearly in the featured image at the top of the post.

As usual, I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s beautiful gardens in other parts of the world. Hope you are all well and enjoying your gardens in whatever the season is with you. Featured image at the top of the post this week is one of my favourite flowers, the hellebore, which are still going strong.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.  As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days.  If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com