Six on Saturday 14.05.20

Thistles and Kiwis,

I started writing this post this afternoon while waiting for an emergency plumber. The boiler which supplies us with hot water has sprung a leak, so looks like cold showers for a few days. This is not something I am looking forward to with any enthusiasm as it really feels like autumn now, with a couple of chilly days this week to remind us of the season. Anyway, we have heating and water and it is time for Six on Saturday when The Propagator 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.

To start, a view you have seen many times before – the slope which faces the steps and the first thing you see arriving at our house. You can see the fatsia in bloom and those red berries I featured last week, and if you look carefully, a little pop of mahonia yellow. As you can see, it is still very green here.

There are still of course signs of life in the herb corner from our amazing rosemary plants, to a new little echinacea flower and of course the variegated sage, which I know I feature a lot, but it is rather photogenic.

Also still looking good is the mahonia. The berries will soon appear, which are enjoyed by the birds and which also look really pretty. We should cut back one of the plants which, when the wind is blowing in a certain direction, knocks against one of the windows. It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does I think about it!

Next up camellias. The first flowers are still looking magnificant, and there are lots of buds (and a few flowers but high up) on the bush in front of the house and the white bush at the side. Expect camellia overload in the weeks to come!

As I think I have already commented, I honestly can’t remember seeing so many flowers on the Three Kings Vine or tecomanthe speciosa. Whether it was the hot summer or not I don’t know, but we have been enjoying the blooms for weeks now.

Finally, nasturtium black velvet – at last. I had almost given up hope, but have had a couple of these almost black flowers this week. So lovely to see and it cheered me up enormously, making me even forget about cold showers….well…maybe not…. Apologies for a slightly blurry picture, but wanted to grab one before the rain started.

So, 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.

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

Published by Thistles and Kiwis

26 Comments

  1. It’s always when autumn or winter arrives that there are boiler breakdowns… Amazing black nasturtium flower! I had never seen one.
    Another beautiful picture too: the variegated sage is very pretty too

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  2. I have an echinacea which I hope survived the winter, I split the plant last year and planted out the smaller planter a few weeks ago, then a late frost tried to snap it. So I am hoping that it will recover. Love the colour of the nasturtium. Good luck with the boiler.

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  3. Beautiful Black Velvet! I always love seeing your tecomanthe (although I still can’t spell it on my own) and the camellia is beautiful. Hope you get your plumbing problems sorted out soon!

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  5. Sorry to hear about the boiler – I lost furnace in January two years ago and that was not good. Luckily temps were hovering around freezing – it could have been more painful. Love the black nasturtium – I am a huge fan of nasturtiums and am eagerly awaiting those adorable round leafed seedlings to emerge in my garden!

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  9. I think we have all fallen in love with Black Velvet! That truly is very dark. I grew some a few years ago but they were much redder. Dark red, but definitely red. I have sown some new nasturtium seeds directly into the herb bed, but something (cat? blackbird?) has been disturbing the area so whether or not anything grows is a ‘wait and see’.

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  13. The tecomanthe flowers are superb, as is that black nasturtium which looks so velvety. I have had no luck growing even ordinary ones here, and thought they could grow anywhere!

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  14. Your garden is absolutely beautiful! I envy your possibilities with the space you have and the climate 🙂 Wonderful! I’ve been gardening in so many different places, everything from the mountain region in northern Sweden, to the Mojave Desert. I loved gardening in California the best, because I could grow anything, literally. I am grateful fro the balcony garden I have right now, but I dream about a larger garden space every day. Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden !

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  15. Beautiful colours! We’ve got a a few bluebells, tulips and a few other plants I can’t remember the names of. The dahlias are just going back in their beds, so I can’t wait for them to start flowering all summer. 🙂

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  18. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #283 – Thistles and Kiwis

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