Happy Easter!
Hope the Easter Bunny is kind to you and does not eat your plants.
I am working this weekend so this is going to be a quick one.
As you may have guessed all photo’s were taking in the sun during the week.
Enjoy
1, New Potting Bench\Compost Bin
I have a relatively small garden so I am eager to use the space effectively. So I commissioned a friend of a friend (he has a car wash but is also a qualified chippy) to build a potting table/compost bin. I am not the most established woodworker so thought it would be better to pass the project to some one else. The unit width is on 60 cm as I wanted to put it on a pathway up to my shed backing onto the garden fence. I also wanted the potting area to be a detachable tray that I could lift out and transfer plants across the garden and make it easy to access the bin. To finish off I asked him to put a couple of shelves on the top to store and display plants. Lastly at the bottom he has put an access door on some hinges to make it easy to get to the compost.
To say I am delighted with it is an understatement and I have been using it every day when I have finished work. The only thing is it looks so nice for a compost bin so I am thinking of using it as storage for bags of gravel and compost and might use the top as a mini cold frame in the winter padded with polystyrene.
2. Pulsatilla rubra (red pasqueflower)
A beauty of a plant. Deep crimson flower with green, silvery hairy foliage. I have 2 other varieties but these seem to be somewhat behind in their development. Excuse the tag, I know it looks tacky got a memory like a sieve!
3. New Climbers
In the next few weeks I am moving my large shed 90 degrees. This will free up a large section of tall fence and let me put in some substantial raised beds next to it. I am interested in attracting more birds in my garden so I have purchased some relatively young pyracantha plants from Morrison’s. I have also bought a honeysuckle and a passion flower. As Mr Propogator has mentioned for £1.76 these are brilliant plants. I will probably bring these plants along in the plants I have transferred them into this summer and think about replanting these in the autumn/winter months.
4. RIP JP
One of my best mates called JP (John Paul) died in a car crash 18months ago. He was a top bloke and we shared many – sometimes to many – pints together. I went to Tesco’s on Monday and saw that they had some Clematises on sale for £2.50. One of the ones on offer was the variety John Paul II. Of course I had to get one, so I bought2! I have planted them in the a pot I got from Wilkos. Like a idiot II managed to the knock the tips off both of them but they should be fine and it is fair to say they are getting watered good and proper this weekend! A nice memorial to him I am sure you will agree.
5. Sedum Hispancium var Minus
Small is beautiful. A great little compact Sedum that just sits there and does not need any fuss. This one is for Fred the Gardener.
6. Echeveriea Duchess of Nuremberg and a Clematis
TBH I have ran out of photos in the sun and Friday was pretty gloomy. I am going to try growing this fairly common hardy Echeveria, Duchess of Nuremberg in my mini Alpine Gravel garden, Beside it is another Pasqueflower and behind it is a Clematis called Josephine. I think I have posted a picture of this Clematis before. As I said school boy error not enough photos in the sun.
That is my six for this Saturday.
As always to find out how six on Saturday works please follow the following link The Propagator. The don of six in Saturday.
Sedums, Dahlias and Hayfever 
You get to Saturday before I do. It is still two and a half hours away.
I am sorry about John Paul. Many of the trees here are memorial trees. In fact, the local park is landscaped with memorial redwoods. One of my friends passed away less than a year ago on May 2, and we have not planted a tree for him yet, but will do so, probably a ginkgo.
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I cheered a little and published it last night Friday. I am working all weekend unfortunately. I had already taken the photo’s during the week when the sun was out. Thanks for your comments on JP
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I’m sorry too about your friend. It is a lovely way of honouring him to have a plant named after him. I planted a clematis called ‘Freda’ in the winter because it has the same name as my gran, but it is not looking too clever after the beast. Am hoping there is still time for it to suddenly re-sprout. I do love your potting bench.
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Thanks
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I am sure your Clematis will be ok Ali
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Thank you for thinking of me with your tiny sedum! … I also liked your (all new) beautiful potting bench … just use it now!
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That potting bench is the dogs! Love it. The tray is genius, wish I’d thought of that.
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Yes I have surprised myself and Rob Wood….the chippy/car washer has surprised himself..amazing what you can sketch on a “packet of fags”. No fags were inhaled during this process it is a saying up in Geordie Land.
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Back of a fag packet, in common parlance darn sarf too.
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Ha I was going to write back if the “tab packet”. Which is Geordie for fags. My great aunty used to say you got your tabs every time I left. “I dinny snake Aunty” used to be my reply. You got sayings down in Surrey? When I used to live in Egham and Englefield green no one used to talk to me…probably because no one understood me!
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I have the advantage of having been to university in the north east (Durham, many moons ago), so have more than the average southerners ability to translate. I don’t speak Geordie fluently but can get by!
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Mint!
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As Alan Partridge said no that’s just noise!
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WHAT!?
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#4 makes it difficult to read the rest. I just wrote about our little valley oak on May 2 in a similar sort of way.
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What a great way to honour a friend! Love the bench as well, that is a great bit of wood work that fits perfectly
Love 6 indeed
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Great bench, very envious. I hope Jp’s roses flourish and help you get over his loss.
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I am proud of that bench I have to admit….not often I have practical ideas like that…
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I hope your potting bench is securely bolted to something in case Mr P should decide to revisit Geordieland with an empty boot. Buying those two clematis in memory of your friend is a wonderful thing to do. And a wonderful co-incidence (fate?) that Tesco had them on sale when you visited. Knocking the tops off won’t hurt, indeed it should encourage them to branch out nicely. I used to carefully prune mine each year. Now I just use the shears to lop them all off about 9″ above ground and they grow and flower much better.
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Must have been fate. I was pretty down that morning as well. Ever since then I have had a little bit of a spring in my step…
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Potting bench may have half a tonne of compost in soon
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Wow, that bench! Chain it to the ground or I might get there before The Propagator. Wonderful story about JP. Be sure to show it to us when it blooms. Did a course in Newcastle. They gave us intern’l students Geordie lessons during the orientation. I thought it was a joke. It wasn’t.
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Ha that’s funny about the Geordie orientation lessons I can well believe it
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Yes very pleased with the bench! No doubt more photo’s to follow….
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Whoa, that’s an impressive potting bench! I agree it does seem way too snazzy to use as a compost bin, but using the top as a mini cold frame sounds like a great idea.
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Yep moving away from a compost bin…..
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Very envious of your new potting bench! What a lovely tribute to your friend – hopefully they will flower beautifully for you.
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Thank you x
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I’m sorry too, about JP, but what a serendipitous discovery at Tesco’s, and a great way to remember him. Pulsatilla rubra is rather lovely with her yellow eye, and the potting bench is the goods.
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