Hello and welcome to this weeks SOS.
Well as Carolina Aherene said on the Fast Show this week has been Scorchio! Unfortunately I don’t like hot weather. As someone that has been bought up on the blustery coast of the Northumberland give me a blustery NE from blowing off the North Sea in March any day. Instead I have been pounding the hot streets of Edinburgh and suffering. So much so I had to take Thursday off because of my breathing. Although if you look at the forecast for the next few days perhaps I should have made the most of it….
I really have to delete Yahoo Weather.
Having said that the garden looks great and the succulents were loving the heat.
Here is my SOS.
1. Spirea Japonica
This has been outstanding this year. It is in the one of the small borders at the front of the house and the only thing I do is cut it down by a third in the Autumn. A friend has given a hedge trimmer for free so I am going to use that to cut it this year and might even give it a more fierce cut. Usually I don’t see very many bees in this shrub for some reason but this year it has been covered with them.
2. Clematis Ooh La La
This plant struggled last year in it’s original position. So I moved it up to the new west facing border the end of winter. Unfortunately I was a little bit ham fisted and broke off 2 of the stems near the rooball. However I am pleased to say that the one remaining stem is now producing some top quality flowers as you can see from the above photo. Hopefully next year it will be even better and there hopefully should be more shoots produced from below tbe ground.
3. Dahlia Moonfire
I posted a picture of this last week and it is now has a major prescience in the border. All the hover flies and other pollinators love it. The flowers has a wonderful form and the centre starts off with yellow stamen that are soon rubbed out by the pollinators. Also in the picture you can see Dianthus Grans Favourite and the Day Lily is Pink Damask
4. Hydrangea (Texas)
I call it Hydrangea Texas because I bought this plant at Homebase a couple of years ago. I still call Homebase, Texas even after all these years I guess it is like Marathon and Snickers or Opal Fruits and Starburst. This plant is always a late flowerer because it is blocked by the big shed directly behind it which makes it north facing. However as it growing fast it gets more sun every year and should start flowering earlier. Last year the flowers got wet for some reason and they struggled but this year it is looking absolutely spectacular.
5. Echeveria Shavenia
I have a number of Echeverias now (about 50) and the flowers fascinate me. I think it is the mechanical way the flowers appear. I wrote in a previous blog that the flower “production line ” reminds me of a Gatling Gin. This one looks animal like and reminds me a little of a Cross between and Armadillo and suit of armour.
6. Sempervivum Calcareum
This plant is planted directly in an area of Gravel about 25 metre square. It is growing f fast and as you can see at the moment it is displaying a wide range of green, brown, orange and red shades. I am going to leave this undisturbed and I can’t wait to see how it looks in 5 years.
That is my SOS. If you want to write one it is not that difficult. As always to find out how six on Saturday works please follow the following link The Propagator. The don of Six on Saturday
A working weekend for me this weekend so garden opportunities will be limited.
Until next week goodbye.
Sedums, Dahlias and Hayfever 
Your spirea is very pretty. I like these medium violet tones. I took a cutting of a spirea that I saw near my work: dark purple. We’ll see if it goes. I would have appreciated your north heat last week ….
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Thanks Fred. Oh that Dark Purple Spirea sounds interestingz
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The Spirea is lovely, and the Clematis….well, whenever I see a picture of one I’m envious! I don’t think they will tolerate the high humidity we get here. The Sempervivum is amazing!
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Oh that is a shame about the Cematis. Aye that sempervivum is looking fantastic.
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Ooh your Dahlia moonshine would fit right in with my oranges and yellows! Your Hydrangea Texas is a bit like my Clematis Tesco (although Texas sounds more exotic). Where would we Brits be without weather apps?
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Thank you. Always nice to buy a plant for a fiver and it turns into a great plant.
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That’s a big spirea in your “small” front border! Sedums looking good. Hope you manage to get back into the garden during the week.
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Yes it is a bit of a Tardis Border it is in.
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I’m not a big fan of the heat either. I blame my ginger genes. The hydrangea Texas looks fantastic.
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Thanks. Weather was much better today it was dull and rained all day😂
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I was so happy to see your spirea, not only because it’s beautiful but because I thought mine had missed the boat. All the spirea in the area are well past their bloom stage & mine has only just started, I thought because I’d taken it out of the pot this year & put it into the ground. Love that dahlia! Really something else. Texas is gorgeous, as well. Great Six!
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Thanks Lora.
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Not your typical fare? Only one sempervivum and one Echeveria? These others are parts of your garden we don’t often see. What is Texas?
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I usually do post a mix bag Tony. Texas was/is a range of stores like you Home Depot that sells hardware and garden stuff and is now called Homebase. It is a UK joke.
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Texas is something of a joke here too.
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Fabulous spirea! Your garden’s looking colourful – love the dahlia and the daylily.
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Thank you.
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Texas! I’d forgotten it was called Texas. In hindsight, why on earth was it called Texas? Anyhow, your hydrangea looks to be a goodun.
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No idea why it was called Texas. I can just remeber it when ot opened in Berwick it was very exciting……..nothing happens much in Berwick
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