Hello and welcome to this weeks SOS.
This week the weather has been pretty changeable which is ok because there is not really much to do in the garden other than tidy up small bits and pieces here and there.
With the country going from one crisis to another crisis I am so pleased to have my garden to go to. The Alliums are pretty spectacular at the moment and I can spend 20 mins just standing there looking at the bees gorging themselves on the pollen. Oh what it would like to be a bee at the moment. No politics, no furlough and no worrying how long your job may last when you get back to work .
Here is my six.
1. Meconopsis Baileyii Alba
I fave our a silent whoop when I saw this had finally flowered. I had bought 3 Meconopsis varieties at Branklyn Gardens last year and only this one has survived. Ir had been threatening to flower for weeks. As you can see this has loads of buds there must be at least 40 to 50 buds. It’s going to be inter to see how many open.
2. Acer Orange Dream
I have only bought a couple of plants for the garden this year and this was the one I bought as soon as the garden centres reopened. I have planted this in a large terracotta pot and have put it in a large shady protected area so it didn’t get battered by the wind a couple of weeks ago. It seems to be doing pretty well there so O am just going to leave it there.
3. Sempervivum Orange Glow
I took this photo a few weeks ago and have been meaning to post it for weeks and I haven’t had a chance. You can see why it’s called Orange Glow from the photo. At the moment it is forming a death bloom. It will produce about a six inch higher stalk and funny look of flowers on the top. The flower stalk of a Sempervivum always looks weird and reminds me of the Alien bursting out of John Hurt on Alien (not that I my self have seen the whole clip as I am far to squeamish). It is called a death bloom because after it flowers the rosette will die. Thankfully Sempervivums are monocarpic and will produce babies. Unfortunately however I can’t see any babies on this one but luckily I have got a spare plant so hopefully this will produce some.
4. Rose Iceberg
I bought 2 cheap climbing roses the beginning of last year, Iceberg and Golden Showers. Both are doing well but are susceptible to black spot. I have these on a Trellis and they are doing well. This one has more blooms and most of them can be seen on my side of the Trellis. Unfortunately the same can’t be said about Golden Showers as all the blooms are on my neighbours side. The clematis is Madame Bouchard. I particularly like the mixture of a rose and clematis and think they make good partner plants. I was surprised how well the photo came out as we all know how difficult it is to take a photo of a white flower.
5. Erysium Red Jep (except it is Jumbo Orange)
I grew these from seed and they definitely had Red Jep on the packet but as you can see they are Jumbo orange. I have a question as it is flowering now on one stalk will this affect it from busing out more next year? I will be leaving them in the pot until next year.
6. Echeveria
This is a just a small part of my collection of Echeverias and as you can see most of them are in bloom. They are loving the rain at the moment but as these grow in arid conditions in the wild I check for the signs of rot on a regular basis. I have been pretty strict with myself during the lockdown and I have not bought any new plants. Partly to save money and partly because I am running out of space to put these in the winter .
That is my SOS for this week.
If you want to write a SOS blog 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.
Until this week goodbye.
Sedums, Dahlias and Hayfever 
That’s exciting about the Meconopsis. I have three seedlings left from a packet of a blue variety. They’re very small and I’ve set my expectations low. Orange Glow is lovely and the rose and clematis combo looks good together. Black spot is a pain.
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I’d like to give orange dream a go again. I got one from Thompson & Morgan as part of their 2 for a fiver but it wasn’t well enough rooted and has slowly died. Picked up a acer atropurpureum from Tesco to replace its space in the pot.
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I can completely understand your excitement at seeing that mecanopsis flower. It’s stunning and delicate. I’m glad your garden is giving you so much comfort. Excellent echeveria collection Paul. How many do you have?
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I have roughly about 55 to 60. It’s getting a bit of an obsession but a good obsession. It may cost me a few problems putting away for the winter but on average winters seem to be getting warmer.
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That’s what I call a collection. You may well be right about the winters but then I remember the Beast from the East. Enjoy your plants Paul and try not to worry about the future.
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Lovely selection this weekend with enough succulents to keep me quiet/happy. That rose and clematis combination is perfect.
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I had very often seen blue Meconopsis, but rarely white ones. It’s a really pretty plant that deserves special attention. I understand your excitement !! Nice rose Iceberg too 😍
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Lovely to see your echeverias in bloom. I only have one which I brought inside over winter – it now has two heads and is living on my bedroom mantelpiece. Do you think it would be happier outside over summer and can I divide it? Really like the Iceberg rose and Clematis too!
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A garden is definitely a sanctuary, and being able to work in a garden is great therapy! I can understand why you were so excited about the Meconopsis. I can just imagine what it is going to look like when all the bud open. You will have to post another photo of it! The rose and clematis combination is lovely. Good photo indeed! Great shot of all your Echevaria collection.
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Thanks so much. The weather has been wet for the past weeks or so. Garden opportunities have been rare but managed to spend 5 hours in the garden today. Sheer joy’
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The Meconopsis is fabulous. I keep thinking I’d like to try to grow the blue ones, it’s definitely damp enough down here!
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Hello again, fellow meconopsis grower! Your alba is a beauty with more to come. I wish I’d known that Iceberg was prone to blackspot before I put her up a trellis in the rose garden. Have you had to fight it much?
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No not that much. I just check it 2 or 3 times a weeks and cut the affected leaves off.
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my faith in your gardening committment has been restored. there seem to be a lot of those orange dream about. i also bought two the other week. they allegedly take a bit of sunshine so i have them on the patio where they will get 4 or 5 hours of sun a day at this time of year. they seem to be doing ok.
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