Hello and welcome to this weeks SOS.
This week has been a been a real mix bag weather wise. To be honest up here in North Northumberland it’s been pretty pants. Lots of rain and full days which was punctuated by one of the warmest and sunniest days on Friday. I know I moaned a lot of the long sunny dry days in spring but boy could I do with a few stable days at the moment. With all the rain the garden is looking very vibrant and is very manageable at the moment. All my Echeverias and other succulents are looking healthy and are thriving.
Work has been pretty hectic at the moment so it was very much welcome that I managed to book a cheeky day off on Friday and I am currently enjoying a long weekend.
Here is this weeks six.
1. Lilies
I have not managed to spend a lot in the garden this week so the above picture nearly passed me by. I had to take second take when I first saw it. The lilies are Avalon Sunset and Hotel California both of which I have included in previous post.
2. Fuchsias Springtime
Each year I buy several trailing fuchsias from Morrisons for a pound each and they never disappoint. Springtime has far the biggest flowers of any of the fuchsias that I have. Big flaunty petticoat shapes flowers that last a deceptively long time. These fuchsias are semi hardy so this year I am going to try and protect them from the frost.
3. Clematis Countessa du Bouchard
This plant is really coming into its own at the moment. It is the only Clematis that is flowering at the moment. It is growing on a fence along with 3 other Clematises and 2 roses and the combination of the plants are starting to produce wonderful display throughout Spring and Summer.
4. Actaea Simplex
Also known as Bugbane this autumn flowering plant really makes a statement on the garden. It‘s dark chocolately brown foliage really makes it stand out. It will produce small baby pink flowers in September. As you can see the buds are distinctive looking. I have this on 2 places in the garden and both clumps are thriving.
5. Geranium Roxanne
I have moved this from the middle of a border where it was taking over to the new bit I built at the front border that faces the kitchen and it can now do what it wants. A stalwart of many a garden they are sometimes overlooked and taken for granted but as most people know the flowers are quite spectacular. As you can see from the above photo if you study the flowers in the right light they have a luminous quality with delicate red veins coming from the centre.
6. Sedum Rubrotinctum
I have kept my Sedum Rubrotinctum on a relatively sheltered position partly to protect it from the sun in spring. As you can see this have caused the leaves to take on a wonderful vibrant green colour and the wet weather has meant they are plump and juicy. I have now moved these in direct sun and they should become redder over the next few weeks. Reading up on them they will survive some cold wether in the winter so I am going to try and keep them in a sheltered position this year.
That’s my Six on Saturday for this week. We have man coming to cut the hedge this morning so I will be spending an hour or so moving pots so he can use his ladders. This does give me a good opportunity to tidy up some of the garden. I think I am going to move a couple of roses I have in pots from beside the hedge to a more dry and sunny area at the front of the house because they seem to be struggling a bit with the damp conditions.
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.
Thanks for reading. Until next week goodbye.
Sedums, Dahlias and Hayfever 
I still see too many rain droplets on your photos…😂😉 I’m jealous… Very beautiful lilies and this sedum is really cute!
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Thanks Fred. I’ll try and send some rain over. Hopefully August will be more drier up here than July.
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Lovely photos, especially the Clematis. The Sedum is lovely and will look react with red tones from the sun. I’m looking forward to seeing the little pink flowers on the Actaea (which I’m going to have to look up as I don’t know it).
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Thanks. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of the flowers soon.
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Your final photo was worth waiting for, thank you. Lovely, healthy leaves. That Bugbane is a new one to me – very unusual. Interesting Six-on-Saturday
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Thanks Granny you gave me strict instructions last week I didn’t want to disappoint. Hope all is well
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Your lilies are lovely and look very healthy. I chucked mine last year as I was fed up of them getting munched by the slimy ones. Thankfully my daylilies seem to cope better.
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Interesting buds, I mistook them for seed pods. I look forward to the flowers some Saturday coming up!
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Oh don’t worry the flowers will be featured
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The fuchsia is lovely — the name is funny, though, as I haven’t met a fuchsia that blooms in springtime, although maybe there are some??
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I am not aware of any fuchsias flowering in the spring. It is a weird name.
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Thee lilies looking really good. I picked a few fuschias for the hanging baskets that I thought were slim long flowers but turned out to be big fat blousy things but neverming, pretty enough.
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Thanks. The lilies have finally stopped flowering this weekend which is a shame.
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It is. A lot if anticipation for a short period. But they are lovely. I think I’ve just got one left to flower but looking to be one of the best.
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Great selection. The clematis is particularly lovely.
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Thanks. It has been a good year for Clematis.
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‘Avalon Sunset’ is another odd name for a lily. It certainly sounds pretty. However, Avalon is on the southeastern coast of Santa Catalina Island, with hills to the west and southwest. There is not much of a view of the sunsets from there. Your lilies are much prettier than ‘Avalon Sunset’ and ‘Hotel California’. (Did I tell you about Hotel California yet?)
That sedum is on that spills nicely over stone. I have never grown it alone, but have plugged bits on the edges of stone walls, in front of more substantial succulents. it does not creep very far, but is a delightful addition to such mixes.
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Stunning lilies! Really like the look of the bugbane.
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Thanks. Yeah the bugbane is a wonderful plant. Gives so much.
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