Hello and welcome to this weeks Six on Saturday.

The weather has been good this week with long periods of sun and we even had a morning of drizzle on Wednesday. The garden is looking great considering I have ignored it during long periods of illness this year but it is looking a bit messy in places. LI am slowly tidying things up and this is giving me a great boost to my mental health. It’s amazing what a boost a bit of dirt and getting out into nature does to your mood and it upsets me to see what is happening to the ecosystem. I have noticed a dusting lack of bumble bees and butterflies this year but that 8 suppose we could put that down to a cold April and wet May. I am pleased to say however I have noticed more bees this week.

Here is this weeks six.

1. Sempervivum Casablanca

As I mentioned earlier we had some welcome drizzle on Wednesday and this Sempervivum caught the eye. This is one of the new Sempervivums I bought in April this year from Sempervivums by Post. I may have been ill for the first part of this year but in my view your never to ill to buy succulents! This picture has pleased me that much I have bought another 8 kinds of Sempervivum from there this week.

2. Eryngium Big Blue

This is a fantastic plant and in my view should be in any garden. The flowers are far bigger than the Variegated Eryngium planum I posted last week. The bees and other pollinators love the flowers and when you watch them collect the nectar I am sure you can see them smile when they are skipping between one flower to another one. The only thing I would advise is the bracts are really sharp so if you have small children and animals perhaps you need to make sure that the plants are in the middle of a big border abs not near the front.

3. Lavender

At the start of 2019 I bought 18 Lavender plug plants and only 3 have survived. This was mostly because I planted them in compost with not very much drainage. The stems are really long on these plants. Could anybody advise what variety they might be?

4. Lilium Hotel California

For me Asiatic Lilies are one of the most flamboyantly garish flowers out there and are totally over the top but I can’t help liking them. I though these wouldn’t do anything this year as I had to leave them in relatively small pots and O thought they would be root-bound. however they seem to be flourishing this year. I have identified a couple of bigger pots I can plant them in for next year and will repot these in late autumn.

5. Cupid’s Dart

This plant has to be in my top 3. I grew these from seed and it was one of the first plants I grew from seed. I love the way they produce everything vibrantly blue flowers on top of a long stem and I like the way they float around in the breeze. The only downside to this plant is the leaves look like grass and you have to have your wits about you when you weed the border on Spring. The seed heads are from Cirisium Rivulare Antropurperum and make a nice contrast with the Cupid Dart flowers.

6. New 50th border

It’s my 50th next month. I know I don’t look it and I have asked my family to help me build a new border in the front garden. This will be a dry garden and we will be putting about 40cm of a mix of compost and gravel straight on the slabs. I know it can see presumptuous and rude to some people to advise people directly about a present you want but I am non plussed when it comes to receiving gifts probably because I am a bachelor and I would rather give than receive. I thought that marking my 50th by building and tendering a new border would help me mentally and help my recovery. More pictures to follow.

That’s my six for this week.

Until next week goodbye.