Six on Saturday (15 September 2018)

We spent a few days in Lyme Regis last week, a place my wife and I visit a couple of times a year as it’s only a 45 minute drive away. I take after my mum and dad and tend to park as far away from the ultimate destination as possible, using the car park at the top a great big hill above the town. This has a few advantages. It’s cheaper (did I mention I take after my parents?) and the walk down to the beach takes you through a lovely garden filled with a variety of plants, including penstemons and dahlias.

The garden also has plenty of benches to provide you with an opportunity to sit and take a moment or three to enjoy the wonderful views (and to take a bit of a breather on the steep climb back to the car park).

But these aren’t part of my Six on Saturday, oh no. These are just a few colourful filler photos before we get to the main event…

1. And what better way to start than with a dismal failure. For those not up to speed with the ongoing lupin saga; they were grown from seed last year, were mollycoddled for many months, spending most of their time on the swing seat where they were reasonably safe from slugs and snails. I planted some out in early summer and fought an ongoing aphid battle with the rest of them. None of them flowered and, slightly disillusioned, I shoved the rest into the beds and left them to make their own way in the world.

One of them is looking reasonably okay. The rest appear to have vanished, presumed eaten judging by the picture below (the protection offered by wool pellets seems rather hit and miss). I don’t care what happens to them now. I’m past caring. We’re done with each other. Never again will I be tempted to purchase or sow lupins (though if someone can remind me of this vow when the BBC shows some prize-winning specimens at Chelsea next year, I’d be very grateful).

2. The Graham Thomas honeysuckle is still flowering. The flowers start off with quite a bit of pink when they first open.

Before the petals turn a lovely yellow (a recycled picture from an earlier Six on Saturday) which turn even yellower as they begin to fade.

However, the berries they produce are also rather attractive.

3. Talking of berries, the pyracantha is a bit of a show at the moment.

4. I should probably pull up the Tumbling Tom tomatoes, but while there are still some ripening I’m reluctant to. They’ve resisted the blight this year, though the leaves don’t look all that healthy.

5. Antirrhimums feature regularly as one of Six on Saturdays. There are just so many colour variations and they flower continually with regular deadheading. I grow the same variety from seed every year (Wilko’s Circus Clowns).

They’ve done really well this year and hopefully some of them will seed themselves and make it through the winter.

6. And finally, the dwarf sweet peas are still going strong. The standard sweet peas are looking extremely ropy and should definitely have been pulled up by now, but I can’t bring myself to do it while they’re still flowering. The dwarf variety were sown quite a bit later. I’d definitely grow them again and I may try letting a few pods develop to see if I can save some seeds.

And they were my Six on Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, take a look at the site of the chap who started it all over at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.