Other than pulling up the odd weed during tea and lunch breaks, administering a spot of emergency watering to parched looking seedlings on window sills or taking in yet another delivery of some plant or other that someone in this household must have ordered, working from home isn’t providing any extra time for gardening. However, it is providing an opportunity to appreciate the comings and goings of the birds in the garden, especially since I relocated my ‘office’ from an upstairs room to the conservatory a few weeks ago. I’ve started to view these feathered visitors as work colleagues; it makes the working day a bit more interesting. What’s that? Am I going a little doolally during the lockdown? That’s certainly what Dave, the Blackbird, thinks after I accused him of nicking my mug the other day. But enough of this madness, time for Six on Saturday.
1. First up is the rock rose growing in the front garden. It was acquired from the free nursery up in North Wales (my mum’s garden) several years ago and could do with a good prune after it finishes flowering. I tried to take cuttings from it last year, without success. I’ll try again this summer.
2. The Rosa banksiae in the back garden has been in bloom for a few weeks now. I’m hoping it will take off this year and help to cover the back fence. Alas, it isn’t scented, unlike my next SoS…
3. The new Lilac ‘Belle de Nancy’ was planted at the end of January. She’s looking well and has been flowering for a couple of weeks now. A few more buds look like they might be forming too. I’ve come to the conclusion her flowers would stand out more if those of the Montana weren’t the same colour. Poor planning on my part but hey-ho.
4. More fragrant blooms up next; Narcissus ‘Pheasant’s Eye.’ I’d forgotten all about them as they flower a lot later than the other daffs. I’ll be planting more come the Autumn.
5. My wife was given this Morrisons Acer as a gift last year. I’m ashamed to say I was rather anti Acer initially, mainly because I didn’t know where it would go. The unloved tree of short stature has been living outside the back door in a shady spot. Now that it has its fresh red foliage (which will turn green in time) I’ve been won over… for now. I think it may have to spend its life in a pot though.
6. And finally… This pink ‘I’ve-lost-the-labellous’ Jacob’s Ladder was bought last spring but didn’t flower for some reason. I wasn’t sure it would come back again but it has and it’s redeemed itself.
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.
One Man And His Garden Trowel 
I quite like the lilac and Montana blending together. My lilac is set for a bumper year. Should smell great in that corner. The Acers doing well. I’ve had quite a few decent purchases from Morrisons.
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They had some decent sized rose trees and standard bottle brush plants today. I couldn’t face standing in the queue though which is probably just as well.
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Nice Six! I especially like the rock rose with the dusting of pollen. I have lots of acers in pots (too many perhaps?), although in an ideal world they would be planted out. They do well, but are a pain to water of course! Glad your lilac is doing so well. Enjoy your week 🙂
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You too. Good to know the Acer will survive in the pot. I’m hoping a conifer will like life in a pot too!
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The rock rose is a delicious colour. I’m only familiar with white and various shades of pink, and while they’re wonderful plants in the way they flower so generously, they’re not as eye-catching as the one you’ve posted.
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I hope I’m able to propagate it, though where any more would go I have no idea!
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Oh, your Rosa banksiae is so lovely, as is the gorgeous Lilac, her name suits her. I wouldn’t worry too much that the colour is the same as your montana, they’re different in shape, form and texture, and each will provide their own separate areas of colour. You could maybe move the lilac while it’s dormant (?) but I’d give it some time.
Oh, always love an Acer – it will pay you back with its beauty in years to come. One of our local Garden Centres has a very mature acer dissectum in a pot – with a price tag (last time I looked of £999). So it could also be an investment! 😁
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£999? Blimey. I will nurture it! I’m hoping the Lilac will do it’s wafty scenty thing when it gets into its stride.
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I don’t think I will pass a Rosa banksiae for sale again without wavering…..more than one person, other than you buying plants for delivery?
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The Rosa banksiae can get rather big but my mother-in-law managed to keep hers in check so fingers crossed this one can be kept under control. Someone accidentally ordered some more plants today.
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Will that person have to remove plants to make way for new ones? Or has that person acquired another person’s garden? Enjoy your run away passions..for tomorrow you would regret it if you didn’t, and may have to wait a full year, or not be able to locate the plants again!!!!!
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Very colourful week. We had afternoon drinks “with” our neighbours yesterday. (They removed one of their fence panels and we sat more than a safe distance away on either side sorting out the world’s problems.) The perfume from the nearby lilac tree was very pleasant. Definitely a smell from childhood.
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A few people on our estate have had tea on their front lawns lately. I’m a bit antisocial! The fragrance of Philadelphus flowers reminds me of childhood, we had one growing in the front garden.
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My rosa Banksiae has also been in bloom for a few weeks but this year it’s less spectacular than last year. The weather is nice but unfortunately, it missed a lot of rain here: maybe the reason?
Nice Six and beautiful colours and photos
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I had to move this one again in the autumn so it hasn’t done as well as it did the previous year. A lack of rain might explain the lack of blooms on yours I guess.
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Love your rock rose, a lot. Great colour. Your rosa banksiae is also gorgeous, but I’d be reluctant to give room to a rose that didn’t have scent. However, your lilac is carrying the heavy weight. I do hope you come to love your acer. As others’ve said, they live nicely in pots & the colour change is really wonderful. I think Dave was bragging on Twitter about stealing your mug. Talk to HR.
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The banksiae has fence covering evergreen virtues, but rest assured no other rose is allowed in the garden unless it’s fragrant. I’m going to have words with Dave on Monday.
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Everything’s looking mighty fine there. I’m big into fiery colours right now so your rock rose really appeals. I’ve only grown pink ones in the past.
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Thank you. It is vibrant. It usually contrasts nicely with a white daisy but I overdid the pruning of the latter.
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Love that pink Jacob’s ladder. I’ve never seen one before. And your Banksia rose looks good. My cistus cuttings have failed – maybe too early?
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I don’t usually have much luck with cuttings apart from pestemons and some rose cuttings I shoved in the ground last autumn which seem to have taken. I must try again with the rock rose. I might try after it finishes flowering and again later in the year.
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Me too. We can compare notes on here!
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That is a gorgeous rockrose! I think that kind is sold here as a sunrose. I find them harder to keep alive in my garden than the rockrose labeled ones.
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Sunrose is a more apt name somehow. This gets full on sun in the front garden.
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We have a couple of similar rock roses in the garden but they barely flower at all, they’re on notice this year, last chance saloon. I thought I’d grown that Polemonium once but couldn’t remember the name so I turned to Google. Yours is P. carneum, the one I grew was P. pauciflorum, which is absolutely nothing like it. About typical of my memory.
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Thank you. P. carneum. I’ll have to write that down or refer back to this in the future. I used to have a white variety that I’ll have to look out for. I like their leaves, possibly more than the flowers.
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Snap with the Narcissus ‘Pheasant’s Eye.’ They really are late flowering aren’t they? I’d almost given up on mine. The rock rose is a fabulous colour. And lilacs take me back to my childhood. I love the smell of lilac but my mother always refused to have it cut and brought inside. Nice pot for the Acer. Mine (an ASDA buy) is in a black plastic container, but maybe it deserves something prettier when all this is over.
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The pot came supplied. We parked at Morrisons yesterday to walk into town for supplies. Morrisons had some pretty big and reasonably priced standard bottlebrush shrubs and roses. I was surprised how large their plant section was, especially at the moment. I’m on the look out for some new pots to replace a few frost proof pots that appear not to have been. The Narcissus PE were a pleasant surprise and as you mentioned in your SoS, fragrant.
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Annoying that supermarkets can sell non essentials like plants and yet garden centres can’t open except to sell pet food! I’d love a bottlebrush!
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Rosa banksiae is one of my favourites. I love the creamy primrose dolour and the pompom flowers. I think it would be too tender for me in the Midlands. The Acer looks just right in that pot.
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Sometimes I think I take the milder weather for granted down in the south west. It’s only when I visit my family up in North Wales during the winter that it hits me how much colder it is!
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A lovely colourful Six. The Acer looks lovely in its pot, and I’m sure it will survive there quite happily. It is a lovely colour. Love the Jacobs ladder too,
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Thank you. Yes, the Acer has won me over and been given a reprieve!
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That’s great!
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What a lovely selection of plants this week, trowel. 🙂 I love Acers so if you put it up for adoption I promise to look after it. I had an acer in the UK which grew in a pot. It’s just a shame we had to leave it behind.
I also have a pet blackbird who I talk to. One day I came to his rescue when a cat was attacking his nest and I am his best friend.Trouble is he is getting a little to big for his boots. I need to give him a name.
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Thank you. It’s fun watching Dave and his partner, Hetty. She’s very much the boss though. I’d assumed they already had young but I saw her with a beakful of nesting material yesterday. It’s a pity you had to leave your acer behind.
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I’ve been getting way more gardening done – lack of commute means I am “home” from work much earlier, time for a couple of hours if I feel inclined, and I usually do. disappointed by my pheasants eye, not many have come back this year, dunno why. I like your rose, but I have resolved never to buy one now unless it has a good fragrance too.
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Thankfully my commute is usually only a 10-15 minute drive! The Banksiae is the only unscented rose allowed in the garden, bought more for evergeen fence coverage than anything else. A new quarter standard (or less) rose has arrived today. Well, hopefull it’s a rose – it looks more like a leafless twig.
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Lovely blog. I was reading the first bit and said wait free nursery!!!! Lol. My rock roses are just about to spring into life I seem to have acquired 5 now just because they do so well in my dry borders. My project for next month is to buy a couple of Acers and a couple of the large Terecotta plant pots from Morrison for a fiver each and plant them in there. Hope all is well.
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All good here, well as good is right now! Just purchased some glazed pots from Morrisons – they do have some great bargains.
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Yes. I am going to get 2 more large terracotta pots tomorrow. I am going to plant Acers in them, I was going to buy them now but might wait until autumn due to tbe dry conditions.
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