An Easter Six on Saturday (16 April 2022)

The long Easter Weekend has started off surprisingly warm and sunny. As I write this (it’s late Friday afternoon) the boisterous house sparrows are furtling around the borders searching for nesting material and occasionally stealing each other’s finds. There’s a spot of wood pigeon wooing going on over on the toppled fence that I suspect will end in failure as usual… Yes, she’s just flown off, unimpressed. A blue tit is battling with some nesting wool I put out earlier and a furry bee fly is enjoying the nectar of the forget-me-nots and Muscari. It’s all rather nice and spring like out there. Let’s hope this weather continues for the rest of the weekend. But enough gazing out the window, it’s time for Six on Saturday.

1. And we start with a Narcissus that I’ve admired in other SoSer’s posts for some years now yet always forgot to add it to my bulb order come the autumn. But lo! Narcissus ‘Thalia’ doth now grow in my garden. I just hope it does a better job of returning each spring than my next SoS has.

2.  ‘Minnow’ appears to have dwindled in numbers as the years have passed by. I think I’m down to just one solitary plant now which is a pity as this diminutive beauty has lots of charm.

3. Talking of diminutive beauties, Tulipa clusiana ‘Peppermint Stick’ has appeared (as have the greenfly). A new addition to the garden in the autumn, I’m thinking I may need to plant a few more.

4. Growing close by, the first lot of Bluebells have started flowering. Every year I eye these somewhat suspiciously, unsure whether they are the native variety or some native/Spanish Bluebell hybrid. There are some more in a shadier spot that I’m fairly certain are the real deal. I’ll have to compare the two when they flower. Still, these are pretty.

5. Another Narcissus up next. This is ‘Charming Lady.’ It has a “delicious stephanotis perfume” according to Sarah Raven. I can only assume she was stood next to an actual Stephanotis plant at the time as I can’t detect a whiff of anything.

6. And finally… Until today the song ‘Tiptoe through the tulips’ wasn’t one I could identify with in the slightest. I’d walked around a pot of tulips or stepped over a small clump of two or three, but tiptoeage through a mini-multitude of tulips? It seemed a highly unlikely scenario… until the other day when I had to make my way oh so carefully into this border to move a plant. Back in November I decided to try planting most of my new tulips in the ground rather than in pots. So far, so good – well, in this border at least.

Now, solo tulip tiptoeing is one thing but I’m afraid I won’t be asking my beloved to tiptoe through the tulips with me any time soon. There’d be lots of “careful – mind that tulip… and that one… stop! – you’re about to flatten the orange one… no the other orange one… heck, it’s ‘tiptoe through the tulips’ not on them…” Nope, it wouldn’t be a remotely romantic experience at all.

Anyway, 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. What was that? You’re going to have that ‘Tiptoe through the tulips’ song in your head all day? You’re most welcome!