It has been unseasonably mild of late; positively balmy at times when the sun has shone. However, the clocks go back tonight and it’ll soon be November. Hardly a sensible time for my first Six on Saturday to think about blooming and yet here it is…
1. … a Delphinium requienii, on the cusp of flowerhood. I read about these in an SoS at the beginning of the year and decided to give them a go. Unlike regular Delphinums, which I never have much luck with, it’s glossy of leaf and slug resistant. I assumed it would bloom next summer (it’s classed as a biennial on a lot of websites) but these seem keen to give it a go now. I just hope the buds open before the first of the frosts.
2. Some plants have flowered all summer long, including Erysimum ‘Apricot Twist.’ Planted in the spring, I wasn’t sure about it initially, preferring the Siberian Wallflower, but I’m now a big fan. It also goes rather nicely with the blue shed.
3. The Zinnias growing in the south facing front garden have done really well this year, especially Zinnia ‘Jazzy Mixture.’ It’s featured quite a bit in my SoS’s over the past few months.
4. Another fantastically floriferous plant (adorned with a sleepy bee in this photo) is Alyssum which has formed a soft white blanket of honey-scented flowers in the patio border.
5. Now I must confess I’ve always been a bit anti-Mahonia. The flowers are lovely and fragrant, but I find the spikey leaves a bit strange proportion-wise for some reason. Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ won me over though with its pleasingly ferny and perfectly proportioned foliage. It’s just a pity the flowers (which are very popular with wasps, bees and ants) aren’t fragrant. Ah well.
6. And finally… a Chocolate Cosmos. Now in its second year, it struggled a bit during the heatwave and has only produced a few flowers. In the not too distant future it will get dug up and overwintered in the mini greenhouse.
They were my Six on Saturday, a meme originally started by The Propagator. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, head over to the blog of the current Six on Saturday host, Jim.
One Man And His Garden Trowel 
Fantastic to see so much blooming in your garden. I have been enjoying these balmy days and I don’t mind the rain either.
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It was another warm day today. The heating won’t be turned on for a while at this rate.
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My zinnias are over since yesterday! Yours has a nice double colour. Very nice photo also of the bee pollinating some autumn flowers
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Thank you. I think it was asleep! It didn’t seem to mind me getting up close to it with my phone.
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Mahonias are valued winter shrubs here and there is a splattering of them around the garden, including ‘Soft Caress’. Great plants! We have had the mild weather also – central heating put on only on a very few evenings to date.
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That is a bonus of this weather! There are quite a few Mahonia’s along the canal walk into town – the fragrance will be lovely when they flower.
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The pictures seem to be rather special this week, are you working some special magic or perhaps have a new camera? Or maybe I have just cleaned my glasses? Lovely zinnias and others.
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Thank you. Same cameras (mostly my cheap phone and occasionally a compact camera with a zoom). It must have been the sunny weather!
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Love that apricot shade on your wallflower. Agree with Noelle that your photos are great – the colours seem to come through really well.
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Thank you. I think it must have been the autumnal light late yesterday afternoon.
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Your Zinnias are spectacular. I didn’t bother this year, they need too much mollycoddling. I always thought that mahonia was scented? Honey/lemon? And I agree with the others the photos are lovely this week, but then they always are. Erysimum ‘Apricot Twist’ has some lovely shades, I really need a bigger garden!
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Thank you. I struggled to take anything in focus this week – there were many outtakes! I thought all Mahonias were scented too – it’s the only disappointing aspect of Soft Caress so far. Walking into town this morning there was a delicious fragrance that turned out to be the tiny flowers of an Eleagnus hedge. I always long for a bigger garden.
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Great bee photos!
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Thank you!
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Hardly the blooms we would expect approaching November, as you say, but lovely none the less, the zinnia in particular. I will be interested to see how that unusual delphinium progresses.
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I’ll keep you posted. In theory if it’s a biennial and it flowers then that’s it, no more plant, so I hope the flowers do open before the frosts strike.
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Lovely selection!
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Sweet bee photo. It’s a shame Soft Caress isn’t fragrant as it’s a lovely smell.
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It is a pity. I’ll have to make do with enjoying the fragrance of the spikey leaved variety on my walk into town on a Saturday morning.
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Superb photos, especially the bee & chocolate cosmos – another one added to my wishlist!
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Oh dear! That’s the trouble with Six on Saturday!
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I too hope the Delphinium flowers before the frost arrives. I can wait to see it! My alyssum has died back, thanks to a couple of scorcher days last week. The native stingless bees love the flowers. The Erysimum is a gorgeous colour. I’m yet another admiring your photos! They are great.
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Thank you. One of the other Delphinium seedlings has opened!
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I feel like I’ve made a note before to try Delphinium requienii against my slimy hordes; it’s pointless me making notes, I only forget where I put them. Your mention of Chocolate Cosmos has reminded me to go check on my Cosmos peucedanifolius, which will need similar treatment. I lost Cosmos atrosanguineus and must get another.
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Glad I could be of some help. I need to dig mine up this weekend, if only to prevent it from getting flattened when the new fence is put up.
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The Mahonia is an interesting plant and got me thinking about bees. Wehre do bees go in winter?
So I’m scrolling down reading the rest of your content whe n I read the heading Is Frequent Urination Keeping you up at night …. I has one of thos wt* moments until I realised it was sponsored content LoL
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Ha! WordPress keeps pushing me to sign up and pay for an ad-free version. I wonder what other embarrassing issue adverts they’re putting on there?!
I’m not sure about the bees now you mention it. I know the queens hibernate but as for the workers, I’m not sure.
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Beautiful Photos ❤ I always amazes me that we can have gardens from different reaches of the world and have similar garden plants in them. I Bought a very similar apricot wallflower from a nursery discount trolley and I find it very charming doing its thing in winter/spring.
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Thank you. The wallflower has proved to be a good one so far.
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