Hello there, it’s Six on Saturday time again! This means I’m joining with The Propagator and chums in showing six highlights from the garden. Feel free to join in if you don’t already.
Life in general is pootling along nicely but on the blogging front, I can’t seem to quite get back into the swing of things. There’s no shortage of things to see in the garden and it follows that there’s plenty to blog about too. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite seem to be happening. No matter; this week I’m ready and raring to go. On the whole it’s been a dry and sunny week, but the only chance I had to get out in the garden in daylight was Wednesday. Wednesday was wet. You’ll see evidence of this below.
1. Damp Daffodils
There are a few different types dotted around the garden: all are doing well, all are looking cheerful. The one on the top left is my favourite; about the same size as Tête-à -tête (bottom right), flowers at the same time, grows just as well, a little less bold and a little more subtle. Most of these also featured in a much sunnier Six on Saturday this time last year.
2. Grumpy Griffin
Our tortoise, Griffin, emerged from hibernation at the weekend: the days were warm and dry, the nights were mild. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. After digging himself out of his hibernating hole, he wandered down the garden and dug himself straight back into a vacant bit of soil. Never mind, I hear we’re in for a spell of warm weather over the next week or so. He’s out slightly earlier than 2021 – he didn’t bother getting out of bed until April last year.
3. Clammy Catkins
That was the best I could come up with, alliteration-wise. The Corkscrew Hazel is a-dingling and a-dangling with aplomb this year.
Now for some Corydalis updates:
4. Corydalis seedlings
Here’s a little collage of recently germinated seedlings. Tuberous Corydalis have the curious habit of only producing one seed leaf, despite being dicots. They also seem to like hanging on to a little droplet of water at the end of the leaf: these seedlings hadn’t been watered particularly recently, yet many of them held a mini dew drop at the leaf point all the same.
From freshly germinated seed to the fully grown thing:
5. Corydalis solida seedling 1
Here’s a charming little plant grown from seed. I refer to it as ‘Purple Lips’ because it has purple lips. Ingenious stuff. Anyway, it first flowered last spring and has come along nicely through the rest of the year to flower with even more enthusiasm this time around.
6. Corydalis solida seedling 2
I imaginatively refer to this one ‘Pale Pink’. It’s a significantly paler shade of pink than the widely grown ‘Beth Evans’, although this isn’t obvious in the photo above. It’s the first time it’s flower and I’m rather pleased that it has done so!
That brings us to the end of today’s Six on Saturday. Thanks for reading!
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The Corydalis are wonderful, I don’t think I know this plant. Hello Mr Tortoise, haven’t seen one of them for a few years either. I hope he is happier now?
Corydalis are quite a varied bunch in terms of habit, but they all have the same distinctive flower shape. He’s much happier now the sun’s out!
Great to see your corydalis. When it comes to gathering one’s own seed and sowing it, is it best to sow it straight away or to dry it then when should they be sown? You are the ideal person to give us all a masterclass.
Straight away is best. The seeds aren’t actually fully mature when they’re shed from the plant, so need moisture (from the soil) to fully develop. They also need the cold winter weather. I sow them as soon as they’re ripe and then leave them tucked away behind the greenhouse for the rest of the year.
Thank you Andrew, I shall watch carefully and gather the seed as soon as the pods start to split and then sow them, I forgot to ask how deep. Many thanks.
Animals are extraordinary at giving us the signals of spring. Mr Tortoise is an example; for my part I saw birds going up to north which is a good sign. The spring is coming !
Nice corydalis photos as usual.
They certainly are! Thanks 🙂
What is the daffodil at the bottom left? It looks interesting.
I regularly go through periods of just not being able to set myself to write, as much as I might like to, but I take the attitude that when I have something I want to say, I’ll write then.
Bottom left daffodil looks like “Rip van Winkle”. I could be wrong, though!
Yes, it’s Rip van Winkle, nicely spotted! I’ve seen some lovely photos of it online, mine tends to droop a bit under the weight of it’s flowers, adding to it’s eccentric appearance!
Nice pics of the daffs
Cheers!
Great photos. I’ll have to seek out that top-left daff – it’s rather lovely, as are those catkins. As for the single seed-leaved dicot – it’s nice to put a name to one of the exceptions to the rule. The RHS Level 2 book always say “most of this and that have the following chararcteristics…” but don’t given any examples of those that don’t (probably to avoid brain overload when it comes to revision). Poor Griffin.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the name of the Daffodil. It might be Jack Snipe but I couldn’t say for certain!
Quite a variety of daffodils. I congratulate you on the blooming corydalis, grown from seed. I am always particularly proud of any seed-grown plants that manage to not only survive but grow and produce flowers.
Yes, it’s such a satisfying process!
Poor Griffin! I think he called it a bit early. There is a hedgehog over wintering in the rose garden and I poked its leaf pile today and it still seems to be in there.
That’s a gorgeous photo of the corkscrew hazel.
At least the weather has turned around now, although still quite cold at night.
lovely corydalis seedlings – I like ‘Pale Pink’!
Me too! It’s quite a subtle colour.
Just like the spring garden, writing can’t be forced! It happens best when the time is right.
Wise words indeed!