Good morning and welcome to another Six on Saturday. Today is a quick one, but never fear: more Six on Saturdays are available over at The Propagator. Congratulations to him, by the way; he did a 100km run last weekend. Read all about it here. Without further ado:
1. Slime
Nothing beats a fresh slug trail on a fine spring morning. Interestingly, this particular individual doesn’t seem to have eaten anything, just left huge smears of slime over a number of plants. I read somewhere that the big ‘uns mostly eat rotting things; it’s the little b****rs you’ve got to watch out for.
2. Sweetcorn
I realised I’d forgotten to sow these so they’re only couple of weeks old, but they’re certainly making up for it.
3. Sweet Pepper
While we’re on the subject of sweet things, there’s a little pepper forming on this here plant. It was the only seed to germinate out of that packet and I think it has absorbed the life-force of the other seeds. It’s been was ahead of the curve since it germinated and looks determined to succeed. Good for you, little pepper plant!
4. Opium Poppies
I usually let them grow when they decide to pop up, and there seem to be a lot of them around this year. In the past I’ve had some rather nice deep purple double flowers, so we’ll see what happens here.
5. Alliums
My little Allium patch is doing nicely. It featured on a previous Six on Saturday, in less lush surroundings. Directly behind is Aconitum carmichaelli, to the right Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’, to the left Ribes sanguineum ‘Kind Edward VII’.
6. Corydalis elata
This one is a relative of the more widely available Corydalis flexuosa, and has been crossed with flexuosa to create a number of hybrids. You can see a slight curl on the edges of some of the leaves – this is due to the cold weather we had during April. It hasn’t done any serious damage, and the plant is now growing away quite happily.
That’s all for today’s Six on Saturday. Thanks for popping by, enjoy your weekend!
Telltale signs of night activity, Andrew. Is it a begonia? Looking mighty well! Two muggy nights here this week, and my b#&@ards put on a lot of weight!
‘Tis indeed a Begonia. Yes, we’ve had plenty of wet, which has certainly suited them.
Never has our vegetable growing been so bad, so slow, with such poor germination etc. We will starve! I hope the weather allows growth from now on.
My brassicas have done fine, but a lot of other things are looking pretty average. Things are starting to grow a bit better now though.
Those poppies will look quite amazing in a few weeks time, but I do like its pale glaucous greenness in leaf.
I know what you mean, the leaves have a very particular colour to them.
Lots of things going on in your garden!
I’m only just keeping up!
The worst thing is having a fresh slug trail, looking for it for 1/2h and not finding it… Isn’t it too late for sweetcorn? I was hesitant, maybe more like next year for me then
It is certainly later than I intended! I find it a bit of a lottery in our unpredictable climate anyway, so I’ll see how I get on!
The sweetcorn seedlings look very well. I spotted a big slug trail high up on a neighbours garage roof this morning, gleaming in the sun. I’ve no idea where it was headed.
Probably climbing up high so they can parachute onto your ‘slug-proof’ swing seat!
Are you sure the big ones do no harm? I saw a massive slug nestling among my dahlia pots, plus the delightful slimy trail and certainly some nibbled leaves. I’ve sown sweetcorn but the problem is I have nowhere to put it – a problem that usually resolves itself one way or another!
I’m not certain – it’s something I heard and cling to in order to reassure myself! Certainly the little ones do a lot of damage…
That’s a relief! I thought you weren’t going to include a corydalis until the last item. My alliums are good this year but the peppers are non-existent.
One day I’ll surprise you and not include one at all!
Your sweetcorn look better after a fortnight than mine after a month, they just won’t grow. You may be right about the big slugs but until I get convincing proof I’m not taking chances by letting them live.
Yes, I’m very pleased with the Sweetcorn. I haven’t done anything different (apart from being late to sow), so I’m not sure where I’ve gone right!
Best not to take chances when it comes to slugs.
That is a happy little pepper. It has come on really well despite the dull and cold weather. Interesting point about the large slugs.
I’m very pleased with it. The other varieties are no where near as advanced or large.
Don’t take my word for it on the slugs – it’s just something I heard!