Six on Saturday 3rd April

Once again, The Propagator leads us headlong into another Six on Saturday. As an Easter Treat, I’m replacing the first item on my list with a video. I hope you can forgive me for starting in such a contrary manner…

1. A Video Introduction

Well that was jolly.

2. Alpine Garden Society – Rock Plants in Flower Competition

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Last week the Alpine Garden Society ran a wee photographic competition on Twitter. I’m not usually the competitive type, but it seemed like a fun, low profile sort of thing so I entered the photos shown above. I didn’t win any prizes, however the photo of C. heterocarpa featured in a selection of photos that ‘showed great artistic merit’. Funnily enough, I didn’t really think much of that particular photo; there’s no accounting for taste! The winner of one of the categories was a fine specimen of C. solida, and Corydalis photos featured several times in the ‘highly commended’ and ‘artistic merit’ galleries (including one particularly eye-catching C. sewerzowii). Also of note: regular Six on Saturday contributor Katherine, of Tea Break Gardener fame, had a photo in there somewhere too. All good fun!

3. A New Cold Frame

This is a cold frame of the most rudimentary and functional variety. I came into some old double glazing units so it made sense to try and make use of them. I believe that double glazing filters out some of UV spectrum, but it still achieves the main aim of a cold frame. The edges are made from some pieces of wood I acquired some time ago. I think they were old roof rafters, or something similar; they were over 20 foot long and I had to cut them in half to fit on the top of the van. Anyway, they’ve come in useful for various bits and bobs, and now I’ve used the last few. The glass is just rested on top (they’re heavy enough to hold themselves in place), and propped open with bricks where needed. You can see the shoots of Dactylicapnos macrocapnos planted in there, ready to climb up wires on the fence. D. scandens and torulosa are planted elsewhere along the length of the cold frame.

You can also see the bright orange replacement fence panel, which keeps ruining the background of various other photos (!), and the bits of paint seeping through where next door has made the interesting decision to paint all their side black.

4. Alliums

This is a bit of an experiment. I find that Alliums tend to dwindle in number over the years, so I’ve been letting them seed around in this little patch. It seems to be paying off: there are some seedlings, some flowering size plants and everything in-between. I find that self sown bulbs often do well because they’ve chosen their own position and the bulbs grow at the exact depth that they choose. When we plant bulbs ourselves, it’s only ever an approximation of their preferred position.

5. Sollya heterophylla ‘Alba’

• 

• 

This is a beautiful, but unfortunately ex-, climber. It was planted in the full knowledge that it isn’t fully hardy, but it had come through several winters and was filling me with false hope. I think it’s been the cold winds that have done the damage, more than the sub-zero temperatures. Having said all of that, there are a few green leaves near the base of the plant, so there’s still a chance that it might pull through.

6. Dicentras

• 

• 

• 

Dicentra season is upon us! Here are some highlights to whet your appetite. ‘Moorland Mist’ is the first to flower this year (not surprising – it featured in a previous Six on Saturday for it’s early emerging leaves). It’s a delicate looking thing, but quite robust in habit. Next along is ‘Filigree’, an interesting cultivar with very finely divided leaves. So fine, in fact, that the autofocus on the camera couldn’t pick it up! Finally, the very nearly in flower ‘Bacchanal’. This has been one of the strongest performing formosa cultivars I have; nicely coloured, red flowers and a tough disposition.

Thus ends this weeks Six on Saturday. There are many more such posts over at The Propagator, so why not head over and take a look? Hopefully the weather won’t prevent you from getting out in the garden over the next few days. Regardless, enjoy the Easter weekend!