I went a bit mad with tulips this year. Partly due to a delivery failure from a well known bulb company. Two consecutive deliveries didn’t arrive, so they sent replacements, then 2 weeks later I got a couple of mystery deliveries! So for the last day of April (how did we get there so fast?) it’s got to be a tulip special. My favourite is red, so here’s a joyful pot of tulips illustrating why.

I’m not sure I’ve ever planted white, or pink-white tulips in the garden, but occasionally one pops up. This one has a gentle delicacy.

There are a few yellow tulips in the garden, again, they must be left overs from year’s go, because I tend not to choose them (plenty of yellow from the daffs). Some friends came rounds with these last week though. They DO look lovely in a vase and have lasted a whole week already.

Back to the bright colour now. Does anyone know what these twisted petal varieties are called. A pink specimen here illustrates how structurally fascinating tulips can be.

Some more twisted type, this time in red, with interesting variegated red-green leaves. Just a few of these in a pot work well together with their foliage.

To finish off, I’ve gone for a much darker pot of pink blooms for my current favourite. These pink-wine coloured tulips are new this year. I splurged and put a full dozen in one pot. They will be amongst my last to flower, last but certainly not least.

Have a lovely weekend and find time to enjoy the flowers and the edibles. Some of my own veg will be featuring soon. That’s my #SixonSaturday for this week. Stay safe, and don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.

After a long weekend away meeting family on England’s Yorkshire Coast, I got home to discover spring had properly sprung with a blast of blossom. As high winds are starting, it had therefore better be time for a #SixonSaturday blossom special.

A biggy to start. I don’t know how many year’s it’s been in place, but at a foot diameter and at least 12m tall, this beautiful magnolia has graced the edge of the veg plot for many years. Looks perfect against a blue sky.

Something much smaller next. Azeleas look a bit green and boring, filling space in the side garden for most of the year. Right now, though, they glow white all evening and are a joy to come home to.

A more diminutive magnolia now, at just 1.5m tall, and very slow growing: the great thing about this stellata is that the flowers last for weeks.

A very old pear tree grows up the south side of the house, quite possibly the same age (200 years+). Some year’s it does little, this year the branches are filled to bursting with blossom, and my neighbour’s bees are busy having their fill of its sweet nectar.

I love the way that the white amelanchiar blossom contrasts with the almost bronze leaves, delightful and delicate.

This week is my favourite week of the whole year, because of this. A Japanese Cherry spreads its wide branches and fills the air with gentle scent and blossom. It’s a week (or sometimes two) that’s always worth waiting for.

Have a lovely weekend and find time to enjoy the flowers and the strong spring growth. That’s my #SixonSaturday for this week. Stay safe, and don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.

Some settled weather has settled in for Easter after a cold spell. I’m excited to have had enough choice this week to go for my first colour theme of the year. Here’s a pink one. Happy Easter.

One of the most exciting blooms in the garden this week is the first camellia of the year. This one is from a huge old shrub that sits mostly in the shape. It takes a while to bloom, the flowers last for a while once here.

I suspect this will be the very last outing for the hellebore. They have had a magnificent year, I’m going to miss them.

I’ve even managed pink (or admittedly, more like purple) as some early veg. These pak choi might go into the garden, although pigeons appear to have a taste for them this year.

There have to be tulips for Easter. I don’t often choose pink, seems I did this year. These make a lovely display on the front door step.

Still going strong, magnolia stellata provide a bright, slightly spikey spring interest. The shrub grows so slowly, but year by year we get a few more flowers every spring.

Last, but very much not least, my first rhododendron of the year has just opened. Not a native species, but they lover eastern Scotland, and we love them.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the bank holiday if you are lucky enough to have one. That’s my #SixonSaturday for this week. Stay safe, and don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.

This was the spring week when the warm sunshine turned back to a northerly wind and a wee bit of snow. Spring has decided to slow itself down again, nice in some ways. To celebrate the pace, this week’s #SixonSaturday represents the ‘almost there’ that is everywhere in the garden this week.

First, some lovely tulips. These might be some sort of dwarf variety, the flowers are coming, but these are just a few cm high. I love the bright pink colour.

Things are beginning to hot up in the veg garden, well in the cold frame at least. I have trays of mizuna and pak choi ready to go out into the garden. Question is, will the soil be warm enough for anything to grow away? Will they be eaten by beasties? Time will tell.

Whilst on the edibles, rhubarb is starting. I love the texture of the first leaves, their wrinkles before they stretch into growth. Lots of lovely crumbles in mind….

Now for some spring blossom, a Japanese quince has a host of buds, the bright red flowers are almost in bloom now.

One of my favourite blossoms of the year is on the old pear tree. 40cm across, spreading 4m across the south facing stone wall of the house, I’ve always thought it must be as old as the house (>200 years). Perhaps one of the oldest pear’s in the county. Here she goes…

Last, but not least, I’ll repeat the tulip theme, we really are coming into tulip season. I’m not usually one for pastel shades, but looks at least beauties. Delicate joy.

That’s my #SixonSaturday for this week. Stay safe, and don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.

It’s early April, so peak daffodil season in my garden. I’m working away this weekend, so my #SixonSaturday is brief, but beautiful. I don’t know the names of all these narcissi varieties, but I love them all. Here they are.

That’s my #SixonSaturday for this week. Stay safe, and don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to t