It’s nearly the end of the year. Before looking forward to the new season, I want to review a few highlights of the year, so here are 6×6 from every other month!

Back in February, the season began to kick off nicely. Some wonderful flowers, including a tree (spot the tiny red flower next to the hazel catkin) and a ‘wildflower’.

Daffodil and their cousins are a flower I always look forward too, though the season is short. Here they were in April.

Hot colours emerged in the early June flower borders.

From August, I always love a veg show, and won prizes for a few of my entries this year. Here are my favourite 6 from show week.

Delightful dahlia are now firmly my late summer love, they did not disappoint in September.

For my last set of highlights, there will still loads of flowers blooming, well into a warmish October. It felt wonderful at the time (though feels a lifetime ago at the very dark end of the year).

That’s it for this week, and for 2023. I hope the new year, when it comes, heralds a refreshing waft of garden scent and a vivid swathe of colour.

Join the sixes on Mastodon or other instances in the Fediverse via #SixOnSaturday, we need a few more folk to toot on the topic: come join us. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. Also on the former birdsite, for those who must: @JamesLStephens. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

Happy solstice all. The darkest day has come and gone and we’re on the haul back towards the light. Wonderful. It felt a lot easier to find my #SixOnSaturday this week.

Despite the deep darkness of winter, there’s been much mildness so far this winter. Here are some winter veg that have weathered the storms so far. First, chard will manage through a mild frost, I’ve weeded carefully in the hope that a bit more light will allow a bit more growth.

Leeks have been standing strong too, making a great winter veg to pop into casseroles and soups. Long may they grow….

To get a bit seasonal now: I plan to add lots of this sage to some shop-bought stuffing, and some extra garlic to make a delicious ‘Italian Xmas Stuffing’.

For the turn of the solar year, I offer some hopeful buds on a soon-to-flower hellebore.

It wouldn’t be mid-winter without holly berries. These are from the last tree, now full of feasting field-fare. i think these must taste less good than those from the rest of the garden. They certainly look luscious.

I will end with a seasonal wreath, with holly, ivy, bay, and other green goodies. This will need a regular top-up, as blackbirds have learned how to land and sample the berries.

Seasons greetings, whether you celebrate the new solar year, or the glory of the consumer Xmas, its great for all to stop and have a wee rest in the deep dark. I’ll be celebrating gently. Join the sixes on Mastodon or other instances in the Fediverse via #SixOnSaturday, we need a few more folk to toot on the topic: come join us. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. Also on the former birdsite, for those who must: @JamesLStephens. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

We’re into those dull dark December days. I was scrapping around doing a bit of garden tidying yesterday, and really struggled to get inspired about showing you six things from my garden. But I have managed to find a few things that cheered me up. I hope my #SixOnSaturday will cheer you up too.

I’ll starts with skimia, a good hardy winter plant, just coming into its own with its strange purple buds and purple-edged leaves.

I was surprised to find a little pot of species tulips bidding for some light as they push up their little shoots. Seems a bit early? Ah well.

There are some good seed heads around. Even on a dull day, teasel offers lots of spiky detail.

I have had some remarkable success this year with pak choi. These went in sometime in autumn, probably late September, and seem to have come through hard frost, and even some snow. Here they are still slowly growing.

Another plant still offering a few tall stems and seeds is herb fennel. The heads look great against a rather bleak sky.

Finally for this week, I have never managed to keep a dhalia flowering into December. I’ve left one going in the greenhouse and it is STILL producing flowers. Lovely.

I hope you enjoyed my dank, dark #SixOnSaturday. By this time next week we’ll be past the solstice and the light will be on its way back….yeyhhhh. Join the sixes on Mastodon or other instances in the Fediverse via #SixOnSaturday, we need a few more folk to toot on the topic: come join us. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. Also on twitter @JamesLStephens. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

What a struggle it is in December to manage to even enter the garden during daylight hours. A blizzard of snow this week has been rapidly followed by a deluge of snowmelt and rain, it has barely got light. So this week’s #SixOnSaturday are a bit of a mis-mash of frosty snowy times.

First, my garden hosts an ancient sundial, at least a couple of hundred years old. Local experts have suggested it was a weeding gift, with the newly wed’s initials carved into the top surface.

Hard frost really sets off some still-standing seed heads.

Frosted roses are lovely too, these look a lot like they’ve been crystalised in sugar.

Meanwhile, in the greenhouse, a potted cosmos has had one last blast at trying to flower. Heroic for December!

And then came the snow and cold, freezing the pond, making the garden gorgeously white.

But bamboos in the courtyard flopped a little, making the exit from the house into a winter jungle adventure.

I hope you enjoyed my wintry #SixOnSaturday. Join the sixes on Mastodon or other instances in the Fediverse via #SixOnSaturday, we need a few more folk to toot on the topic: come join us. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. Also on twitter @JamesLStephens. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

Winter started this week, with the onset of December, and here she comes with -4 degC frosts. So where better to look in the garden for material to celebrate my #SixOnSaturday. I’ll start with a simple leaf, the sun bleeding through it’s almost translucent skin while frost provides an edgy highlight.

I’m pretty sure that my hardy winter veg will recover from being deep frozen. For now, frost provides a pretty sprinkle to enhances the curves and bumps of the Cavalo Nero kale.

In the borders there are seed heads galore. Perhaps my favourite comes from the statuesque wildflower teasel.

Although it is fun to also let some veg go to seed. This is the seed head left from a lovely purple leek flower.

And crocosmia can also have a good solid set of seeds to display, at least until winter storms flatten the lot.

Last, but not least, I go back to the last few autumn leaves, holding sharp splinters of frost on what has been a very chilly morning.

Join the sixes on Mastodon or other instances in the Fediverse via #SixOnSaturday, we need a few more folk to toot on the topic: come join us. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. Also on twitter @JamesLStephens. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot