And still the hot weather goes on. I’m only watering veg beds and pots. There’s not much left of the lawn and even big shrubs are withering a little. As the apparently endless sunshine continues, plants keep giving. I’ve gone for cool white for my #SixOnSaturday this week.

Lots of lillies, despite a major lily battle attack this year. These one are white with a touch of pink, smell Devine, and draw in dozens of hover flies. Magical.

Nigella is a newish annual for me. Some years I have tried but this year they have really taken off. I love the detail, the feathery yet well-organised leafy bits, the simple flower, the blowing beautifully in the breeze.

Another lily, this time Calla. I keep these in pots, then pull the pots into the greenhouse and keep dry for the winter. The strategy seems to have worked well over a good few years. The flowers don’t last long, but when they do, they stand proud and tall, great structure.

This year’s favourite, a dahlia that’s mostly white, but with a hint of pink as the flowers come fully out.

In contrast, ammi is doing it’s very floaty thing in the long borders, seemingly resistant to the hot sunny conditions.

Last, a cluster of really really white lillies. They look gorgeous, yet not as fragrant as the one I opened this post with. They are strutting their stuff beautifully, loving the pot that restricts their roots.

I hope some of the pure white colour has cooled you down….this year reminds me of the summer of ’76, when I was a wee young girl. I remember those endless summer days in the sunshine. When will it break?

Do join in with your own 6 things from a garden. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog. I do read them all, keep them coming. And do join in with #SixOnSaturday. 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/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

We have been so lucky here as yet another heat dome covers north-west Europe. A couple of days over 25 deg, the rest well below that with a little fog at times (known as ‘haar’ in these parts). No rain though, wildfires are breaking out in local woodlands and moors, but luckily nothing too close. As the apparently endless sunshine continues, plants that give their all in late summer are already at play. This week therefore I give you my first Dhalia-special for my #SixOnSaturday.

A new one for the garden this year, I love the form and simple colour of this pure white variety with spiked leaves.

In dramatic contrast, how about dark, rich red? And a free little golden-shouldered bee.

This next one has been in flower for a while, and you’ve seen it in earlier weeks. Just keeps delivering lots of lovely varied flowers with petals running from red into a yellow centre.

Now pink seems to be the new red in my dahlia collection for 2026. First, a very pale flower, set on deep red stems and foliage.

Just one flower has appeared on another new variety, this one with what looks like a random variation of petals, either pink or white. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next few flowers deliver.

Last, a wonderful pink-purple variety with classic ‘cactus’ petals. Rich and wonderful.

There’s summer for you! I love the sunshine, but we really could do with a few drops of rain soon — seems to be none in the forecast for the next week or so.

Do join in with your own 6 things from a garden. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog. I do read them all, keep them coming. And do join in with #SixOnSaturday. 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/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

Finally it feels like summer has properly reached eastern Scotland. Since the heat of last week it has stayed warm, crucially, at least for the courgette plants (!) temperatures have stayed above 12 deg C at night, and are a comfy 20-ish most days now. Combined with our very long hours of daylight at this time of year, with the sun up from 4.30am to 10pm, there is SO MUCH growth! This week, I’m going to bring you lovely yellows for my #SixOnSaturday this week, to celebrate the start of July.

A frothy border filler, which is honestly a bit of a brute and spreads wildly, alchemical does look floaty and fresh as it comes into flower.

A very tall favourite in the centre of a long border, this giant scabies can stand a good 3m tall. Each flower is a complex combination of tiny flowerlets.

Another wonder tall middle-of-border plant, thalictrum has been a little wind-battered and needs some gathering and staking this year.

This lovely shrub/bush/tree has followed me through 3 gardens, now loving sitting in a very dry bed against the south-facing stone house wall. A California native that always survives a grotty wet winter, here is the almost rubbery fremontodendron.

Another border-thug, this time about 1m tall, lysmachia is at it’s very best just now, holding out well against high winds so far this summer.

Last for this sunny summery week, hypericum is a self-seeder all over the garden. I’m not sure I love the foliage, yet the flowers and berries are gorgeous.

There you have a lot of yellow illustrating the lushness of the garden now we are in full summer. So much to see, do look at, summer is already flying by.

Do join in with your own 6 things from a garden. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog. I do read them all, keep them coming. And do join in with #SixOnSaturday. 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/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot