Wall to wall sunshine has characterised this week, despite some cold easterly winds everything seems to grow many cm every day. There is now so much to see in the garden that I spot new blooms every time I look. This week, some wonderful spring pink things caught my eye for #SixOnSaturday

Call it a wildflower, or a weed, whichever it is, the form and colour of campion is beautiful.

My garden borders are a haven for aquilegia, which have popped up everywhere. Many are purple, but a few are the more interesting hybrid varieties, like this lovely pink-horned flower.

As regular readers of this bog will know, I’m a huge fan of hardy geranium. This one came from a cutting from a neighbour. Highly drought resistant, very very pink.

Spanish bluebells do magnificently in the dappled shape that a tree-filled garden allows. Some of them are not blue. This year, there’s a good scattering of very pale pink bells.

My almost favourite plant in the garden this week is the candelabra primula. I picked up a single plant from a local seller a few years ago. And I planted it in a VERY wet spot, in a boggy area at the edge of the pond. Now there are 5 little plants, each with its own stem. Wonderful.

In May, in a Scottish garden, the rhododendron cannot be beaten. This one is 3m talk, 3m wide and WOW….how could anything else be my favourite right now?

That’s my #SixOnSaturday this week. I hope you have some wonderful sunshine to enjoy gardens and green spaces too. After all those months of cold and dark, spring comes on SO FAST…give us a few more weeks, please! Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

Into May we go, and a long May Day weekend here looks wonderfully sunny. Though there have been some very sharp temperature changes this week. On Wednesday it hit 23 degC, but today we’ll reach only 13 and Monday it could even be 11 degC as a daytime high. Brgghhh, that northerly has just started coming in. I’m a little sad about that as, despite the sunshine, the breeze is blowing blossom away quickly. There’s so much going on the in garden, top plants of the season so far feature for this week’s #SixOnSaturday.

The most amazing display now we’re into mid-spring are from our apple trees. They are so loaded with blossom this year that you can barely see the leaves. Here’s one of the larger, older trees.

A more subtle tree also displaying right now is a quince. I love the delicate pink blooms. I often get plenty of flowers, but seldom get more than 2-3 fruits. the tree seems to grow well, but I wonder if the conditions are just too cool and dry to fully develop the fruit.

Almost all the narcissi have finished now, leaving me with the rather tedious job of dead heading a huge number of blooms. A favourite, always flowering very late, is the pheasant-eye. Here she is, only a few pop up each year yet they are worth waiting for.

A range of large rhododendrons are lowly rotating into bloom. This lovely pink-white variety is at it peak now. No discernible scent, but the bees love it and the flowers glow in the evening light.

Clematis Montana are in bloom. They grow up several parts of the garden wall, and the walls of the house. Most are now bobbing away in the breeze, like this white variant on the south-facing house wall.

Last this week, not all the wonder in the garden comes from flowers. I admire the shape of a freshly leafing hosta. This one next to the pond seems already to be suffering a little snail damage. Hopefully not too much more as blackbirds are now busy hunting for food.

That’s my #SixOnSaturday this week. I hope you have some wonderful sunshine to enjoy gardens and green spaces too. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

Spring flows along, going faster and faster…can’t keep up with all the garden happenings. there’s so much to look at, I’ve gone for a colour themed six this week; purples and blues for #SixOnSaturday

First the wonderful bluebell. These are the Spanish, not native, they are thugs, but lovely thugs. here’s an example popped up against a very dry west facing wall.

My favourite species of ground cover plant is on its way. Hardy geranium. This variety has deep purple flowers on tall stems, always starts early. As it has this year.

In the lawn, tiny clusters of viola are showing. Perhaps the are easier to see this year as my partner hurt his back last week, hence there’s been no mowing for a while.

Pulmonaria have been flowering since January, and still going strong, providing nectar for garden bees.

In a pot, lurking in a dry corner, I’ve spotted a rosemary just coming into flower.

Last up this week, perennial cornflower. Somehow these grew to 1/2m high and got themselves into full flower without me noticing. Happened really quickly!

That’s my #SixOnSaturday this week. I hope you have some wonderful sunshine to enjoy gardens and green spaces too. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

A very quick #SixOnSaturday for this holiday weekend as I have friends staying. We finally do seem to be in the midst of proper spring now, with lots of lovely blooms and leaves opening. Here’s what I found in the garden this week.

The biggest leaves in the garden have started their annual journey. Gunnera by the pond always delivers.

I scattered some honesty seeds in late autumn, and it seems to have worked. A huge plant has appeared from nowhere and is in full flower.

A handful of small(ish) horse chestnut trees have a bid to grow in a shady corner every year. Here’s one showing off some lovely red-brown new leaves.

Rhododendron seasoon has arrived. This is the first one in the succession of bushes I have, a wonderful rousing pink.

More leaf and flower opening, the rowan trees are setting out their flower buds.

Last this week is the start of tulip season. I didn’t plant as many this year as usual, but the few pots I have are doing nicely. I love the form and colour of this one.

That’s my #SixOnSaturday this week. I hope you have some wonderful sunshine to enjoy gardens and green spaces too. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

There hs been sunny dry weather in place, all over the UK, for the whole of April so far! Wow. Looks lovely, but here in the east, with cold winds from the sea, the temperature has seldom reached above 12 degC. Until the last couple of days, and now we have a mini-summer (18-19 degC). The response of the garden has been swift. So many new things are in flower that it was hard to choose my #SixOnSaturday. No theme this week, just what has brought me joy as I’ve looked around.

First this week, azaleas are go. This one sits near the step to the driveway. it isn’t a colour I would have chosen, but is pretty in the sunshine.

I thought green alkanes was a native wildflower, but have just read via the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) website, that it was introduced to the Uk 200 years ago or more. It grows like crazy in my garden. It is a bit of a thug, but has lovely blue flowers that insects love, and I just discovered are edible. Am thinking some pretty ice-cubes might be coming on in my freezer later.

My garden hosts a very old pear tree, growing up against the house wall. I’ve always suspected it is as old as the house — so over 200 years. This year the blossom is REALLY prolific.

I do love a few pots on a little table near the bench and table. Just now, there are so many pretty little plants there. My second favourite this week is a wonderful tiny primula. there is fantastic details in the petals.

In a corner of the garden where I don’t look much, I just found a huge clump of wallflowers. Wow, a punch of bright yellow joy.

My last wonderful bit of garden joy this week is my favourite pot-plant of the moment. A fabulous pasqueflower, doing its thing at just the right time of year. Amazing, rich purple flowers, splendid.

That’s my #SixOnSaturday this week. I hope you have some wonderful sunshine to enjoy gardens and green spaces too. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

As spring continues the pace really ramps up in April as we win so much more daylight. It’s all happening so fast now that it is hard to find JUST six things from the garden for #SixOnSaturday. This week I’ve gone for what’s looking pretty in the sunshine, as we’re currently having lots of sun, despite a cold easterly wind.

For me amalanchia is always the herald of the blossomy part of spring, and as usual, it is showing its delicate blossom against the almost-red foliage. The peak time of the year for this simple shrub.

This year, other blossoms are hard on the heals of amalanchia. Not least the beautiful cherry, these gentle blooms are often sparse after bullfinch action earlier in spring. There seems to be more blossom than usual this year.

My magnolia usually take their time to appear. Both types have burst into bloom this week, together for once. My favourite is magnolia stellata, whose buds have been tempting me with their fluffy growth for weeks. Now we get the wonderful pink splash.

Hiding behind the veg bed, we gave the much larger traditional magnolia tree a huge prune 2 years ago. This year is is covered in huge white blooms, big, blousy and they really do look like the ancient tree that they are.

I have realised it’s time to start watering flower pots. Often we get a rash of early April showers, but the weather is set sunny for another couple of weeks. The tulips were drooping when I noticed, luckily, few are in flower yet. Here is the first.

I will finish with my very-much favourite flower of the week. Narcisuss Thalia is double headed, and almost a pure creamy white. Wonderful form, stands well in wind, what a wonderful flower.

Hope you liked the spring blooms special this week. This time of year happens so fast and seems to fly by. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

Spring is really here, despite temperatures still fluctuating a fair bit. As you will see from the pics below, I had to dodge rain showers (they will get the weeds growing) to find six lovely things for this week’s #SixOnSaturday

First up this week, narcissi are all very much into full flower now. These orange-centred ones are lovely, but they nod their heads very low. I almost had to get underneath them to take a picture.

Just a few snake’s head fritillary grace my spring flower borders, but WHAT a flower, it is always hard to figure out how that tiny checker-board pattern evolved.

Some tiny species tulips, just a couple of cm across are fighting to flower against the onslaught of wind and rain. If it gets sunny enough they will open right out into a star shaped flower. I hope they do.

Much more robust, grape hyacinth have spread right through the garden and waive at me in the breeze, almost everywhere I look.

The first wall-flower of the season have pushed out a flower. this one fabulous colours, I hope there will be lots more.

Last this week are another gaggle of lovely narcissi, these are such a delicate yellow that they are almost cream coloured. The cold temperatures will make them last another couple of weeks I suspect.

It’s almost April, so veg time is coming VERY soon. Hope you liked the simple blooms still showing us it is early spring. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

There has been lots of sun this week, yet some very cold nights (-3 degC one night). Some of the spring flowers are lasting a LONG time. I like that. And of course, it was the spring equinox on Thursday, so those of us at northern latitudes will now have longer days that those of you down south. I’m looking forward to all that light. To celebrate the lengthening days, I offer lots of garden colour for this week’s #SixOnSaturday.

First, there is something strong and sturdy about the traditional daffodil. I think some of mine have come early. Luckily, they seem to be flowering slowly, with lots still in bud. The frill on the trumpet of this is a very pretty detail.

Other spring flowers are slow to start, I think because the ground is still very cold. Primroses are just coming through. I like a variety of colours, this one is a bit artificial, but it pops out nicely from the brownish spring background.

My garden has a range of what are probably quite old varieties of narcissus. Here is a second one, a long elegant trumpet and gentle bobbing head. It has a very different feel to the bold one higher up this post.

A second form of primrose is much closer to the wild species. This one is offering lots of green with a cluster of flowers just coming. I’ll need to get out into the woods to see if the wild ones are coming now.

In a big pot that hosts a rose and some succulents, a chocolate-leafed Celandine pops up its lovely yellow flowers and foliage for just a couple of weeks each year. It has arrived.

For my last image this week, here is some rich and wonderful colour and foliage. A friend gave me a sorbaria a couple of years ago. Despite being almost knocked out by a cold spell just over a year ago, it has started to leaf. The complexity of the leaves and the bread of colours from pink to green make this a fascinating specimen plant for the borders. I hope it grows bigger in the next few years.

Spring is really on the way now. I must get out and try to mulch the borders and prepare the veg beds. Lately, I’ve been playing the greenhouse with seeds, we shall see how well the veg start. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

Mid-March, a hard frost last night will probably have blasted some of the lovely new shoots and buds that have been popping up. Luckily, I took photos yesterday for this week’s #SixOnSaturday.

I hope these have made it through their first cold night in the cold frame. A few broad beans that I started in the greenhouse are gearing up for the spring growing season. I need to plant more as some mice got into the greenhouse and feasted on some of my pots.

In pots on a sunny table near the greenhouse, spring blooms are busy. I love a drumstick primula, this one has delightful flowers and promising almost-furry buds.

New shoots are bursting forth. One of my favourites is magnolia stellata. I’ve been waiting a while, looks like I’ll have to wait a bit longer for the flowers. In the mean time the buds are now very fat and very furry.

Climbing roses are now awake, and showing off new shoots and leaves. This one shows an interesting detail of a red lining to each of the leaves.

It is good to spend some time investigating small details. Clematis Montana, for example, is pushing new shoots that will soon give us leaves and flowers.

My best find this week is a plant that only pops up some years, and hides in the not-quite-tidy borders. The wonderful erythronium (dogs tooth violet) is full of visual detail in both it’s foliage and the almost perfect flowers.

No frogs this week (see last week’s blog), I suspect they are back into torpor in the bottom of the pond, I hope the frogs wan make it through this chilly snap (freezing again this morning). The flowers and shoots are satisfying enough for now. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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

Spring feels like it’s on its way. There has been some mixed weather, grey and windy. For the 3rd time this year we have had to shore-up the laburnum tree again. I hope it survives all the root sway. The mild weather has brought out some blooms, and the frogs. Here’s my early spring #SixOnSaturday.

The frogs, wow, they are going for it this year. We’ve had frog-spawn for a few days now, I’ve counted at least 20 charging about at any one time. A wildlife extravaganza, and just a few steps from the back door. I think I might have caught a pair in the process of delivering the frogspawn.

Some of the winter flowers are still going strong, pieris has been flowering for man weeks now.

And hellebore are nodding away gently in the breeze.

I’m so pleased I planted lots of the tiny winter iris in pots. They look stunning on a sunny morning.

And the newcomers are arriving for spring. A little spray of tete-a-tete mini narcissi are brightening up the courtyard windowsill.

Sheltering from wind and rain in the green house, I love my couple of pots of species tulip. These are tulipa Turkmenistan.

With the frogs serenading my attempts to start a bit of gardening, spring is here now, and I don’t want to miss a moment of it. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. 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