In a stark yet satisfying contrast to last week, I’m writing my #sixonsaturday garden blog on a wonderfully warm summer evening. 9pm, in Fife, and its 22 deg. This kind of summer’s evening is full of delicate scent, long-suppressed joy, and just a hint of nervousness that we’ll have 3 days of this summer and then it will be gone. To celebrate, my Six this week will focus on some of the hots reds that are showing off this week.

I’m not a huge rose fan, and despite my neglect this summer has really come up roses. They are spectacular this year, including this big blousy red variety. I don’t know the name but the scent is gorgeous.

Next is a more dainty proposition by far. Knautia macedonia is shaking her rich blooms in the evening light.

Pelargonia are enjoying the heat of the full sun on the stone courtyard each day. These are on year 3 or 4, I winter them in the greenhouse and they deliver for me each summer.

I’ve been augmenting salads for a week or so now with a range of spicy nasturtiums. This year, a pack of mixed seeds have given quite a few plants with rich red flowers that look and taste stunning in a green salad.

Apart from some slug and snail damage, I’m doing well with dahlia this summer. My new trick is to grow them on in the greenhouse until 30cm tall, or more, before hardening off. This has resulted in stronger, sturdier plants that are flowering earlier than in many years. First, a ‘real red’.

And for my sixth and last bloom of the week, a darker richer, red. That’s my #sixonsaturday for the week. I hope your summer is delivering on warmth and garden joy, wherever you are. Don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.

I’m not sure how much gardening is going to happen today. Ah, summer in Scotland: outside is grey, damp, drizzling….perhaps I’ll pop into the greenhouse and feed all the lovely veggies in there. On that note, veggies are now ready and the first harvests are coming in. I love this bit of the GYO year. So here they are, my #SixonSaturday features edibles today.

On a recommendation from a friend, I’ve gone for one courgette plant in the greenhouse this year, leaving the rest to shiver away outside. The strategy has paid off and courgette Atena is already delivering for stir-fries and pizza topping.

This year I’ve, as usual, chosen a few new tomato varieties. I was promised by the wonderful ‘Real Seeds‘ that Latah would be an early fruiting ‘sprawly bush’ (rather than a cordon) that fruits very early. And so she does. Here’s my first fruit, just a couple more days and I’ll be able to try these.

Outside, this year’s cool May and sunny June have been loved by several varieties of lettuce. This lot will soon go over, I wonder if I remembered to sow some new ones? There’s so much to eat here, anyone got any recipes?

I’ve tried a few different varieties of tattie too this year. They were all planted very late, the first being Shetland Black. The stems have just a hint of red in the centre, the tatties themselves are the deepest blue, with white flesh and a simple purple ring near the skin, but inside the flesh itself. Very hardy, small, excellent roasted whole….will be looking forward to the harvest in another few weeks.

There are lots of peas ready, or at least on their way. I think these are Kelvedon Wonder. The pods are beginning to fill with sweet delicious fruit. I find it hard to cook peas from the garden as they are so sweet eaten in a salad, straight from the pod.

Last, but by no means least, this year’s strawberry harvest is rather late, but just about managed to make it to UK tennis season. The fruit are large, sweet, glossy, fragrant, and carefully netted to avoid the blackbirds sharing too many (they get the tiny wild ones that I use for ground cover in other parts of the garden). I will need to pick more today, to try and get in there before the wet weather damages them.

That’s my edible #SixonSaturday for this week. Will be back to the blooms next week as so much is growing. Don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.

The thing about summer that I always forget is just how fast the garden grows, how floriferous it gets, how quickly things flower. Summer feels like it will last forever, and at the same time each blooms lasts just a few hours or days. There’s so much to choose from. Unusually, I’ve gone for a set of pale blooms this week. First, whitest of white, Canterbury bells are really going for it this year, I’ve ended up with mostly white ones.

Also purest white, a large climbing hydrangea on the garage wall, takes it’s time, flowers slowly, but stays in flower for months on end. Each petal is picked out against the dark background.

Heading just a touch towards pink, my favourite rambling rose is a real thug, but grows us its own support, makes a haven for small garden birds, and smells divine in the first couple of weeks of summer.

The peony season is almost over. I don’t know the name of this variety, but it’s huge blooms are rather rose like, delicate, yet very robust.

Moving away from white a touch, this year’s lupins were late, but have stood tall and strong even in high winds. I’m hoping for a second flush in a couple of weeks, if I’ve time this weekend to start the deadheading of some of the other plants.

Last, but by no means least, I’m not sure how much I love alchemilla mollis, but the ground cover this plant gives can be a blessing (or a curse), and the blooms look lovely in a vase with a few larger, more robust flowers.

That’s my pale #SixonSaturday for this week. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

I was away last week, enjoying the tiny alpine wild-flowers in Scotland’s far northwest. Not a warm mid-summer, but a light one, with sunset at 10.36pm on the solstice. It appears to have been a warm week back in the balmy southeast of Scotland, though we dragged cool and pouring rain back home with us, all the way down the A9 trunk road. After the sparsity of the north, there’s nothing for it than to celebrate summer with some big blousy colour. This week, I will focus on blues, reds and pinks. First up is centranthus ruber, red valerian, growing nicely in a very dry warm bed, against a big stone wall.

Having started with a couple of large poppies a few year’s ago, I have propagated via splitting clumps, and now have them scattered through several borders. They don’t last long, but these flowers are gorgeously worth it.

My garden has a quite a few borders, I have found that hardy geranium provide wonderful ground cover, the mid summer flush of flowers is superb, and is much loved by bees.

I love lilies: this year I’ve managed to plant lots of pots, and have been donated a couple more by a friend. I love the colour she chose.

Not everyone likes astrantia, they do have an ‘already dried’ look, though are good for moist and shady corners. This variety seem to have made it out in the full sunshine, another fabulous shade of dark pink/red to brighten up a dull weekend.

Last, and very much not this week, my peonies flowered during the week I’ve been away. Perhaps the cool weather will make them last. This is bowl of beauty, she has to be my favourite.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed a few blooms from my lush colourful garden. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

An abundance of growth, it always amazes me how much the garden grows in June. Feels like at least 40cm in the past week. Finally the veg are on their way (I’ll feature more of that action next week). For now, I found it very hard to choose what to feature this week. In the end, I’ve decided on just one type of plant. So below follows a series of aquilegia. From the palest of pinks….

…through a decent ‘proper’ pink…

…via purple, which always dominates the main flower beds…

…..to a good solid almost-red….

…via a colour I think I’ll describe as simply dark red….

To……well….chocolate?

And for once, a sneaky extra shot to demonstrate how these beauties really do totally take over the flower borders at this time of year.

That’s it for this week, hope you liked the simple blog this week, early summer is here and I want it to last forever. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

A combination of warmth and a little damp means that everything in the garden seems to have grown about 20cm this week, expect my not-yet-planted veg, still loitering in pots. Must get them into the ground this weekend. Now that June is upon us, I’m focusing on colour this week, lots of lovely lovely colour and sumptuous blooms.

First up this week, welsh poppy. A weed perhaps? Certainly an opportunist that pops us and suns itself all over the garden.

Nicely contrasting is another thuggish ‘weed’, but one that I let grow almost anywhere, and that i find so pleasing, from afar and close up, aquilegia.

We’re almost past full late-spring rhododendron season in Scotland. The cool weather has made the season a long one, this is my favourite, just peaking now, this plant catches the late rays from the evening sun.

Back towards more purply shades, aliums don’t seem quite as prolific as in 2020, but their strong stems and wonderful flowers last a while, catch the eye, and feed the soul.

Fully back to blue for a ceanothus. Only one of my pair of plants has made it through a very harsh winter. Perhaps it’s time to strike a cutting or two from this one, as these plants are barely hardy enough for the harsh winter winds that feature here.

I will finish, where I started, with another lovely yellow. Laburnum have done their thing this week. This has been in about 4 years now. The label promised it would ‘thrive in a windy spot’. Its right on the west wall, facing the prevailing wind. Despite being blown down to the ground in it’s first spring, it has stood the test and grown itself into a very pleasing small tree.

That’s it for this week, it was so hard to choose what to put into the blog this week, early summer is here and I want it to last forever. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

A very late #SixonSaturday this week as I’m just back from a trip to the west of Scotland. Feels like an immense privilege to have been on holiday for a few days. All over the Argyll coast, bluebells are in full flower. I’m not sure if it’s a good year, or if they always put on such a fabulous display, but every scrap of woodland seemed to be filled with their colour and scent. Argyll is also an amazing place for it’s coastal and woodland gardens. This week’s six is simply a set of photos from the An Cala Garden, covering just a couple of acres on Seil Island, near Oban. The weather was ‘mixed’, the midges were attending, but WOW. The primula, azelea and rhododendron were just mind blowing in their colour and vibrancy. As my partner commented, ‘one of the best gardens I have ever seen’. Nuff said.

That’s my Six for the week. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

I love the idea of no-mow May, but have always ended up mowing roughly to deliver a bit of order and tidiness. As it’s rained every day this May, the lawn remains unmown. To celebrate the lush foliage that is enjoying the deluge, I’ve gone for a mostly green #SixonSaturday this week.

A favourite spot for me this week has been the greenhouse, so let’s start there. I find that its only when one stop to take a pic sometimes that one notices the details. Look at the delicate hairs all over the flower stems: this is my first tomato in flower, Latah, from www.realseeds.co.uk. This is described as a ‘sprawling bush’ so let’s see how it fairs on the greenhouse bench.

I like to try something new every year. Thanks to obtaining some spare seed from a dear friend, I’m trying dahlia from seed for the first time this year. I’m rather excited by this one. Each leaf is tinged with red, I’m looking forward to see what emerges from this plant later in the year.

Emerging from the greenhouse and along to the courtyard. Despite the icy winter, the bay tree has made it, and seems to be loving cold wet and windy weather. It has burst into flower.

Not quite green yet, a fern is doing the unfurling thing. Nature in all its mathematical beauty. Not quite green, but very nearly. I suspect this is a self-seeded bracken.

Almost there, almost purple, but in reality, my first aquilegia isn’t quite into flower yet. Such promise (at least some have stayed almost upright despite friday’s 60 mph winds.

My last choice this week is the perfect plant for a cold rainy spring. Lush and luxurious hosta. Still almost perfect, thanks to a couple of families of thrush, busy tidying up the garden’s quota of slugs and snails. What could be a better plant to end this week?

That’s my Six for the week. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

Despite starting to sound like a broken record, it’s still cold. Lots of cloud, lots of rain, a little wind. Spring plants have bloomed for longer than usual, yet the early summer crew are catching up. This week, I’ll feature edibles and flowers, so much to choose from now. We’ll start with edibles. Thank goodness the frost has gone because my tatties are starting to poke up. These Shetland Black have a deep purple vein at the centre of the leaf. The potatoes themselves will be dark purple, with delicate white flesh and a purple ring a few mm from the skin. Delicious roasted.

Second this week I have wild garlic. In the garden, and the woods nearby, these plants have now come into full flower. The leaves and flowers are both nice and spicy when added to a salad, and very pretty too.

Much excitement over the last couple of days as the broad beans have begun to flower. These were sown in the greenhouse a couple of months ago and have been sulking in the veg plot for about a month. Finally, here they go.

Now to blooms. Last week, my bluebells had started. This week they are positively singing. Somewhat thugish, but so exhuberant.

The first of the hardy geranium are doing their thing. These are a joy, almost chocolate brown/purple, the plants seems to have grown from nowhere with flowers topping their 30cm stems.

And at last, clematis montana, here it comes. This variety cover many walls of the house, and the garden, these are the very first few flowers. I love spring.

That’s my Six for the week. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.

The cold snap continues in Fife. We’ve had marble-sized hail this week, pouring rain, and a wee bit of snow. Luckily, my tatties are not up yet…but the greenhouse is bursting with little plants that I dare not plant out. Despite the cold, the garden continues to bloom and grow. This week, I can’t help but feature mostly blooms, but also an edible that’s doing very well. I’ll start with that. “Walking onions” or “Welsh onions”, I think these are called, they are perennial, and form new little plants off the flowers at the top of the plant. These work well as a substitute for spring onions.

Second, perhaps the last blast for the grape hyacinth, though this clump seems to be going very strong still, I suspect they like the cold weather.

Another plant that is coming to the end of it’s spring season is narcissus. This is a pheasant-eye, always the last to flower, delicate and really beautiful. I always forget about them, they always appear with the hostas. Gorgeous.

At the other end of spring, my second tranche of rhododendron are beginning to do their thing. This one is understated, white with just a hint of pink, lovely in the morning light.

Having grown up in the middle of England, I’d always associated ‘apple blossom time’ with April. here’s it is certainly May, especially this year. My first blossom is just coming out, so I’m hoping the frosts ease off around now, and hope for a big crop.

Last, I can’t help but head back to blue. Bluebells. These are the dreaded Spanish type, but with a high-walled garden, I enjoy them, rather than trying to get rid of them. The wild version are saved for the local woods.

That’s my Six for the week. If you like Six on Saturday, do join in, there are lots of contributors on Twitter, and more via the regular blog from #SixonSaturday initiator, the great Propagator himself.