It’s a beautiful sunny day in Cornwall this morning. The garden beckons, chaos needs sorting. I popped out to see if there were shots to add to what I’d taken earlier but it’s hopeless trying to take photos when the sun is so bright. Six things happening now in my garden, joining The Propagator and his merry band for six on Saturday. Spoiled for choice at this time of year, I feel bad for Clematis recta and Iris ensata, to name just two that didn’t make it. Here’s what did:
One.
Another cactus picture. The label just said Notocactus, but it really doesn’t matter.
Two.
Paeonia ‘Sarah Bernhardt’. It’s surely a good thing some many of the most ethereally beautiful garden flowers are so short lived. If we became used to them because they flowered continuously we would lose something precious.
Three.
Papaver atlanticum. I’ve had this in the garden for years, seeding around moderately. They’ve always been single but this one has spontaneously turned semi-double. Looking online that seems to be a cue for nomenclatural confusion, with ‘Flore-pleno’ being attached to pictures of both semi-double and fully double forms.
Four.
Stipa tenuissima. I’ve been posting to the SoS meme for a long time, this is post number 111, so the last item here is number 666, appropriately enough. It struck me that there were still things that had never made it in to a six. Do they do their thing when there are always other things shouting louder? Are they just background items that shy from the spotlight? Have they had a couple of poor seasons and so failed to impress? This is one of them. It comes alive in the evening, provided the sun is shining behind it.
Five.
Here’s another that inexplicably has never made the cut. Fuchsia ‘Lechlade Magician’, a hybrid between F. magellanica and F. excorticata. The four New Zealand fuchsias, of which F. excorticata is one, have blue pollen, a characteristic that has carried over to the hybrid. The variety is reputedly capable of making a large bush with a good sized trunk which has the beautiful peeling bark of its NZ parent.
Six.
And 666 too, as explained above. The landscapers are gone. Our hedge is gone. A fair amount of money will soon be gone, when I pay my part of a bill that I should never have had. A measure of privacy has gone. We have a new fence and a bit of space that I would be a bit less grudging about if the soil was better, but that can be fixed. The fence is more transparent than I’d visualized, especially at an angle; it really is hard to know until these things are finished, but that can and will be fixed. The first two pictures were taken Thursday, just after they’d gone. Things have gone downhill since, as in the next two pictures, but hopefully it will all come together and look somat like before too long.
Chaos beckons, time to get out the angle grinder and go and make some NOISE!
garden ruminations 
That Fuscia sounds interesting. Will have to look out for it. Cactus flowers seem to be always so vibrant and big. I am sure In read some where that is to attract polinators.
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Strange that what attracts insects also appeals to humans, not so big a gap between them and us as we imagine perhaps?
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I do like double poppies: this orange is very nice !
Thank you for making me think of stipa … I have to cut their hair today otherwise I’ll have more everywhere!
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I get some Stipa coming up but not enough to worry me, Carex Frosted Curls is the troublesome one, and Anemanthele.
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I also have troubles with carex…. maybe worse because a lot more rooted
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It’s a beast, you have to get them young!
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Paeonia ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ is a pretty one. The next best thing to not having room to grow all the plants I want to is seeing them on other people’s blogs (and visiting gardens of course!). I am sure you’ll get that fence line sorted, though it does appear to be quite low! Lots of climbers?
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The old chap next door who died last year told me to take anything from his garden that I wanted, so I had the peony. It’s a fine plant to remind you of someone. I’ve been on fence works all day, it’s improving.
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A good choice!
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That’s a smart fence! Maybe not as you envisaged. Our neighbour put up a slatted fence, long before we moved in, with a second one offset so that it covered the gaps in the first. Is that your plan? Beautiful cactus! I’ve planted the miniature fuschia in the central flowerbed. I will show it next week.
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The fence has hit and miss pales on both sides, but because there was a four inch gap between them it was very see through. Less so now.
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Lovely fuchsia. I gave my mum a fuchsia cutting a few years ago. I remembered it being Lady Bacon, but when were were there last weekend I realised it was this one. Not that she cares! Ms Bernhardt is a stunner and knows it. Good luck with reclaiming and adapting your new area, looking forward to seeing what you do.
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The first thing I’m trying to get my head round with the new bit is just how much sun it gets. There are several tall plants on the south side but with the hedge replaced with a shorter fence running north-south it’s getting more afternoon sun. There’s an Impatiens omeiana needs moving already.
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That is the trouble with these big changes, same when a big tree is felled. The enviroment suddenly changes! On the subject of I. omeiana, I’m struggling with one at the moment, very stunted. Too dry perhaps? I moved some to an area right next to a zantedeschia, which is thriving, and that is the same. Any clues?
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They really do need continuous moisture. One of mine went summer dormant last year because it was dry, even in shade, while another in the bog garden kept on going.
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Thanks Jim 🙂
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One man’s fence is another man’s planting opportunity! Plenty of room to cram some climbers in there.
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Its what I’m planning. May have to wait until winter to get the roses I want bare-rooted but I’ve been on the lookout for clematis. There are so many, it’s hard to choose.
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Well stated about the short peony season. Very, very precious.
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Brilliant photos of the cactus, peony, fuchsia and poppy, all envy inducing. I think the fence looks rather smart and I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with that bit of garden.
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The stupa looks fabulous in the sun but what is the pink flower in front? A great combination. I love how even over the course of the day you seem to be adjusting to the fence. As the Prop says, a great opportunity!
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The pink is Geranium palmatum, which self sows everywhere. I’m trying hard to see the fence episode positively, as so often happens hindsight provides clarity after the event.
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Stipa- why autocorrect to stupa??
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Because hortocorrect is stipud.
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Space and dreams of what to grow…….
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I love the blue pollen on that fuchsia. It’s glorious and weird!
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So many good photos this week, it’s a good thing you added the fence photos for contrast. When you say part of a bill you shouldn’t have had, do you mean there was no reason for putting up the fence? Whoa . . . Love the cactus & your ruminations. That fuschia is a bit special, isn’t it?
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If it’s ‘not-a-cactus’, then what is it? Okay, that was funny the first several times I heard it. I know it is an ‘o’ but it looks funny anyway.
Those last pictures are frustrating to see. I happen to dislike fences, and I dislike paying for a neighbor’s fence even more. I would really be displeased if a neighbor insisted on removing a historic feature to replace it with something I do not want, and then expecting me to pay for part of it. Well, you don’t need to hear that.
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