Only a month until 25th December. Frost forecast for tonight, several more over coming days. Nothing extreme but enough to be worrisome; what have I forgotten to bring in, should I have covered this and that. We’ve had a run of around four dry days, which I’ve taken advantage of to the extent of raking leaves in someone else’s garden all day today. I don’t seem to have done anything here beyond putting things under cover.
Enough of this twaddle; down to the business of Six on Saturday, for which I simply need to take pictures of six things strutting their stuff in the garden, post them on a blog like this, and put a comment under this blog with a link to them.
One.
I acquired this under the name Impatiens balansae and would be happy to go on calling it that, but Nick Macer of Pan Global Plants, one of the few places that is selling it, reckons it doesn’t match the description in the Flora of China so he is calling it Impatiens aff. apalophylla. Who am I to argue? It’s a fabulous plant except for the bit where it finally gets a flower open in late November and two days later gets cut to the ground by frost. Nick says to overwinter it frost free but my plant came through last winter in the ground with just a covering of leaves. At higher temperatures it is evergreen, and gets to flower properly. Like all the impatiens it is insatiably thirsty.
Two.
Camellia ‘Koto-no-kaori’ has also opened a few blooms just in time for them to get frosted. It’s covered in buds so there will be many more. Simple pink scented flowers over a long period. This is not a sasanqua but a japonica x lutchuensis cross, lutchuensis being a species that brings a proper perfume to its progeny, rather than the musky scent the sasanquas have.
Three.
I couldn’t resist putting these three seedling plants of Enkianthus in, they were such a fierce red colour. They were grown from seed I collected from a tree at Mount Edgcumbe which is always beautiful in flower every year. I didn’t know whether the seed would be viable or would germinate, but it did and I have three plants which I will give back to the park. As ever the challenge will be to get them established in the presence of too many deer.
Four.
The garden centres are full of cyclamen at this time of year, sometimes the florists forms of Cyclamen persicum, which you know are tender and need to stay indoors, more often these things, which are borderline hardy, I have had the odd one survive a year or two in the ground, but most don’t. These were bought because they looked amazing and were cheap as chips. They stayed in a frost free greenhouse and suffered badly from mould, then spent the summer under the greenhouse bench, bone dry, until new growth started appearing a month or two back. Now they are on the windowledge in the room where my computer resides, kicking out enough scent to slightly overstep the line of really pleasant. They’ve had two doses of vine weevil nematodes too and I doubt they’d be alive if they hadn’t.
Five.
Clematis something or other. I think someone else put this variety in last week, with a name. I don’t seem to have a name for it, though Winter something sounds possible. I’m hoping someone can identify it for me.
Six.
Now it’s a choice between Nasturtium, Welsh Poppy, Hesperantha and Penstemon; all hanging on long after their allotted timeslot. Think I’ll choose Nasturtium, close out with the same colour scheme I started with.
Next week we’ll be into December and I have a hunch that in the UK at least, talk of rain will have moved on to talk of cold. I hope it’s not going to get stuck in this rut for four months. Stay warm.
garden ruminations 
For what it’s worth, we’ve been talking about the cold out here for weeks now 😂 All these balmy British gardens where plants have leaves still…. Amazing color on that impatiens, btw. Very curious what it actually is.
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Well done on getting the Enkianthus seeds to grow. They have fabulous autumn colour, and I’m sure the park will be delighted to have them. The cyclamen-filled window ledge makes a very colourful display.
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We may have some near freezing temps next week. I am prepared. I still have some bulbs to plant which I will take care of soon.
Here are my six for this week. A little different since I was visiting out of town this week
Happy gardening!
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Love Herman and the Impatiens.
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Sounds like the name of a sixties band.
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Where are the Hermits??
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So much color! The cyclamen is just stunning. No blooms here, but lots of changes. My six: https://stoneyknob.wordpress.com/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-upgrades/
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Those cyclamen look better indoors, they looked out of place among the species, mostly hederifolium, that I have around the garden.
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The Cyclamen didn’t regrow after their summer under the bench in my glasshouse so I’m very envious of yours. Such a shame about the Impatiens not remaining for a bit longer but at least you got to see a flower.
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About two thirds of our cyclamen survived, the rest probably rotting off last winter in damp and cold. The Impatiens came through a slight frost last night unscathed, as did nearly everything else; just a couple of casualties to show it had been cold, blackened Dahlias, Begonia foliage, Plectranthus.
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Maybe gardeners ought to eat more deer. Luckily we have an excellent market stall in Wells, and Venison makes an excellent meal, and is also cheaper than organic beef or lamb. Your camelias are delightful and when I see them I shall see what I think of the scent, which I did not realise they had. Here are my six this week: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2023/11/six-on-saturday-25-november-2023.html
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I’m vegetarian myself but have absolutely no problem with other people eating deer. Not very many Camellias have scent but those that do can be really good.
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Lovely as always! The cyclamen make a colorful display, and that first image reminds me of jewelweed/touch me not,which I never tire of touching to watch the seeds fly. The flowers are similar in color and shape, less showy, but sill a treat. Nasturtiums always a favorite, but you can imagine that mine are but a memory at this point. Again not a lot to see here, but I scraped up a few things to share!
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The cyclamen colors are rich and bright. A nice photo for a foggy morning here. And, I always appreciate photos of your camellias. I feature new one in my garden here: https://aftereden.blog/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-25-november-2023/
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Are you perhaps thinking Clematis urophylla ‘Winter Beauty’?
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I think I was and I think I was wrong. C. cirrhosa ‘Wisley Cream’ looks to be a better fit.
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A great display of cyclamen and a lovely clematis. Oh I’m tempted by a winter clematis. Well done for the red leaves of Enkianthus – beautiful. Cold here too but I must wrap up myself and get some jobs done! Here’s my link https://n20gardener.com/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-gardening-life-and-dahlias/
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I’m amazed how much is flowering in your garden! I particularly love that pretty camellia, I love fragrant camellias, and had one on a pot once with the most Divine scent! 🌸 Here are ny six – https://rosegardenconversation.wordpress.com/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-clouds-of-butterflies-25%f0%9f%8c%b811%f0%9f%8c%b823/
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It is an under-appreciated fact that there are properly fragrant (as distinct from sasanqua odorous) Camellias. I’m a big fan.
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The cyclamen are amazing, didn’t realise that maybe I could have some in my open sided porch, must give them a try. My camellia has started flowering and will continue, weather permitting all winter, it is similar to yours, but don’t think it can be the same.
My six are here…………https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
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Hey Jim. I think your Clematis could be Wisley Cream but not sure. Don’t think it is a cirrhosa variety but it could be! Lost labels, story of my life! Here are my Six https://davidsgardendiary.com/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-107/
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Wisley Cream looks right, which is a cirrhosa variety, from wild collected seed seemingly. I don’t remember buying it, though clearly I did. Thanks.
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This impatiens flower is a beauty , here too they ( 🙏the ones you sent me) are insatiably thirsty in the summer even though they are completely in the shade…
They still have beautiful leaves at the moment but like you I need to cover them because frost is expected soon. Superb camellia flower, and what can we say about the set of cyclamen!…😍 https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-25-11-23/
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That Nasturtium is a beauty. We’ve had a light frost here in Somerset – the first one https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2023/11/25/six-on-saturday-25-november-2023-a-final-floral-hurrah/
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Frost here too this morning but it’s clouding over now. I haven’t been out to assess the damage.
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Florist cyclamen were the only cyclamen I ever met until the last few years. I enjoyed them when I was in high school, and believed that everyone grew them as perennials like I did. Mine were a few years old by that time. I am not so keen on them now because they are expensive annuals! We will install a few to bloom in the landscapes through Christmas. Because I do not like discarding them afterward, I put them around some of the unrefined landscapes. Most do not survive for long, but some become perennial. The nasturtium reminds me that I should have started mine a bit earlier. They are both warm season annuals and cool season annuals here, but not both. Those that grew through summer get shabby as the weather cools, but before they succumb, they are already replaced by their own seedlings. These seedlings perform through winter, but then get replaced by their own seedlings as they get roasted by warming spring weather. I want to put some of their seed back into a small portion of landscape that currently lacks them, but would be prettier with them. Anyway, that is enough of all that. These are my six:
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I’m happy you chose the Nasturtium, Jim. It pleases me. Also, I note your comments aboutdelixate Cyclamen… Mine are outside in window box and likely to be clobbered.
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Of course I love the camellia and the nasturtium…No post from me this week as nothing new to report and it has been raining…..
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