It’s all just ticking over in the garden now. Nothing more will be planted until autumn; it’s just weeding and dead heading and if it stops raining, watering; a bit of tying in and up. Our thoughts are tentatively turning to next year, what do we want more of, what has been a failure that we want less of. Are there things that need to be dug out and replaced. It can seem premature to start such thinking but the height of the growing season is the perfect time to be looking for the areas of the garden that are not contributing much.
So much is happening right now it’s a challenge to know what to put in a six. I will do a separate blog on lilies so there won’t be a lily of the week here. Hopefully you’re all in the same situation, with garden highlights at their peak. So what are you waiting for? Take six pictures, or more than six, but of six subjects, post them in a blog or some such and get a link into the comments down below. The participants guide is here if you need it. Onward.
One.
We were so pleased with how well the Calibrachoas we grew last year did that we had more this year, and added several of the closely related Petunias as well. They’ve all hated the constant wet and have underperformed woefully. I have mixed feelings about bedding begonias but they have proved their worth this year.
Two.
Subtlety is not our way so there are several other plants shamelessly competing for attention with bright, not to say brash, colours. Crocosmia ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ is a serious contender for loudest plant of the week.
Three.
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘You and Me Together’ is a modern, double flowered mophead hydrangea the flowers on which will be looking good into the autumn. I like a flower that looks good from a distance but rewards a much closer look too.
Four.
Diascia personata is another plant that gives great value for money. It’s easy from cuttings so we keep it going from year to year with cuttings struck in late summer and overwintered in the greenhouse. It’s a sprawler, so we have finally found the perfect plant for a couple of wire frames around three feet tall, for which everything to date has turned out to be too tall.
Five.
I’ve grown a lot of plants for the first time this year and there’s no doubt that the lilies have been the most eye catching. Maurandya barclayana has the feel of a plant that I will still be growing in ten years time though. I didn’t know it when I added it to a small seed order last year, mostly to make up the numbers and justify the cost of postage. These were sown mid May last year, overwintered tied to 18 inch canes in 9cm pots, planted out this spring, some of them in a hanging basket, some in the ground. It seems happy to climb a support or over another plant with minimal tying in, it’s 5 feet or more tall and showing no sign of stopping, the slugs don’t seem interested in it and I love the colour of its flowers. How hardy it is remains to be seen, I may bring in the hanging basket and I hope to be able to collect seed.
Six.
As lovely as a single plant can be, there’s nothing gives me more pleasure than a grouping of plants combining to perfection, especially when as here, they merge into each other as equal parts of a tapestry. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’, Edward Needham’s collection of Persicaria sinuata, a little of the fern Paesia scaberula and a fringe on top of Hakonechloa macra.
The lily in the header is by way of an advert for a post I’ve started about the lilies I’ve grown this year. It locks me in to finishing it. It’s Lilium ‘Tigerwoods’.
garden ruminations 
I might try them again a pot to begin with, to make sure they get established. I used to have no problem with crocosmia, but perhaps they don’t like the competition now the borders are so stuffed!
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Even though I am not always a fan of yellow that crocosmia really appeals – shame it didn’t perform for me when I planted some! And I lost my lovely diascia too – if I’d known it did well from cuttings I would have taken some precautions at the time. Hey ho, such is gardening…! I have already been busy, making good (well, better) some of the not-so-good things in the garden: https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-perennials-from-seed-big-lilies-and-a-lot-of-cardboard/ Thanks for hosting
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‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ is going to need to be kept in check where it is, it’s one happy plant.
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I love the way you phrase things. In the beginning you spoke of tying things in and up. Sounds like an apt summary of gardening!
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The first draft was more long winded but I knew people would understand in and up. It’s like potting on and up, a non gardener wouldn’t know what you meant.
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I would love to have that crocosmia! My six: https://stoneyknob.wordpress.com/2024/07/27/sos-going-to-the-mat/
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I have a very dim recollection of looking up the origins of ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’, wanting to know who Paul was, and it being an American raised variety.
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I do like the combination of greens in No 6, a wonderful knitting together of different leaf forms. Here is my six: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2024/07/writing-about-six-things-from-garden-at.html
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Gorgeous blooms, but that last photo combo takes the cake! I’m with you that July is showing me “room for improvement”.
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Lovely garden flowers…thanks for hosting this challenge. My gardens are beginning to burn a bit around the edges. It’s been very hot here the past few weeks. I’m fertilizing and watering and expecting a bit of a boon of blooms again in a few weeks. I used Seabirds as my Six on Saturday.
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I like surprise combinations, too and Callibracoa. Your lilies are magnificent. My mystery fuchsia seedling rolled over and dies this week, oh,well. Thanks for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-discoveries/
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Sad about the Fuchsia, a lot of them really don’t like too much heat, (bit like me) and keel over and die (not like me, hopefully)
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I love no. 6. What a very pleasing combination. I’ve only recently come to appreciate persicarias – a happy ‘punctuation’ here. You have a lovely garden.
I also thought I’d join in this week. I’ve been following Jude’s 6 on Saturdays for ages:
https://tishfarrell.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-on-random-gardening/
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Welcome aboard. Persicarias are a mixed bunch, some very good, some very hard to appreciate. I visited the national collection once, which I think probably did more to put me off them than make me want to grow more.
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Ha! ‘Mixed bunch’. Very much a plant that needs to be in right place then. You hit the spot with this one.
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I thought it was a Clematis at first – the Maurandya. Beautiful, and looking forward to the lilies post!
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A very colourful six. But how do you keep your crocosmia from flopping? And I am envious of that brunnera, mine did eventually grow and flower, but it is still being eaten. I keep checking for slugs, but they must have a very well hidden hidey hole!
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The crocosmia is indeed a bright beacon. I especially like the vignette of Brunerra, Paesia and Hakonechloa. I have shade areas where that would go magnificently.
Here are my updated 6. I had an upload failure on my earlier post.
Happy gardening and keep on keeping on!
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LOVE those brash yellow crocosmia, and the big blue hydrangea. Bring on the bright and brashy showy flowers please, the more the merrier. This week our biggest show off is a banana custard verbascum, but the yukka flowers are still standing…
https://doingtheplan.com/2024/07/27/six-on-sat-honeysuckle-bindweed-roses-bonsai-garlic-bulbs-verbascum-banana-custard/
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Your final photo with the Brunnera is stunning. What a magical combination for a peaceful spot. And that is a lovely blue on the Hydrangea. Another fine season in your garden with so much to enjoy. Isn’t it nice to get to a spot where there isn’t a lot to do besides weeding, deadheading, and admiring? Here are my six for the week, which consist mostly of ‘follow-ups’ on earlier efforts: https://woodlandgnome.wordpress.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-follow-ups/
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Great colours this week Jim. When I grew Asarina and Maurandya from seed a few years ago they all made small tubers in their first year. I over winter these with my Dahlias and they come back every year. I’m not receiving an email with your blog link any more. I’ve tried subscribing again but just get a message to say that I’ve already subscribed
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Love the Maurandya barclayana. such a color! The tapestry of color and texture is also very nice. I also appreciate the intermingling of color and texture in my garden. I have nasturtiums popping out above the violet leaves, and the front bed is a bit out of control. We have had a dry week which is welcome. More rain next week, but it is fine, as my rain barrels are getting low.
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Haha! Forgot to add my link!
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2024/07/27/july-27-2024-six-on-saturday/
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I too like Paul’e Best Yellow and have started my post with it! Love the Hydrangea, such a gorgeous blue!
My six are here……………https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com/
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Lovely Hydrangea, have you ever grown the big mop-head varieties? Annabelle I think?
Here’s my six
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‘Annabelle’ is a form of Hydrangea arborescens, which we don’t have. It takes up more space than I’m willing to give over to it, though a good one is a thing of beauty.
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Aah, yes the last photo is a joy. A good plant combination is so satisfying. I’ll look out for your lily post but I have decided to give them up. Too much lily beetle and I just hate the mess that is left after flowering. You echo my thoughts about the time of year, I am reconsidering and planning too. Here’s my link https://n20gardener.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-the-bees-are-back-in-town/
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I am with you on bedding begonias, but they do perform so well in tricky places and rarely complain. And I hate touching petunias, which sounds a bit weird and perhaps it is. Lovely last combo, very pretty. And that hydrangea is a beauty! Here are mine https://offtheedgegardening.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-faster-higher-stronger-together/
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There’s something about the quality of bedding begonia colour that makes them jar in a lot of situations, it’s very intense perhaps? We have a pot of red pendulous begonias in a prominent position and they don’t look quite right, but I don’t think a different colour would solve the issue.
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The begonias look amazing. I’ve never tried to grow them him and favoured petunias. Maybe I should try a pot and see how they fare. Curious – dou you add the blue sprinkles to make your Hydrangers blue? I bought blue hydrangas and by the end of the flowering season they turned pink. Needless to say I was disappointed. Yours are magnificant.
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We don’t need to add anything to get blue hydrangeas, our soil must have adequate available aluminium naturally. One recently planted variety is flowering pink and we are hoping that when it gets established it will turn blue. I suspect you have a climate that generally favours Petunias and we have one that generally favours Begonias, ie lower light levels, more humid and more rain, at least in what used to be a normal year.
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Lovely hydrangeas. The first daffodils and crocus are popping up here.
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Agreed, that combination of plants in photo number 6 looks wonderful with the various shades of green and different foliage textures. I have a horrible feeling I pulled up a new ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ last year, mistaking it for some of the orange variety that was threatening to take over the garden https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-27-july-2024/
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I’m not sure that ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ wouldn’t be capable of a garden takeover, it’s pretty vigorous.
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Oh, . . . ‘that’ begonia. I was looking for petunia and calibrachoa. I do not remember if I asked earlier, but have you tried ‘Santa Barbara’ or ‘San Francisco’ begonias? I bet that if there were a ‘Los Gatos’ begonia, that it would be the RADDEST! The other begonias are excellent also. Most of those types prefer more humidity than they get here. ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ crocosmia is impressive. Do crocosmia naturalize there? I grow a few tame varieties, but I am hesitant to plant them outside of refined and contained gardens. These are my six.
https://tonytomeo.com/2024/07/27/six-on-saturday-early-or-late/
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I’ve not seen ‘Santa Barbara’ or ‘San Francisco’ for sale but looking online they are being offered by at least one bulb supplier. One for next year. Crocosmia in the form of the hybrid Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora is one of the most widely naturalised garden escapes we have. I have some in the garden and my half hearted attempts to get rid of it have totally failed.
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Naturalized Crocosmia moved into one of our landscapes on a creek, and we did not even bother trying to get rid of it. I do not know what species or hybrid it is, but it seems to be different from what I encountered as naturalized in other ecosystems of San Mateo County.
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I don’t know about you, but it’s been a great year for hydrangeas. They have flowered very well the most of the season. Very pretty set of shade plants in the last photo. (I really like the yellow crocosmias , a colour that is rarely seen)
No Six for me this week! (Hello to everyone )
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