I’ve spent a lot more time on my allotment this week than in the garden. It actually got pretty warm for a few days mid week which has brought out lots of flowers. Friday was cooler again though with rain expected overnight into Saturday. We have a garden club group coming round on Monday, rain is forecast. It’s disheartening.
Saturday is round again though, time for Six on Saturday, the place where gardeners the world over share half a dozen highlights of their gardens each week. We’d love you to join in, there’s a participants guide here.
One.
I did a post on the lilies I’ve grown this year and now realise I’d missed a couple out. One was a cheap single bulb in a pot that we picked up in a garden centre, a big blowsy pink thing, the other is Lilium lancifolium, the Tiger lily or devil lily. Someone gave us this years ago and it’s been kicking around doing very little, which, now that I’ve seen what it is capable of, seems a travesty. It produces dozens of tiny bulbils up its flowering stems and I suspect that it was these that we were given, hence it’s taken a few years to produce a pot full of flowering plants. Fabulous colour and flowering when most of the others we have are finished. Most of what is for sale online seems to be a cultivar, ‘Splendens’, which may or may not be what we have. I will need to keep it well away from the other lilies in pots or the bulbils will get into the others and I won’t know what I’ve got.
Two.
In similar fiery attire is Crocosmia ‘Carmin Brilliant’. I have a fast spreading clump of common or garden montbretia in one unkempt corner and it is actually pretty much as good as this variety so I’m hoping that it has less obvious attributes, like lasting longer or being sterile. Time will tell.
Three.
Sticking with bulbs there is this new addition to our garden palette. Tritonia rosea is a close relative of Crocosmia with pink flowers which were photographed artfully enough in the catalogue to make me think it would be rather more impactful than it actually is. Admittedly it is right next to Diascia personata which has stolen the show convincingly.
Four.
I just had to go out in the dark and scrabble around to see if I could find a label on this plant, partly because I had forgotten its name, partly because I wanted to know when I’d sown it and it isn’t in my sowing records. Noelle sent me seed of Eryngium ‘Tetra Petra’ which I sowed in November 2020. What a star it has turned out to be; every other Eryngium I’ve ever tried has failed, mainly for want of anywhere that gets enough sun. This one had Penstemon ‘Burgundy’ threaded through it a couple of weeks back, mostly now needing to be deadheaded, but a lovely combination while it lasted. It’s probably the most popular plant in the garden for bees at the moment. I’ve collected and sown more seed of it but it has taken a couple of years to get to flowering size.
Five.
Clematis viticella ‘Etoile Violette’ has been opening flowers gradually for several weeks and I’ve put off including it until it hit its peak. I’m still not sure it’s there yet but it’s pretty good so it’s going in. It’s supposed to be sharing the space with Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’ but has instead swamped it. It won’t find the Fuchsia on top of the arch so easy to tame, that is Fuchsia regia serrae and it’s a beast. The picture has turned the clematis redder than it actually is.
Six.
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Izu-no-hana’ is my current favourite Hydrangea in the garden. For me, the fact that the flowers don’t completely hide the foliage is a plus, making for an subtlety that most macrophylla varieties lack. It has double flowers in lacecap heads which on our plant vary between blue and purplish pink. It was found growing in the wild in Japan, unlike most hydrangeas which are the product of extensive breeding programs.
Right, one more for the header and we’re done here. Have a good week.
garden ruminations 
That clematis is a stunner! Mine have not performed well this year because they were severely attacked by slugs in the spring, I have never known anything like it! Your lilies are fabulous and I am tempted, but once again slugs demolished my Martagon lilies. I will dig them up now and pot them. Hopefully that will enable them to flower next year. As for eryngium I composted mine, it was a beautiful blue, but smelled like smelly feet or rotten meat and only ever seemed to attract flies. I am considering the silver one though – Mrs Wilmott’s Ghost.
LikeLike
That Clematis vine is so healthy. Beautiful blooms all around. The first three are fiery–appropriate for this stage of summer. The Hydrangeas look happy with all the rain; we’ve had a rainier summer than normal here in my part of the Northern Midwest U.S., as well. Great six examples!
Beth@PlantPostings
LikeLike
I am not sure if I could establish when Etoile Violette reaches its peak here – it seems to be at its peak for months on end…such a star. Does it perform well for you too? Your Tetra Petra looks great – sadly mine, also sourced from Noelle, didn’t get through last winter. Thanks for hosting https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-a-ditch-in-time/
LikeLike
Oops, forgot the link to my Six
https://pigletinportugal.com/2024/08/03/garden-diary-garden-chores-and-challenges-august/
LikeLike
I love the Eryngium ‘Tetra Petra’. IT reminds me of a beach thistle that grows in the sand here.
LikeLike
More lilies! I love it. That may be my favorite hydrangea admired from afar. I hope the rain holds off for you.https://theshrubqueen.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-formations/
LikeLike
My safari browser was acting up this morning. It would not let me post. Hurray that Chrome was more tolerant.
Thank you for the excellent six this week. My Crocosmia “Lucifer” clumps but will only produce one or two blooms at a time. The clematis has such a delightful name “étoile violette”. In this case, both plant and name are beautiful. My lilies are also gone but put on such a great show this year. https://mensgardenvestavia.wordpress.com/2024/08/02/its-just-so-hot/
LikeLike
Link doesn’t work! Hopefully, this one will🤞
LikeLike
‘Tetra Petra’ is stunning. I lost two Eryngiums to the winter wet but they don’t do brilliantly here. Might give that one a go though. The Fuchsia/Clematis combo is lovely – ‘Delta’s Sarah’ is a perfect colour match. How tall does she get growing against an arch?
https://thequiltinggardener.wordpress.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-03-08-24/
LikeLike
I had no idea that Fuchsia would grow so tall – are these two varieties vines? My Tiger lilies are done – and they tend to bloom sooner than the orientals, but after the Asiatics, leading to a nice long lily season.
LikeLike
Nice reds in this post! I feel like I should have taken a proper picture of my Cardinal flower to blend in. I realized that I do have a few younger self seeded Lobelia cardinalis, which is great since it is billed as a short lived perennial. I also like your eryngium. We call our native one rattlesnake master. It is a silvery grey but the blue version is very nice! I may collect seed of the native one from my favorite seed bank – the various gardens at my employer! I have them to thank for my new england aster, Canada goldenrod, and annuals for next year, some lovely Papaver somniferum and the nigella that I long for whenever I see it posted here – used to have both at one of my Seattle allotments.
I had some fun insects this week – enjoy!
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2024/08/03/august-3-2024-six-on-saturday/
LikeLike
So interesting, my eryngium is yet to colour up and but my ‘Etoile Violette’ is pretty much over. I’ve relied on rainfall to keep it going and wonder if I could have extended its flowering a few more weeks if I had watered. The fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’ combination is just perfect. Another great selection! Here’s my link https://n20gardener.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-olympian-efforts/
LikeLike
Super six this Saturday, love them all! My Tritonia isn’t flowering yet, I can see it from here at my lap top, lots of buds so maybe in a week or two? Like your red Crocosmia, it goes really well with the white daisy flower, also like your lily which looks really happy in its pot.
My six are here……………https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely selections this week! That clematis is a super colour and I really like the crocosmia with daisies. We have similar plants that are much more floopy and less well cared for… But this week my selection is largely composed of trees in pots, and washing rocks to keep the pond looking pretty.
https://doingtheplan.com/2024/08/03/six-on-sat-get-your-rocks-washed-raindrops-on-roses-three-little-trees-and-begonias/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow to ‘Tetra Petra.’ I find myself wanting to find space for another Hydrangea after seeing yours https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-3-august-2024/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sue would have far more Hydrangeas than me. We have two or three varieties kicking about in pots that a space hasn’t come up for yet; they’re great garden plants but there are so many other things I want to grow and they get big and are not easy to contain to a limited size. I cut my Hydrangea ‘Shojo’ down in the winter because it was starting to block paths on both sides and it’s grown back to the same size already but with no flower.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know that disheartening feeling regarding this year’s summer weather. Our visiting family didn’t get the best weather and we had to cancel a birthday BBQ for our daughter (we made alternative arrangements!). But the lovely plants in your garden must brighten even the dullest day and I’m sure your visitors will enjoy the lovely display of blooms. The Crocosmia is magnificent! I love the clematis and fuchsia combination.
Here is mine for this week:
https://notesfrommygarden.co.uk/2024/08/03/late-summer-gardening-whats-growing-in-week-one-of-august/
LikeLiked by 1 person
That Eryngium is stunning. I have tried and failed many times in my alkaline clay. They just give up! Here are my six https://davidsgardendiary.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-125/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Is Tritonia rosea an old fashioned bulb? I remember that it was politely naturalized in a few gardens where I grew up, and was still in one of them only a few years ago. I do not remember that it became aggressively invasive. A few inhabit one of the gardens at work, and I sort of wonder how they got there, since the adjacent building is not so old. I do not remember ever seeing it in nurseries. I should be more observant when it blooms next year, to determine if it is actually what I think it is. It happens to mix with a few other naturalized bulbs, such as Freesia and Ixia. Eryngium may not be as old fashioned, but it is rare here. I only remember it from the cut flower industry. I grew it in the summer of 1986, and have not seen it since then. I probably mentioned that Clematis are not rare enough here. In other words, nurseries sell them, but they do not perform well in the climate here. I believe that ‘Etoile Violette’ is one of the better cultivars for this climate. It is sold as another hybrid, rather than Clematis viticella. Gee, I did not mean to get carried away. These are my six.
https://tonytomeo.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-firsts/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hadn’t come across Tritonia until I saw it in a catalogue a couple of years ago, so I have no knowledge of its history in cultivation here. It isn’t particularly showy and is probably border line hardy, so it may never have been very popular or common. There are other species than the one I have but again I have no knowledge of what is available or hardy outdoors here. It might be worth looking into, given that the one I have seems happy enough.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do not remember seeing it growing alone in groups. A few stray bulbs were alone, but most were with other bulbs, or growing through shallow succulents. Now I sort of wonder if that was intentional when they were installed a long time ago.
LikeLike
Lots of hot and steamy this week, your tiger lily is wonderful and the crocs are making a fine display. I’ve grown tritonia before, but only in a pot and that diascia is generally a bit of a scene stealer. Lovely hydrangea. And of course Noelle’s (your) eryngium is wonderful. I’ve woken to a damp garden this morning, hopefully some got into the water butts and it wasn’t just that annoying mizzle. Here are my six https://offtheedgegardening.com/2024/08/03/six-on-saturday-complain/
LikeLiked by 1 person