The weather is set to change, essentially returning to normal; cooler with showers. It’s getting rather dry out there so a bit of rain will be welcome, so long as it knows when to stop. The forecast is showing showery rain every day for the next fortnight, by which time I will be very tired of it.
At least the fine weather has meant I’m fairly well on top of things in the garden. It’s also slowed the slugs down pretty effectively, though that will now change. Salvias, which usually get browsed as fast as they grow, have made a little headway, which I hope will be maintained. I’m on Dahlia watch but have seen nothing up yet.
Six things from the garden presents no difficulty at this time of year, so much is kicking off. Join us, there’ll never be a better time. The participants guide is here.
One.
Last year’s plum crop was pathetic, perhaps because the blossom got frosted. It’s in full flower right now and the forecast for tonight, the last cold night before the weather changes, was for 3°C, which is a bit close for comfort. I need to prune it too. This is ‘Victoria’.
Two.
Magnolia ‘Ann’ looks like it might have been singed by frost at some point this week but it still looked good backlit by the evening sun.
Three.
in the bottom right of the Magnolia picture is Skimmia ‘Rubella’. It has been there a long time, long enough to be 4 feet high and five feet wide. It’s dying, presumably with honey fungus, which has wrought havoc in that bed, taking down Camellia ‘Spring Festival’, Schefflera taiwaniana, Fuchsia ‘Lechlade Magician’ and Camellia ‘Ariel’s Song’ over the last half dozen years and heading in the direction of the Magnolia. I treated it with Trichoderma but probably too late to save it.
Four.
We have two Japanese Azaleas in the garden and most years they are average at best. This one has long since been parted from its name, perhaps it’s ‘Amoena’ or ‘Kirin’, I really don’t know. I put it in a six just before Christmas last year, when, admittedly, it had less competition for inclusion. It’s now at peak flowering and none the worse for expending some flower power mid winter.
Five.
This Fuchsia is flowering away in the greenhouse having been propagated from a plant in the garden which is no longer around. It has a label saying Fuchsia ‘Karl Hartweg’, which is a form of F. splendens. It did well in the garden and deserves to go back, but it won’t flower at this time of year. Outside it gets killed to the ground every winter and while it regrows OK it doesn’t flower until quite late in the year.
Six.
Some self sowers are unreservedly welcome, some unreservedly unwelcome, and several fall in between. Forget-me-nots fall in between; they are very pretty for a short while, stay quite small until just before they flower and are easily removed but they can seed prodigiously and be scarily prolific if given half a chance.
It is not unusual for me to look at the pictures I’ve taken for Six on Saturday and spot things I’d not noticed out in the real world. Like the Eucomis coming up in one of the forget-me-not pictures. I like to think of myself as being observant, evidently I’m not as good as I think I am. Have a good week.
garden ruminations 
So much happening there! I hope you will get your needed rain. We are just a bit behind your growing schedule now; the Magnolias are just about to bloom. With warm weather in the 10-day forecast, I expect many plants to pop with blooms and foliage. 🙂
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Love your wording! “a bit of rain will be welcome, so long as it knows when to stop.”
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When there is so much going on in the garden, as there always will be at this time of year, I think we can be forgiven for failing to spot things immediately – I noticed another rhododendron starting to bloom this afternoon and I swear it can’t have been in flower when I rambled this morning! That azalea looks stunning – I wonder if I could squeeze one in here…?! My ‘six’ are here https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/six-or-maybe-more-on-saturday-thick-and-fast/ Thanks for hosting, Jim
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Sometimes a photo gives you a different perspective. You’re still being observant, just through another lens! 🙂 Beautiful blooms all! I’ve never seen a fuschia with such long narrow flowers – so interesting! And that azalea is a showstopper!
Here’s my six post this week:
https://puttingdownroots.blog/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-2/
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You are so correct to observe that photos help us see things we may not notice while walking around. They are a great tool in so many ways. Everything is certainly lovely in your garden but the clear blue sky behind your plum tree is simply spectacular. What a great backdrop and wonderful light on your shrubs. The Azalea is so pretty and reminds me strongly of an old cultivar common over here, but one that never blooms in fall or winter. I hope you get a good crop of plums this year. We are finally enjoying Azaleas and other signs of spring here, too.
My six for the week: https://woodlandgnome.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-alive-and-growing/
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The fuchsias! I love them and have never figured out what to do with them here. It is too something. I usually notice something bad in pictures and use the eraser tool (I love that tool!) I am from the southeast US where azaleas are the thing for spring. Average is a good description to me! Love the forget me nots, too. https://theshrubqueen.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-begonias-and-giant-houseplants/
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Your azalea is gorgeous! Your forget-me-nots inspired me to try them again if I could just find a place to put them. My six: https://stoneyknob.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/sos-aftermath/
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Forget me nots are so lovely. My grandmother had them, of course, she had a lot of things, collected over many decades. I am a huge fan of the pink magnolias. There was a gorgeous huge one in front of the Physiology building at UC Davis when I was there. Hopefully it still stands. I had never seen one before, and had no idea what it was, but I sure loved it. Azaleas are also a favorite, reminding me of Seattle. Seattle springs are magnificent with flowers, almost as if to compensate for the grey weather. My spring is slowly coming around. Worried there may have been front damage to the cherry blossoms in front. We will know soon!
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/april-12-2025-six-on-saturday/
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Geat pictures ! You have a lovely garden.
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Beautiful Azalea, very beautiful Fuchsia and I do hope that the Magnolia stays safe. To lose the Skimmia would leave a large planting opportunity but your replacement choices must be limited?
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My garden is also a sea of blue as the FMNs dominate once again. Luckily easy to pull out. I also seem to have loads of chickweed, but sadly no chickens. Your magnolias are fabulous, I hope the HF doesn’t get to it, and my little azalea (bought last year) is only just showing new leaves! As you have said the rain is actually quite welcome, but I too do not want rain every day for the next fortnight, it will not improve the look of my tulips.
https://cornwallincolours.blog/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-the-anniversary-one/
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The fuchsia is really beautiful. They do not do well in our climate so I am enjoying yours. The spring weather here has been beautiful. Our azaleas are in full bloom here as you may see if you watch the Masters from Augusta this weekend.
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Being a fellow sufferer of HF I sympathise with your losses. What a pain it is. Long may the azalea live, I hope it is not in its path. I’d like to have a few of your showers, here it doesn’t sound like we are in for much of the wet stuff. Here’s my link https://n20gardener.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-lift-off/
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It rained for a good part of the day and the rain gauge has 2.5mm in it! Barely laid the dust. The Azalea is miles away from the Skimmia, right alongside the Maple I just cut down because of HF. Hey Ho.
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Sad to hear that honey fungus may take down the lovely magnolia. I’m also looking forward to some rain, but as long as it knows when to stop! Here’s my contribution to SOS this week https://lifeonalondonplot.com/?p=7564
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We have another Magnolia growing where a Camellia alongside it died of honey fungus and it is fine, so maybe Magnolias have some resistance. I have my fingers crossed.
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What a shame to hear about the damage that Honey fungus can do.
We’ve had frosts several mornings so I don’t know if the fruit blossoms will form fruit this year.
Here is my six
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There isn’t really an upside to having honey fungus but it does have the effect of forcing change on us. It is nerve shredding to plant some newly purchased beauty where the last occupant died from honey fungus but everything has survived for several years before some succumb.
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Wow your azaleas are gorgeous. I still have the tiniest little buds on mine, it’s very late this year.
Here’s my six this week – https://thegarrett.garden/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-12-april-2025/
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I do love the forget-me-nots. They remind me of my childhood when our garden was awash with them. Those and the pink pom pom flowers that seemed to grow from a pile of grass
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Now I’m trying to work out what the pink pom pom flowers would have been!
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Maybe Armeria martitima?
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Your Japanese azalea is fantastic, again a couple of weeks ahead of mine! We certainly need the rain, lets hope they will be gentle April showers. I think every gardener must dread honey fungus, you seem to be coping well with it though.
My six are here………..https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
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The fuchsia is very pretty – but the it is one of my favourite plants.
https://thistlesandkiwis.org/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-12-04-25/
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Forget me nots are so pretty, even if a bit too prolific sometimes. I never encountered that before. They do not naturalize in the Santa Clara Valley or other chaparral climates, but they can here in the redwood forests. Is ‘Ann’ one of the old fashioned cultivars of Magnolia soulangeana that was available before so many modern cultivars became available? Here are my Six. They are not at all flowery, but there is a reason for that.
https://tonytomeo.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-more-gifts-from-tangly-cottage-gardening/
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Magnolia ‘Ann’ was one of the “Eight Little Girls” that deVos and Kosar raised at the U.S. National Arboretum and named in 1965. They’re all stellata x liliiflora crosses. ‘Susan’ is the most common one available here.
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Oh, of course; I should have remembered that from last time you explained.
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The azalea is stunning and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for myosotis even though they can be invasive. I am not looking forward to the colder weather but at least we will get some rain.
My six: http://ricksplantworld.blog/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-12-04-2025/
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I think “honey” and “fungus” are the two words that, together, strike fear in every gardener’s heart. Your garden still looks wonderful despite it.
The azalea is magnificent, it wouldn’t be “average” in my garden!
This is my six this week: https://mysanctuarygarden.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-12-04-2025/
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This azalea is truly beautiful! Yes, the weather seems to be turning and finally the rain would be (a little) back: I don’t know about you, but the soil is very dry and my water supplies are starting to run low. A different post this week…. https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-12-04-25/
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Honey fungus sounds like a nightmare. The Japanese Azalea is a show, as are the Forget-me-nots, although as you say, they are scarily prolific! https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/six-on-saturday-12-april-2025/
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