We’re just about to move into meteorological summer so I suppose if you don’t have six things happening in your garden now then the only reason you’re reading this is for the vicarious pleasure of seeing pictures from gardens that do. Or you’re a long way down in the southern hemisphere maybe. The name of the game is Six on Saturday, the nature of the game being to post six things from your garden on a Saturday and to share a link so we may all get to see them. Links in my comments section down below, participants guide for more info is here.
Onward, I’ve been out there until the light began to fade and I want to get to bed at some point.
One.
I flagged up an impending construction project last weekend and I am profoundly relieved to be able to report that it is done and dusted. The picture shows four fifths of a fence finished, looking from the neighbour’s side towards our garden. The last panel had to be cut down to fit but is now in place. The mound of foliage atop the fence at the left is my Holboellia brachyandra, which had gone along the length of the five replaced panels. I’m not blaming it for the fence posts breaking at ground level, as far as I know, they were the posts that were there when we moved in 35 years ago, though I had replaced the panels at some point.
Two.
So much is flowering now that I barely know where to start. I’ll kick off with one of Sue’s cacti in the greenhouse simply because is such a beauty. It’s one that lasts for a few days so although the picture was taken Thursday it will look much the same on Saturday. I took the picture of the orangey one early on Wednesday and by mid morning they had collapsed, having opened Tuesday evening. You wait twelve months, it flowers for a day and you have to wait another twelve months. I didn’t even look to see if either had labels.
Three.
Pretty much as fleeting is Paeonia ‘Barzella’. An intersectional hybrid but beyond that I can think of nothing to say.
Four.
I seem to recall that there was something of an argument about whether there was one species of Diplarrena or two. This may be Diplarrena moraea or it may be D. latifolia. It has clumps of stiff, narrow evergreen leaves and flowers in ones or twos on stems 30cm or so tall. Mine is a pretty short form, most that I’ve seen are taller, sometimes to 60-75cm.
Five.
Lathyrus grandiflorus is a perennial pea that is showy but very ill mannered. It rarely sets seed but a gardening friend’s well behaved (contained by a wide and solid path) set a few and I grew some seedlings. I would estimate it can spread up to 2m a year by underground runners if unchecked. I just let it scramble over whatever it chooses to in the knowledge that I can be as firm as I need to be with it with no risk of it turning up its toes.
Six.
I have to stop buying new Alstroemerias. I’ve nowhere to put them and there are only so many places to put things growing in pots. I just find them very hard to resist. They outgrow pots to quickly for comfort too. ‘Yellow Friendship’ and ‘Apollo’ are these two.
That’s yer lot for this week. Just off out to kill some slugs.
garden ruminations 
The fencing looks great, and the flowers are stunning, as always. I think my favorite is the Lathyrus and your beautiful photos of its blooms. But all “six” are fabulous.
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Well done with the fence. The good neighbour award to you for considering appearance from their side too. I managed another six this week. Uploaded it but was out most of yesterday and didn’t link here – https://lifeonalondonplot.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-01-06-2025/
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I concur the Alstroemerias are beautiful! I would also have a problem refraining from keep buying more. … I don’t have any in my garden … yet! The Paeonia ‘Barzella is also very unsual.
Sorry for late appearnace this week WP was playing up and would not allow me to upload photos.
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Long time reader, first time participant (finally)!
Well done on finishing the fence! And it’s a very pretty one too, very different to what we typically see around here.
I have not had much luck growing sweet peas, so I’d take a spreading perennial variety any day. I didn’t even know there are perennial varieties actually.
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Whoops, guess I should have added the link to my comment: https://minhus.blogspot.com/2025/05/six-on-saturday.html
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Main thing lacking with that perennial pea is scent. I’m not sure if any of the other perennial species are scented.
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I can never decide when spring ends and summer begins, although the thought of it being June tomorrow makes it sound more summery, and the roses certainly suggest that is the case. Well done for the fence – I hope the task wasn’t as much of a pain as the thought of it was. Does your everlasting pea flower all summer? I suppose if it doesn’t set seed the pressure to cut the blooms or deadhead is not there, unlike the sweet peas I am currently drowning in! Do you find these alstroemeria need to be kept in pots? Indian Summer is OK in the ground here, but others haven’t lasted. My six are at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-getting-there/
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Fabulous alstroemerias, I can’t resist them either. And the cactus flower is gorgeous. Don’t talk to me about slugs. They’ve chewed most of the flowers on my Cypripedium.
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if only the perennial sweet pea was fragrant…
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I will comment here Jude, as I still seem to have a problem posting on your blog, not sure why.
I agree, where did May go? Lovely flowers. Hope you enjoyed your day out.
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We did and thank you Rosie. On some blogs I find I have to log in, even though I already am, to post a comment. Refreshing the page often works too.
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I also have a problem. I wrote a lengthy comment yesterday and it would not accept it.
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The fence looks great. I wish I had one as I have a dreadful neighbor, Beautiful peony. I also have a weakness for Alstroemeria, however, it will not make it through the summer here. Saves me a lot of money! Thank you for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-rainy-season-up/
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Lovely Six this week Jim, especially, I think, the peony. I have a perennial sweet pea that looks like yours; a neighbour gave it to me a while ago, saying it was running amok in his garden and wishing me luck with it. I planted it near the edge of the woods where it’s not too happy – too much shade and too much leaf litter in the fall, I think. But it still pops up…
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Hello to all Sixers from the Pacific Northwest. Jim, your perennial lathyrus adds great color, and it seems you have plenty in bloom right now. I’m impressed with your fence and know it feels great to complete projects! Enjoy the garden this week. I am: https://gardensatcoppertop.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-may-31/
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I have Paeonia ‘Barzella’ also. It was expensive and provides only two or three blooms before it fizzles. The alstroemerias are dazzling. I have two cultivars which were gifts. So, I am not yet in danger of being habituated.
My six today feature photos from the local garden that I manage.
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Alstromerias are a favorite cut flower. When I lived in Seattle, you could always buy a bunch at the grocery store and they lasted a month in a vase. The color of the pea flower is lovely and I also love seeing cacti in bloom. The rarity makes it special. Nice job on the fence. I rather enjoy that we do not have many fences in my area, because my backyard feels huge. I think maybe the first backyard fence is five houses down, so it feels very park like. Here are my six! Off to the Farmer’s Market!
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/05/31/may-31-2025-six-on-saturday/
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Well done with the construction project. I have yet to succumb to Alstroemerias buying. Holding off as yet.
Here’s my six
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Your fence is looking good, you have earned a rest! Barzella is gorgeous, mine has decided not to flower this year, it was only planted last year so hopefully it will decide that next year will be the time to flower! My six are here…………………..https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com/
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A glorious fence, very much admired here! For your peony you could simply say beautiful – it is. Whatever the diplarrena are, they are lovely. I fear they would be lost in this garden which seems to get more thuggish every year. Here’s my link, as you say there’s a multitude of flowers coming through https://n20gardener.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-careless-gardening/
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I had to stop the car to find out what the small white flowers on top of tall slender stems were, growing on mown verges in Tasmania. Diplarrena. And in areas that had been burned clear it seemed to be one of the first to bounce back. So not entirely lacking thuggish qualities itself.
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I love the alstroemerias – definitely on my list of things to try at some point.
Here’s my six for this week – https://thegarrett.garden/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-31-may-2025/
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They’re up there with Dahlias and Delphiniums as favourites of slugs but they’re hard to beat for flower power.
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I love an alstroemeria too and it is quite a puzzle why I don’t have any in my garden, they must be the most cheerful plant of all. Your peony is fabulous as are Sue’s cactus flowers. Glad all construction is over and that diversion is behind you. Oh yes, slug time again …. here are mine https://offtheedgegardening.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-back/
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Do tell Sue that her cacti are beautiful. What a pity they only flower for one day – I’d hate to be away somewhere and miss seeing those beauties. I have Paeonia ‘Barzella’ in the garden too, and it’s just beginning to flower. It will probably feature next week. The perennial sweet pea is beautiful and any well behaved flower deserves its place in a border. My effort for this week’s Six:
https://notesfrommygarden.co.uk/2025/05/31/geum-love/
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Probably the majority of Sue’s cacti last three or four days, but the big showy Echinopsis only go over a day or so when it’s unusually cool.
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Excellent job on the fence. The alstroemerias are looking good, it’s amazing how many cultivars have been produced from what was once regarded as a somewhat invasive nuisance.
My six: https://ricksplantworld.blog/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-31-05-2025/
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Alstroemeria were the first major cut flower crop that I worked with while a student of horticulture in the summer of 1986. I just included an unidentified cultivar in my six. I still prefer the old fashioned and perhaps unnamed sorts from the 1980s. Some of the modern cultivars are rather fancy. Is Lathyrus grandiflorus more aggressive than Lathyrus latifolius (which has become invasive here)? Here are my six. https://tonytomeo.com/2025/05/31/six-on-saturday-neither-rhododendrons-nor-roses/
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Nice job with the panels. Aesthetically, it’s well done.
You need to stop buying alsoermerias ?… I need to buy more because the slugs & snails keep eating my young shoots in the spring: I have to constantly renew them every year.
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Slugs are the main reason I grow Alstroemeria in pots, they’re easier to protect. In the garden they get destroyed.
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I’ll remember that 😅
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I can understand why couldn’t resist ‘Yellow Frienship’ and ‘Apollo.’ Well done on the fence https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/05/31/a-rosey-six-on-saturday-31-may-2025/
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