Wednesday was a day of almost constant drizzle which by Thursday morning was registering 7.5mm of rain in the rain gauge. Even so, such is the total area of roofs from which I collect rainwater that it added a lot to my storage. More rain is forecast for the weekend which should add a good bit more. I am feeling more relaxed now about getting to the autumn without running out.
The heat didn’t return either, so even though 7.5mm of rain isn’t a lot and doesn’t penetrate far, at least it wasn’t evaporated off again the day after it fell; it had a chance to do some good. For a few things the damage had already been done but on the whole I don’t have a lot to complain about.
Join me then for a quick look at half a dozen items of interest that are happening right now, and you are as ever invited to chip in with six of your own. Post it online somewhere and put a link in my comments below. A participants guide can be found here.
One.
Last week one of my six was Agapanthus gall midge. It was already becoming clear that a sizeable clump of Agapanthus in the back garden was probably beyond redemption, not least because there is no treatment currently available. As soon as the weather cooled, I moved in and got rid of it. I have planted three more Dahlias and moved some Eucomis seedlings I had planted earlier. All seem to have settled in well in the cooler and damp weather. The Dahlias will need a bit more space in future years but will be fine this season.
Two.
Way back, Noelle sent me seed of Eryngium ‘Tetra Petra’. I grew a few and when they flowered after a couple of seasons, I collected more seed and grew some more. It falls over but it flowers well and doesn’t die like most Eryngiums I’d grown before it. It’s very popular with the bees and it’s very photogenic. What’s not to love. I don’t seem to have a cultivar name for the Berberis, one of the many clones of B. thunbergii.
Three.
My ‘Victoria’ plum tree takes this week’s slot for the bad news item. I think it’s probably dying and that probably means it has honey fungus, even if it is not the only reason for its demise. I should have thinned the crop far more. Sue once heard Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners Question Time say that with plums you needed to thin till you cried, then thin some more. I only thinned till I cried, then I stopped. Too late now, I doubt it will yield anything usable. A good downpour this weekend would do no harm. It doesn’t look too bad in the photo but there are a lot of leafless twigs and both leaves and fruits are half the size they should be.
Four.
Shasta daisy, Chrysanthemum maximum, is about as bomb proof as plants get. At least that would be my view, based on this patch of it. However, a couple of other cultivars of the species have come and rather quickly gone in this garden, even when in identical conditions to this one, generally being a bit too popular with my marauding molluscs. So much is this taken for granted that I have never included it in a six, even though it looks like this year after year.
Five.
As regular a feature as the bad news slot is the oddity slot. Here we have Lysionotus pauciflorus ‘Lady Lavender’, a sub-shrub member of the Gesneriaceae. I’m not sure how if at all, the cultivar ‘Lady Lavender’ differs from the straight species. It is allegedly likely to be hardy outside in a place like Cornwall but I will try to propagate a back-up plant of it before trying. In nature it would be epiphytic so I’m not sure how to give it the conditions it wants.
Six.
As much as I like unusual plants I also value the toughness and flower power of popular subjects like Buddleia, so when we saw this in the garden centre, I didn’t take a lot of persuading to part with my cash. It carries the burden of the name ‘Butterfly Candy Little Ruby’, is one of a series of at least six ‘Butterfly Candy’s and is claimed to grow only to 80cm. and be repeat flowering from spring to autumn. The RHS are shortening it to just ‘Little Ruby’ and on the website of the American rights holders it also seems to be known as ‘Li’l Raspberry’. In fact I’m struggling to match what they are listing with what the liner supplier from whom my local nursery got them, has listed. The usual commercial nonsense, in short. Oh, and it’s still in its pot because when we bought it we didn’t have anywhere in mind to plant it.
My header picture this week was item number six a week ago and is back so that I can correct the name I gave it. Last week I called it ‘Revive’, this week it is ‘Danum Torch’. Oops.
Have a good weekend, even if for some of you that would be a wet one.
garden ruminations 
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Such a shame about the Plum tree and the Agapanthus. We gardeners have to contend with so many pests and diseases these days. The replanted Agapanthus area looks a success though. Sadly here, the forecast rain has yet again fallen elsewhere. Maybe tomorrow 🤞
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Hmm, your confusedly named Buddleia almost sounds tempting, especially if it does flower from spring to autumn – did yours? Thanks for hosting https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-a-bit-of-a-damper/
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We only just got the buddleia and picked out the only bush with a flower open from the batch, in mid July, so I’m sceptical.
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Hmm, I know I tried a dwarf variety many years ago and it was very much a damp squib, but I possibly bought it from a cheap and cheerful catalogue where it came as not much more than a stick. I buy more judiciously these days, and at least know what to expect if I buy from them now!
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The wind is picking up here again and rain has set in so I am sure it will reach you in due course. It would be nice to have a happy medium for the rest of the summer. Not too hot, not too dry and not too windy! I live in hope.
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I love Tetra Petra and the Agapanthus renovation looks great. It;s always something. I am glad you got some rain. The array of Buddleia colors is so amazing now. Thanks for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-summer-additions/
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Not having good luck including my link. Let’s see if it works this time…
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/july-19-2025/
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Jealous of your Shasta Daisies! I really miss mine which are something like three or four individual stems, trying to do their best amidst thuggish native plants like Echinacea and Symphyotrichium. I will edit out some of the asters when they bloom to make sure I leave some purple and some pink flowers. Sorry to hear about the plum tree! I am not familiar with Honey fungus, which is a good things from what I have learned here. Fun fact: Som people believe that the largest organism on earth is a honey fungus in the forests in Oregon. It is estimated to cover over 9 square kilometers and weigh over 30000 tonnes! Wow! Also, at least some species exhibit bioluminescence – how cool is that? Well, no honeyfungus here, though I did find a pretty slime mold – maybe I will include that next week. Anyway, here are my ‘six”:
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For whatever reason, my link didn’t “take” Trying again here, but it is below as a “pingback” if it does not work here.
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/july-19-2025/
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I have never come across the lysionotus before, but it is unmistakeably a member of the Gesneriaceae. I immediately thought streptocarpus. The buddleia is rather a nice colour, it is such a shame that they appear to be demonised in the press these days. We are constantly told to grow plants to support bees and butterflies and the buddleia does this in spade.
Here are my rushed six: https://ricksplantworld.blog/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-19-7-2025/
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Demonising things like Buddleja and Himalayan balsam when they provide so much for insects, against a background of agriculture in this country having pretty much totally eliminated wildflowers from farmland, makes little sense to me.
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My favorite is the Shasta daisy. It is so reliable for me too. Gorgeous color on the buddleia.
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I love the colour combo in photo #2 and am happy you’ve got some rain! Nice that they’re making butterfly bushes shorter and less gangly these days.
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I’m not always a fan of plants being bred to remain small, it can ruin their character. Sometimes better to plant a naturally smaller growing plant maybe.
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I’d not heard of a buddleia so short before. How useful and what a darling colour! Sorry to hear about the problem with Agapanthus gall midge. I will have to look it up to see its range and spread.
Here are my six: https://wp.me/pM8Y1-9t6
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It seems Agapanthus gall midge was identified in the UK in 2016 or thereabouts. Which is not to say it originated here but it may be that as a pest it hasn’t gone too far from here yet. We live in hope. The RHS say it has got as far north as Yorkshire.
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I enjoyed this post, as always. The quote I liked for humor was, “Shasta daisy, Chrysanthemum maximum, is about as bomb proof as plants get.” I love your sense of humor.
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We share a plant in common this week – Shasta Daisy but I call mine leucanthemum x superbum. Is there a difference? I also like the contrast between the Eryngium and Berberis. Here’s my link for this week, celebrating the rain that came today https://n20gardener.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-magic-water/
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Leucanthemum maximum is a European wild species, with Chrysanthemum being an outdated synonym. It is one of four species that were crossed (in America) to get Leucanthemum x superbum, a garden hybrid. The RHS lists several cultivars of L. maximum, so they’re presumably selections of the wild form. I don’t actually know what mine is, it was given to me with no name, but it is a single flower and looks very like the pictures of the species. It is only the four way hybrid that should be called Shasta Daisy, so I was half right on the botanical name and wrong on the common name. Magic water is what I have coming down right now, a perfect description.
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Like the Eryngium /Berberis combo, they look so good together.Sorry your plum is struggling, I hope you manage to get a few fruits this year. You can’t beat good old reliable plants for their staying power, so many new ones fall by the wayside. My six are here…………..https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
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The eryngium is lovely, as is the buddleia, I wonder if it will be as small as its name suggests. My six this week is here: https://mysanctuarygarden.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-19-07-2025/
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One bit of online blurb about the Buddleia had it flowering from spring to autumn and growing 80cm. That’s a lot to live up to.
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That is sad about the plum tree.
Winter here….though it looks like spring https://thistlesandkiwis.org/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-19-07-25/
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I could have done without seeing the plum tree. That is so saddening. You know, I do not thin plums. I just prune them aggressively while dormant through winter. Shasta daisy really should be more popular than it is. Here are my Six on Saturday.
https://tonytomeo.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-purple/
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I seem to recall reading that winter pruning plums here is likely to lead to silver leaf disease, or bacterial canker. There’s only so many bullets you can dodge.
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When would they get pruned if not in winter?! They need pruning so that they do not overwork themselves.
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Early spring or mid summer. https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/plums/pruning It’s worked well enough for me until this year, though I’ve not done any summer pruning. I should have thinned the fruit much more and probably also irrigated it.
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Oh my! That sounds so unnatural!
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Sorry about the pear demise, I do like the Bob Flowerdew story though. I really like how you live with honey fungus, no hysteria as is often the case. And, as your garden attests, it doesn’t stop you successfully growing beautiful plants, with occasional upsets. Love the silly named buddleia, fabulous colour. Here are mine https://offtheedgegardening.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-tomatogeddon/
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Honey fungus hysteria does flare up occasionally, as in when it killed Camellia ‘Ariel’s Song’. There’s really nothing I can do about it, so I try to focus on the planting opportunity and find forgetting the thing I’ve lost all too easy.
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The berberis and the eryngium match very well together, and your photo is perfect! Very original colour of the pink buddleia: I have never seen one of this colour and I ‘m sure that the bee & butterflies love it too. Here is my link for this week: https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-19-07-25/
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The buddleja was not just different from any I’d previously seen, it was a lot different. Really caught my eye. I found somewhere to plant it today and its now being watered in by rain.
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I love the Eryngium/Berberis combo. I may have to look into ‘Butterfly Candy Little Ruby.’ I have a ‘Buzz’ variety that has always struggled for some reason https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/six-on-saturday-19-july-2025/
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What a lovely coloured Buddleia. I was recently visiting Longstock Water Gardens and the nursery there had an amazing row of differing Buddleia of all sorts of colours and varieties.
Here’s my six
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