It’s beginning to look as if summer hits the buffers next Tuesday, with a big Atlantic low incorporating the remains of Hurricane Erin arriving. I feel like a dying man in a desert eking out his last few drops of water with civilisation just visible on the horizon, a few days crawl away, praying the while that it isn’t a mirage.
Enough of the melodrama, back to being grounded and sorting out this weeks garden highlights for Six on Saturday. Join us, newcomers are always welcome, there’s a participants guide right here.
One.
We offered ourselves as a release site for rescued hedgehogs a few years back and last weekend I received a request to take in a rehabilitated animal that had been brought in from near here. They try to return them to somewhere near where they came from. On Tuesday I drove to Prickles and Paws at Cubert and came back with a young chap they’d christened Elvis. He went straight into his new home and I set up my trail cam to keep an eye on things. I put food and water into a second nest box close by, hopefully inaccessible to cats. Tuesday night he came out, wandered up and down a few times, then went out of camera shot never to return. He was a no-show on Wednesday night and on Thursday night I forgot to replace the memory card in the camera. However, when I checked his nest box on Friday, to my astonishment he was tucked up asleep in bed. I’ve put fresh food and water in the other box (the nearer one) and will see what tonight’s filming shows up.
Two.
Hedychium ‘Tara’ is one of the very few plants growing in the ground that I’ve watered a few times of late. Some plants just need to be seen at their best and a dry Hedychium is a miserable Hedychium.
Three.
I managed to sneak out to my favourite local nursery midweek, where I found a good plant of Fascicularia bicolor, just what I’d been looking for to replace the second of our old and worn out Daphne x transatlanticas. I had planted both the white and pink forms, ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Pink Eternal Fragrance’ as robust liners in 2013, so it seems that ten years is about what they’re good for. They came from a French wholesale young plant supplier and cost £2.43 each, so we’ve had our money’s worth. I didn’t know that Fascicularia was just what I was looking for until I saw it in the nursery, needless to say. I cleared out some Geranium nodosum and planted lots of small corms of Cyclamen repandum while I was at it, so the soil won’t be bare for long.
Four.
Nor was Fascicularia the only fine plant I found at Treseders, I also came away with a Piccabeen palm, from Illawarra in New South Wales, a fern and an Impatiens that was new to me and took nano-seconds to decide I needed wanted. It was labelled Impatiens pritzelii (W/O-9304) and when I looked it up online I found a cultivar name which I didn’t make a note of and cannot find again. The W/O collection identifies it as coming from Growild Nursery and its proprietors Lisa Wesley and Andrew Blackwood but it is not currently in their seed or plant list. I suppose, in the cold light of day and the benefit of hindsight that it’s not so very different from the red leaved forms of Impatiens omeiana that I already have.
Five.
I sowed Selinum wallichianum on 16th May 2023 so the fact that the two plants I raised are now flowering is not bad. I thought I’d sown them longer ago than that. Both plants have only a single stem but should have more next year, and I hope they will get taller; half as high again would be good, twice as high even better.
Six.
We used to grow some fairly unusual stuff in my nursery days. One of our serious plantsman customers berated us once for never having anything new; untrue and unfair but nevertheless, as the perception of a good customer, not to be dismissed out of hand. We made more effort to not just have a good range of the more unusual things but to have a fair turnover of such lines. Sorbus megalocarpa would have been one such plant; we’d have grown a batch from seed and when they’d sold out would have replaced them with something different. We visited one of our old customers on Wednesday and there was Sorbus megalocarpa, in fruit. Like unexpectedly bumping into someone you’d not seen in fifteen years or more.
Maisie, the cat in the header picture, likes to lie on top of the Cyclamen hederifoliums growing under our big fastigiate yew. On the south side, so some sun, dry and well cushioned with years worth of fallen leaves. What conditions do Cyclamen hederifolium like; same as the cat.
garden ruminations 
Ah… sorry, the space of time might be one or two years ago…
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Dear Jim, you once explained to me, how one can create a picture that shows before/after (as you did in number three in this post). Now that I have time to try it out, I can’t find the comment any more.
I found out that one can find comments from others, but only in one`s own blog. So I dare to ask you if you might find the comment with the question (and your explanation) by searching your comments.
Thanks a lot for reading and maybe thinking about my request.
Greetings, Ingwer
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There was a comment on 20/12/2023, posted as a reply to Cathy, that read:
“It’s the two photos on the bottom of this entry. There`s a white vertical line in it, you can move. Did you notice that?
(I didn’t know this feature either. Is it for free?)”
The before/after feature is called image compare and it is in the section labelled Media when I choose to add a block to the blog, along with Image, Gallery, Video, Slideshow and so on. It may be a feature that is not in every WordPress theme, mine is “Floral”, which is a paid for theme (mainly because I needed the extra storage space) and it probably has features that are not in some or all of the free themes, though to be honest, I don’t know that for sure. If you have the image compare block, it takes you through using it, asking for the before and after pictures in turn. I usually put my camera on a tripod, take the before picture, make whatever changes I’m going to make, then take the second picture with the camera in exactly the same place.
Hope that helps.
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Thank you so much, Jim!
In the meantime, I was doubting whether I had asked for too much to expect you to search the comments. You are a busy man!
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Elvis did become a bit reclusive in later years…. 🙂
Here’s a belated selection from Somerset, with some extreme insect closeups https://doingtheplan.com/2025/08/24/late-summer-selection-seven-for-sunday/
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Whenever I drop in I find you growing plants I’ve never heard of! And for sure couldn’t grow on the Canadian prairies. My six on Saturday are much more “pedestrian” but make me pretty darn happy. Especially the dahlia which I usually struggle with.
Bernie
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I visited Calgary and drove from there to Vancouver, so I’ve seen a little of the Canadian prairie and heard a little of how cold the winters can get but I saw a heap of wild flowers I couldn’t have put a name to if my life had depended on it. I’m just driven to grow as many things as I can while there’s still time; as obsessions go, I don’t think it’s the worst, but I can understand why it wouldn’t appeal to everyone.
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Could you please explain how to do the fancy thing with the slider, Jim? If it’s straightfoward that is – I did Google to try and find out, but it seemed to suggest I might need a plug-in so I rather lost enthusiasm at that point 😉How lovely to be able to rehome hedgehogs and it was so nice to meet Elvis. We know we get hedgehogs in the garden here, but sadly rarely see them. Your Selinum makes a great statement and will surely have been worth the wait https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/six-things-i-am-enjoying-on-saturday-from-the-kitchen-windows/
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In the list of options for adding elements like images and slideshows is one called image compare. It may not be available in all the WordPress themes, I pay a fairly modest amount for a premium theme. Click on it and it prompts me to upload first the before picture then the after picture. I usually take both with the camera on a tripod to preserve the viewpoint, and I don’t crop either image because it would be hard to maintain the exact same view. You may be able to add it as a plug-in on a theme that doesn’t have it but I’ve never gone down that rabbit hole.
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Hmm, thanks Jim, this is helpful – I can Google with more information now. Not that I really want to change my theme, but image compare is such a useful function. Ideally I would like to be able to post higher resolution pictures too but don’t want to run out of storage space and even the paid for versions have limited space
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I love the hedgehog. I hope he stays. Erin did not leave us a bit of rain, I hope you get some! I feel the same way about waiting for rain. We are on a limestone ridge Called the doughnut hole because the rain goes around us.
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It seems Erin is heading up to Iceland and not coming here at all. There’s bits and pieces of rain expected mid-week onward though, nothing substantial.
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Impatiens pritzelii ‘Hubei Red’
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That’s the one! Thank you.
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Jim we were happy to send Erin on across the Atlantic to you and your friends and hope you get the rain and cooler weather it should bring. Your description of waiting for rain sounds hauntingly familiar, and I am happy to say that we have had more regular rain this year, which is a pleasant change from recent ones. Your Hedychium is lovely and I’m glad you’ve kept those thirsty roots watered. Ours haven’t bloomed yet, but we have the butterfly gingerlily and they are always later in the season. You have a lovely six this week despite the weather. I was happy to notice you left the little fern growing by the walk in your before and after shot, but so disappointed you didn’t photograph your new fern for us to admire. My six this week are largely wild plants growing near the James River, photographed when we’ve been out there mornings to walk and watch the sky for the progress of the storm in our area. It was bright and sunny again by Friday, and our effort to go out on the beach was rewarded with a Monarch feeding on a wild sumac shrub. Photos here: https://woodlandgnome.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/six-on-saturday-wild-things/
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I do hope Elvis hangs around..
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Hi, Jim; thank you for hosting another great Six on Saturday. Your plant selection looks great, especially that last one in fruit; goes without contest that the fauna was adorable, as well.
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I so wish hedgehogs were native to the US. They are adorable. You are lucky to be able to help one out!. I also have impatiens to share this week. The native Impatiens capensis, known also as Jewelweed and touch me not. as it has explosive seed heads that actually encourage touching. I like the red underside on the leaves of yours! My post is all about being out in the woods, on an island that has a spring fed lake on it.
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/august-23-2025-six-on-saturday/
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I would imagine that Elvis is the star of this week’s six. How wonderful to rehome a hedgehog. He’s come to the best hotel in Cornwall. I can’t believe that you have any room for any new plants, but you obviously think so!
I once grew Selinum wallichianum and it was pretty impressive until the second year when it was covered in black aphids. I’m afraid that was the end of it.
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Marvelous looking cat. Hedychium ‘Tara’ is a beauty. It is Great Southeast Pollinator Census days in ur region this weekend.
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You had lots of amusing sentences today. The simplest and shortest was “took nano-seconds to decide I needed wanted”
How kind of you to take in the hedgehog!
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Fingers crossed for Elvis. Selinum envy this week. Any tips for germinating the seeds? I’ve not managed to get past that point. The Sorbus berries make a great picture.
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Special Plants, which is probably who I bought Selinum seeds from, give these instructions: Sow immediately (best in autumn) overwinter outdoors, germinates in spring. Or mix with damp vermiculite, warm 3 weeks, cold 8 weeks, then sow mixture
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How lovely to get a hedgehog to rehome.
Here’s my six
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/%f0%9f%8c%bbmore-flowers-from-my-garden-for-sixonsaturday-gardeningx-lovegardening/
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So glad Elvis has a new home and you to look after him, I’m sure he will enjoy your garden and help with your slug patrol! I look forward to hearing more about him.
My six are here………………………https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
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Selinum wallichianum is a beauty but Elvis wins today. He looks well too. Our regular hedgehog hasn’t visited this past week which is always a bit worrying. It has been known to go awol sometimes though so fingers are crossed it returns soon https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/six-on-saturday-23-august-2025/
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It’s lovely see Elvis looking so healthy, with your care and attention he’s got a really good chance of surviving the winter.
I like the red stems and leaves on the impatiens and the sorbus fruit in the garden you visited is amazing.
A bit of a different six from me this week as my own garden isn’t inspiring me at all at the moment: https://mysanctuarygarden.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/six-on-saturday-23-08-25/
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The problem with putting out food and water for hedgehogs is that cats take it and there are lots of cats round here. Elvis doesn’t seem to have cottoned on to the food being in the other nest box, out of feline reach. So he has a nest box and knows his way back to it, but is there enough food around to keep him going, I’m not seeing many slugs with it being so dry.
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There’s only so much you can do, maybe when he’s hungrier he’ll suss out where the feeding station is but of course he’ll go to other gardens as well as yours. “Our” hedgehog definitely uses our hedgehog highway holes and visits neighbouring gardens as well as ours.
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Will Piccabeen palm even survive there? It does not do so well even here (although I grow a few anyway). That is more of a palm for Los Angeles. Sorbus megalocarpa is . . . odd. It is good to see Hedychium blooming. NONE of mine did so well this year. Here are my six.
https://tonytomeo.com/2025/08/23/six-on-saturday-leave-it-to-beaver/
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I doubt the Piccabeen palm will survive here but the seeds for these came from the southern end of its range so in theory should be as hardy as the species gets. Even those up around Brisbane probably get the occasional light frost and they grow in wet places so aren’t hardened up by hot and dry like the xerophytes are.
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Well, at least it can grow as a houseplant for a few years. Eventually, it becomes too large to stay inside.
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Many of those I saw in Australia had fruit bats or crested cockatoos perched in them, which added to the effect in a way a couple of sparrows wouldn’t. Perhaps by the time it outgrows the house the climate will be about right for it, and we already have feral parakeets so maybe we’ll have feral cockatoos too.
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Feral parakeets?! I would not expect them to survive there. If they can survive, perhaps piccabeen palm is not so far fetched.
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So Elvis likes cricket…I would have thought the gardening pages more to his liking. Enjoying your prose as well as the plants this week especially “Like unexpectedly bumping into someone you’d not seen in fifteen years or more”. I would easily visit such a nursery as the one you did and indeed your nursery if there was one closer to me.
https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2025/08/six-on-saturday-23-august-2025.html
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I like going to Treseders nursery just for the ambience; it is exactly the nursery I would have had myself had I ever plucked up the courage to set up on my own. Too late now. I suppose it’s only window shopping but it seems slightly weird to wander round for ages looking at everything then leave without buying anything.
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Elvis looks healthy and it’s great to rescue these animals. Let’s hope to have regular updates! ?
Congratulations on ‘Tara’ and this new impatiens is very pretty. https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/six-on-saturday-23-08-25/
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I just hope Elvis sticks around so there is something to say in updates. I can tell you he was on the camera last night but not seen to go back into the nest box. I didn’t check if he was in there today because I want to keep disturbance to a minimum.
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