Well, storm Amy came and went and we’re all still here. Seems a long time ago. I don’t know how other people in the UK fared but there was no significant damage done in our garden and the slow autumnal descent into chaos continues at a very leisurely pace. There are lots of flowers still, but most of them are over the hill, thinning out, looking tatty. However, there are a couple of exceptions and a few new arrivals, so I’ve scraped up a six.
Six on Saturday is a meme started by “The Propagator” in 2017. I took over hosting around 2022. It’s the simplest of ideas; post pictures of six things happening in your garden on a Saturday and post a link in the comments down below. Need more info? It’s all here. We’d love you to join in.
One.
I just happened to look out my front window earlier from a funny angle and realised that my Camellia sasanqua ‘Navajo’, which I had thought was doing nothing, had a cluster of flowers out. I should keep a note of when it opens each year, autumn flowering camellias are early this year in some gardens but I don’t think ‘Navajo’ is any earlier than usual.
Two.
Last weekend I put in an item about a delivery I’d just received from Nick Macer at Pan Global Plants. Four of the seven plants in the box were for me, three for someone else. Coniogramme intermedia ‘Yoroi Musha’ is said by Nick, who introduced it to the UK, to be “lusted after by those that have seen it here”. I had seen it already in the garden of the lady who tacked the other three items onto my delivery and, yes, I did lust after it. I now own it and all that remains is to find it a suitable home.
Three.
Also in the box was this beauty, Curculigo crassifolia NJM 10.123. Nick says this was originally introduced from North Vietnam and I assume from the collection number that this is a collection he made himself. I think for the time being I shall keep this in a pot and bring it under protection for winter. It looks like it might be a grass or a palm but it is neither. It won’t grow a trunk and it produces not very showy flowers at ground level.
Four.
We bought a plant of Salvia ‘Purple and Bloom’ from a local nursery in the spring. Stupid name, there is a ‘Black and Bloom’, which at least is a feeble pun, but ‘Purple and Bloom’ is meaningless. I don’t know how it differs from ‘Amistad’, I can’t see a significant or consistent difference at all. Perhaps it’s hardier, the blurb I’ve read about it makes no mention of ‘Amistad’ or how it might be different. I took a picture of both together, ‘Amistad’ on the left. Is ‘Amistad’ slightly bluer? Does ‘Purple and Bloom’ have darker calyces? Maybe.
Five.
Fuchsia gall mite has been on the rampage in our garden this year and my two pronged strategy for controlling it, cutting all plants right down every year and picking it off as soon as I see it, has failed miserably. I don’t see much alternative to giving up on varieties that prove very susceptible, the trouble being that it seems likely to be nearly all of them. I could end up with plenty of places to put Coniogramme ‘Yoroi Musha’. This is Fuchsia magellanica ‘Aurea’, a really good variety that we will be very upset to lose.
Six.
I bought a new Plectranthus a week or so ago, ‘Velvet Elvis’, which should have showy flowers in a few weeks time and get featured here, but as good as some of the flowery ones are, it is the varieties grown for their foliage that really provide value for money. This is a pot of Plectranthus ‘Santana’, three plants in a 15 inch pot in spring, now nearly four feet wide. The variegation is somewhat unstable, I may take some more cuttings from shoots that look “right”.
And that, once again, is that. All being well, I shall see you next week.
garden ruminations 
Your words that I found amusing were, “…the slow autumnal descent into chaos continues at a very leisurely pace.”
I found one bit a mite galling — infestation of gall mites. It sounds awful. Good luck!
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That plectranthus is gorgeous – what a statement it makes! Your Coniogramme and Curculigo look, um, interesting, but I guess you will have seen illustrations of more mature plants and know what to expect in time! I agree there seems little difference between Amistad and the sillily-named Purple and Bloom. Thanks for hosting, Jim https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/six-on-saturday-dripping/
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Sorry about the fuschsias. I’ve just read that the hardy varieties are particularly important for insect food, which did surprise me for some reason. Here’s my six:
https://tishfarrell.com/2025/10/11/after-the-storm-six-on-saturday/
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It makes sense that Fuchsias would be valuable to insects in that they presumably produce plenty of nectar so are popular with bees and flower for a long time very late in the year. I shall be digging out the worst affected plants this year though, they’re just not worth having.
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Looks like you made some fabulous purchases, and that ‘Navajo’ Camellia is stunning. Nice to have it within view outside the window. 🙂
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Whenever I do talks about camellias, which is very infrequently, I advise planting sasanquas where they can be seen from indoors, given their flowering season.
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You had a lucky escape as did we with storm Amy. She blew through northern portugal . What a shame about the Fuchsia gall mite. I feel your frustration – gardening is always a battle (at least for me).
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It’s a battle for me too and not one I feel I’m winning, in spite of appearances.
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Your garden always looked so good, Jim.
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Thanks for a lovely sextet. My selection of autumn colour this week… https://doingtheplan.com/2025/10/11/gog-oakey-dahlia-sweetpea-anemone-and-autumn-six-on-sat-11-oct-25/
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I can’t see any difference in the salvias and agree with you on the names. Velvet Elvis is a bit daft too! But Santana looks good. And I am more of a Santana fan than an Elvis! None from my garden this week, but I did get to visit one of your oft visited places. And found some good colours.
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I’m with you on Santana v Elvis!
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Your new fern looks interesting, but it would be very sad indeed to lose your gorgeous Fushsias to make room for it. Fingers crossed you can get the mites under control…
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Fuchsias are so useful for having a long flowering season in some of the shadier areas but there are several that I am going to be forced to give up on, just too susceptible to gall mite to be worth bothering with.
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Nothing more fun than getting new plants. I did not think to even take a picture of my bare root Anemone patens that showed up this week, though it looked mostly like long thin yellow roots, with a little evidence of next year’s flower buds. It is an act of hope, planting anything these days. Here are my six:
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/october-11-2025-six-on-saturday/
Have a great week!
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such a shame about those fuchsia, Jim… and that Velvet Elvis is so unusual…
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Camellia Navajo is looking beautiful, lovely to have it flowering at this time of year. I can’t see any difference between your Salvias, both such a beautiful colour, you must let us know if one is hardier than the other.
My six are here…………..https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
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I always get suspicious when I see what appear to be identical plants with different names. Evading paying royalties on a plant with breeders rights by selling it under a different name doesn’t seem right, but then again a lot of breeders rights are held by people who didn’t raise the plant to begin with.
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Camellia sasanqua ‘Navajo’ is beautiful- one I expect you must treasure for its autumn blooms. The dark background is perfect for showing the foliage of two of your new plants, and in particular the elegant leaves of Curculigo crassifolia.
My effort for this week:
https://notesfrommygarden.co.uk/2025/10/11/hips-berries-more/
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Curculigo crassifolia NJM 10.123 looks and sounds interesting. It certainly looks like a palm of some sort. ‘Santana’ Plectranthus looks impressive. I did not realize that ‘Amistad’ Salvia is so purple. I thought that it was more blue. I can not distinguish it from ‘Purple And Bloom’.
These are my Six on Saturday.
https://tonytomeo.com/2025/10/11/six-on-saturday-peeping/
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It may well be that the Salvias look a little less blue on the screen than in life. Curculigo is not even in the same order as Palms, it’s in Asparagales, mainly non-woody perennials.
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So, it is more like Yucca.
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Regarding the Salvias I agree there is very little difference. However could it be in the nectar guides? I can’t see any on the Salvia Amistad given the angle to the camera. Sorry to hear about the Fuchsia gall mite infestation.
https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2025/10/six-on-saturday-11-october-2025.html
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I will keep on comparing the two Salvias, see if I can see a real difference. I’ll check on the nectar guides. I think Fuchsia gall mite has to be turned into an opportunity to get rid of some plants and replace them with something new; it really looks like a losing battle.
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‘Purple and Bloom’ is lovely but it does look identical to ‘Amistad’ – it’ll be interesting to see if it proves hardier than the latter. Fingers are crossed for Fuchsia magellanica ‘Aurea.’ https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/six-on-saturday-11-october-2025/
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Hi, a very pretty Curculigo crassifolia that I didn’t know about which has foliage that actually looks very similar to a young palm. Do you know how it will grow? Taller ?
And obviously the plectranthus has really very interesting foliage. Here is my link for this week. https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/six-on-saturday-11-10-25/
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Curculigo is in the family Hypoxidaceae, order Asparagales, so related to Alliums, Yuccas and various other perennial monocots. I’m not expecting it to get very tall but to hopefully make a bigger clump.
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