Oh what a lovely day. Sunny, warmish, the wind had finally dropped and it was a simple pleasure to be pottering around in the garden, planting, watering, potting on. Should I run out of things to do in my garden I always have my allotment to keep me busy. No shortage of things to include in a Saturday Six at this time of year, though the warmth is shortening flowering duration in some cases. Join us, it’s very simple, just take pictures of six things in your garden and tell us a bit about them. Put a link to your post in my comments below and that’s it. There’s a participant’s guide if you want to know more.
One.
My second proper Rhododendron is now in full flower and looking splendid. It’s a dwarf variety called ‘Ramapo’ which I won in a raffle six or seven years ago. I see that in 2021 it peaked and went in a six on the first of May so it looks to be early this year.
Two.
This is I believe, Prostanthera ovalifolia ‘Variegata’, one of the Australian mint bushes. The foliage is strongly aromatic but I don’t think I can detect a separate perfume from the flowers. We were reluctant to plant it out as a young plant, fearing it wouldn’t survive outside in winter, so it stayed too long in a small pot. Once planted in this faux lead planter it fell over and has defied all attempts to keep it stood up. I must take some cuttings and grow a new one. It’s pinker than the Rhododendron above but was photographed in shade,
Three.
So many Osteospermums around seem to be over bred things with lovely flowers and no resilience. I must rummage around under this one for a label, it seems to be a very good compact form that has come through the winter in very good condition and is flowering prolifically. I need to take cuttings and spread it around the garden, or at least the sunniest bits.
Four.
Polystichum setiferum ‘Mrs Goffey’ is a finely divided form which I picked up at the Tregrehan plant fair a few years back. It’s producing plenty of fresh new foliage but it was a small patch of fresh green coming from one of last year’s fronds that caught my eye, to the lower right in the picture; this is a form that produces plantlets on the older fronds. At some point I will pot it up and put it in my propagator to root properly. I could peg it down to the ground and let it root as the parent frond dies off. Plants for free, I’m not seeing a downside.
Five.
My spur pruned “family” apple tree is flowering profusely. The parent tree is ‘Elstar’, onto which I have grafted ‘Holstein’, ‘Meridian’, ‘Red Windsor’, ‘Tregonna King’, ‘Plympton Pippin’ and an unknown variety. All are flowering at the same time except for ‘Plympton Pippin’ which is a week or so later than the rest. There should be enough overlap in flowering for it to get adequately pollinated nevertheless. No such problems with the rest, which will pollinate each other very well if there are plenty of bees about. An excellent crop with plenty of variety all from one smallish tree of controlled size. I thought I’d thinned it quite severely this winter but it doesn’t look like I did enough.
Six.
Every time I went to my water tank to fill my water can I waited and admired this pink bluebell. So pretty, even if it as common as muck and alien to our hallowed shores. Pretty, easy and trouble free and filling the same niche in a garden as in the wild, flowering early then quickly dying away before the light levels in their native woodland fall. If the leaves threaten to smother other emerging plants I pull them off as soon as the flowers are done. I think of “true” Spanish bluebells as having quite wide spreading bells, which probably makes the pink ones hybrid with the English species. I should think all the bluebells in my garden are hybrids, though some are close to being typical of one or other pure species.
By next week we shall be into May and I’ll not be sorry to be bidding farewell to April. I’m focused on getting the garden ready for opening, so focussed I couldn’t even tell you when the first opening is. I’ll know when someone turns up at the door.
garden ruminations 
I enjoyed reading about the family apple tree. How amazing that you have grafted so many others on that tree! 😅
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That pink bluebell really IS pretty, though! We only have the spreading blue ones and I never even considered planting other varieties, but now I sort of wonder…
https://littleblueandwhitehouse.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-25th-april-2026/
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I have a similar rhododendron to your Rampapo but I think it was only labelled as R impeditum – it has always flowered well, even when the larger flowered varieties haven’t. Curiously, I found a pink bluebell in the garden today for the first time – I wonder who its parents are? Two months now till our gardening opening, which will surely come very quickly! Good luck with your garden prep on top of everything else, and thanks for hosting this meme. https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-overspill/
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The Prostanthera certainly has a will to live and the Osteospermum is a great one. I’ve tried several times to grow one but they don’t return the following year. I’ll have to look out for ‘Irish’.
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A late SoS from me, but it’s still Saturday! https://lifeonalondonplot.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-25-04-2026/
The pink bluebells are very pretty and I’ve learnt something new about polystichums. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your garden.
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Everything looks so beautiful. I am deeply impressed with your apple tree. Have been thinking of you this past week. Here’s my six. Hardly any words at all. The little that I did write, I forgot to proofread before publication. Typos are fixed now!! https://tanglycottage.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-gold-and-orange/.
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A wonderful group of lovelies from your garden. I remember the Rampano because I always wanted one. I keep meaning to try to Osteospermums in winter, that is a remarkable one. I feel the same way about April, wish it lasted longer! Hope you are well and thank you for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-spring-whites/
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Another gorgeous post. I have noticed apples blooming around here. My crab apple is in full form right now. It is doing better than when I moved in, despite the cedar apple rust and other fungal disease that it tends to have. It is an aging tree and has a fair hollow in the trunk, so we will not have it forever, but it does bloom nicely and actually holds its leaves better than it used to (it used to be bare by July). It is going to be a weekend for gardening. Pulling dandelions, cutting back my standing stems. The bees are buzzing. Spring feels like it has finally arrived, though one never knows. Snow can still happen around here, and I have experienced hard frosts up through May 31.
Here are my six or seven:
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/april-25-2026-six-on-saturday/
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Your photos provide an ode to the joy of growing things. And your description of April into May is lovely. I enjoyed the pink bluebells! Thank you for hosting.
https://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2026/04/and-now-its-real-spring.html
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So many highlights in your garden today Jim…I don’t think I can choose a favourite! I can say I’d love to have an apple tree like yours. They’re available here in garden centres – multiple apple varieties on a single trunk – but there’s so many Juniperus virginiana here, with the cedar apple rust that accompanies them I think I’d need to spray quite frequently. Do you spray yours? Anyway…spring is springing…
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Thank you for the. wonderful selection especially the osteospermum and hyacinths. April has been a very busy month for us all and I look forward to May. Thank you, Jim, for continuing to host this group.
https://cornergardenvestavia.blog/2026/04/24/petals-at-the-corner-april-24/
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What a fabulous apple tree. The crop must be very satisfying. The pink bluebell is a joy too. Osteos are just opening here, as usual you are a week or two ahead. Here’s my six https://n20gardener.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-april-flowers/
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I love all your selections as per usual, but that laid back Aussie mint is probably my favourite. There’s something charming about plants that will not be tamed 🙂
This week I have been feeling that spring is here early. The first rose has bloomed, the twisted hazel leaves are a vibrant spring green, red campion is first to flower in the wild patch, the new rose bed is settling in and there’s a cheeky magpie pinching the cat’s leftovers.
https://doingtheplan.com/2026/04/25/queen-lizzie-mares-tail-progress-red-campion-green-man-and-spring-green-hazel/
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I think I can help with the Osteospermum. I have a similar one in my front ‘Mediterranean’ garden. I got it in 2023 from Pottertons at a rare plant fair, and it is called Osteospermum ‘Irish’. I too have been meaning to increase it, so thank you for your prompting. Here are my six: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2026/04/six-on-saturday-25-april-2026.html
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The pink bluebell is a pretty think indeed and I must try again with Osteospermums. Heyjude mentioned a more resilient variety last week in her comments section. I’ll have to try to find the comment and make a note of it https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-25-april-2026/
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Pretty thing indeed even. My typing is getting worse.
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The one which Jim is showing is one I have, called ‘Irish’ and has come back each year since 2023. I’ll post about it when I show some of the blooms in my Mediterranean Garden next.
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Thank you!
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Thank goodness that east wind has stopped. Like your lovely little rhododendron and the osteospermum, I’ve tried that a few times but always lose it, maybe I ought to try again.
My six are here………https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
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Another fan of the osteospermum here, it’s glorious. My six this week is here: https://mysanctuarygarden.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-25-04-26/
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Oh, I remember your ‘Ramapo’. We grew it on the farm, but only a few. It was and still is quite rare. We would have grown more if there had been a demand for it. It really should be more popular than it is. Pink bluebell is as pretty as the blue sort, but looks more like hyacinth. Here are my six.https://tonytomeo.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-rhododendrons-must-wait/
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Excellent photo of Rhody. Had a hard time logging in to comment, so I’ll just say here that I love that orange rose.
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Oh, Rhody really should be more cooperative with pictures. His best pictures were in your garden. That little orange rose is so beat up that I am impressed that it bloomed with three flowers.
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I also have a looking like variety of rhododendron (Impeditum Select), and I’ve noticed that this year is the best in years in terms of flowering.
Wow for the osteos!
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A lovely selection, especially the osteospermum. Such an attractive and long-lasting plant. We must get some for the front.
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You enter a fine class of raffle, I’m lucky if I win a bottle of talc. Lovely rhody and I like the unruly prostanthera too. The family tree is gorgeous. Here are my six, I can smell the toast, breakfast time! https://offtheedgegardening.com/2026/04/25/six-on-saturday-vigilance/
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Enjoyed your post, wrote a comment, but it wanted me to jump through hopes so here it is 🙂
I bet you come back with a lot of plants. I’m hoping to get my mail order purchases all planted today. Thanks for the reminder to put Sluggo around my tree dahlia. I have the same problem with tags disappearing, and then there is the big can with all the tags of plants that disappeared. That does look like ‘Mai Tai’ to me.
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Sorry WordPress was being a pain, it can be very frustrating. I’m pleased you found a way around it. Now I hope you are sitting down …… I didn’t buy a single thing from the fair! I must be sickening for something.
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Early start and a busy weekend for me but I did manage to put a SoS together! https://potsandplots.blog/2026/04/25/sixonsaturday-25-04-2026/
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