We had a night of heavy rain on Tuesday but otherwise a week of benign weather. It’s all looking remarkably good considering what it was like just a couple of months ago. While the garden is not too bad, my allotment is getting very weedy and the grass paths are growing lush and need cutting. Plenty going on so no problem picking out six things for my Six on Saturday, which you are as ever invited to join in with; just post a picture or two of six things in your garden this Saturday and leave a link in my comments below.
One.
Five weeks back I was getting excited about a Yucca I’d had for many years finally producing a flower spike. It’s now looking as good as it’s ever likely to so I’m bringing it back for an encore. I’m going with the name Yucca gloriosa ‘Bright Star’, even though that’s not the name I acquired it as. I’m not sure what will happen now, several side shoots coming up to replace the flowered one is what I expect.
Two.
Also out the front of the house, which is south facing and therefore gets more sun than most of the rest of the garden, is this pot of Amarine ‘Emanuelle’. A hybrid between Amaryllis belladonna and Nerine, they have the form of Nerine but are nearly twice the size. This potful has thrived on the neglect it has had to endure and a hot summer was just what it needed to produce a dozen or more flower stems. Too bad it is cramped between my car, a water butt and the front door; it really deserves better.
Three.
Out the back now and a shrub that has a longer flowering season than any other I can think of. I have been growing Indigofera pendula for several years and my original plant had been in decline for the last couple of seasons. I managed to get a new plant going from Special plants seed and it is shaping up to be even better than the deceased specimen it replaces. It is a better colour, a clearer, deeper pink and it looks set to flower for even longer, though that may be down to youthful vigour and a funny growing season. I just need to figure out how to deal with a plant that has stems barely more than pencil thickness at the base and well over 2m long.
Four.
Podochaenium eminens is another plant that takes more management than most to keep going. The last two winters I have taken cuttings in autumn and kept them in a heated propagator until late winter. The parent plants have been left in the ground and have not survived the winter. This year the side shoots that I have used for cuttings are much bigger than they’ve been previously but I aim to do the same again. I haven’t tried but may have a go at lifting and potting one of the two plants in the ground, cutting it back hard and seeing if it survives to shoot in spring. I’d be immensely chuffed if I could get one to flower, all I’ve managed so far is leaves.
Five.
Every year for as long as I can remember, come spring there were lots of tender perennials like Plectranthus, Salvias and Penstemons in the greenhouse ready to plant out for extra summer colour. They might have been potted up in the autumn or overwintered as cuttings in the pot they were struck in. Sue just got on and did it and I left her to it. I took cuttings of this Plectranthus argentatus today, struggling to find good material. I’ve done lots of Salvias and some Penstemons this last week or so, reflectively.
Six.
I’ve cut almost all our Fuchsias down to the ground over the last few years in an attempt to stay on top of Fuchsia gall mite, clearing away all the prunings and fallen leaves in hopes of getting rid of overwintering bugs. I think it works to some degree and will continue to do so. This Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’ got missed last autumn, came through the winter with little or no winter damage, languished through the heat of the summer and took off a month ago to produce this late display, with a lot more to come. Which gets me wondering about my pruning strategy, there being no obvious gall mite on it, with others that were cut down now so badly affected I shall be removing them when I get around to it.
October now, slipping slowly into an autumn that doesn’t seem to know which way it’s facing. I had a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the door this morning, I wish I’d thought to ask them what their God had to say about global warming. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst would sum up my take, I hope to be better prepared next year and that the end of summer reflections for 2027 are an improvement on ’26’s.
What a gorgeous yucca! I don’t think I’ve seen one that striking before, and I grew up in a region where they show up just about everywhere. Never even thought of them as houseplants but now you’ve got me considering… https://littleblueandwhitehouse.com/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-3rd-october-2026/
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It always amazes me how well nerines seem to flower in what seems to be the most inhospitable places, and presumably your amarine too, from what you say and show. I have actually managed to get going in the garden this week – hurrah! https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-always-one/
Thanks, as always, for hosting
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I just wrote a reply to Jude’s comment about Amarine’s, lamenting the underperformance of my Nerines, then noticed your comment about how well they cope with adversity. For many years mine did just that, but something seems to be going wrong. Perhaps I should try to collect seed and start a fresh lot from scratch. Do they get viruses, or eelworm? Like pets, you can’t ask them where it hurts.
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Curious, isn’t it?! But yes, if only plants could talk – well, they probably could, but we haven’t learned their language yet…
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I am so pleased you feel sorry for your plants. I don’t give my plants enough sympathy. “Too bad it is cramped between my car, a water butt and the front door; it really deserves better.”
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My Amarine hasn’t got a single flower spike, despite baking in the sun all summer. Nor have my Abyssinian gladioli which I expected to have loved the heat. I imagine they probably need thinning out so I shall empty the containers this year and repot the larger corms in the spring.
Your Yucca is a beauty and I also like the Indigofera pendula. I can imagine how hard it is to do the tasks that were once Sue’s domain. It’s those little things that catch you unawares.
https://cornwallincolours.blog/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-winmonath/
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I moved all my ‘ordinary’ Nerines to my allotment two years ago, planting them in a south sloping fully open spot that I thought would suit them perfectly. They’re not flowering as well as they did last year but the Amarine is much the best it’s ever been. The Nerines didn’t produce as much foliage as I’d have expected last winter, which I think is not unconnected to the lack of flower, but I am clueless why. I should have a scratch around the bulbs, there may be some indication of what’s going wrong.
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Emanuelle is stunning and the yucca flowering spike worth a second or even third visit. Indigofera is one of my favourite shrubs, how long from seed to flower? I have grown it in other peoples’ gardens and at Cliffe but never my own. Surely this should be put right?! Here are my six, have a good week, Jim https://offtheedgegardening.com/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-late-shift/
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I sowed my Indigofera pendula in March 2023 and this is its second year in the garden producing flowers. It’s grown at least six feet this year, flowering the full length of the new growth, but needing support.
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In Orkney Jim we’ve had more rain than we need, the year has definitely turned. We grow a hardy Fuchsia here, Fuchsia magellanica, a great windbreak that is much loved by bees and other insects, the only one that seems to survive our salt laden winds.
This weeks Six on Saturday is a half dozen favourite garden birds.
https://agardeninorkney.com
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Is the Strait of Magellan as far south as you are north? Fuchsia magellanica and the hybrid F. ‘Ricartonii’ are widely naturalised in Cornwall but Fuchsia gall mite is playing havoc with them. Hopefully it won’t get to yours.
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Hi Jim, we’re a bit further North than Magellan is South, ricartonii is the one that is grown here as well, it self seeds like mad, a few days ago I found and potted up 47 seedlings in the space of a couple of hours. Not quite sure yet what I’ll do with them all, probably a hedge.
No gall mite yet but with warmer winters on the rise it may well be only a matter of time.
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That is one glorious Fuchsia, Jim, and the Yucca is magnificent – I love the ones with yellow variegated leaves. We finally had some rain Thursday night…the garden is looking decent again…
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My Indigofera pendula has suffered this year despite constant watering. The lovely lush and floriferous one I saw last week at East Ruston Vicarage garden made me want to start again. I didn’t realise that like albizzia or plumbago the colour of the blooms could vary in intensity. I love the Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’ which is new to me.
Six on Saturday. October Sunshine.
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I am thrilled by the Amarine that thrives without complaint in the place it is given. It must feel the love.
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Jim, I do love the This Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah. I’ve tried growing them here but I can’t seem to offer the right conditions to make them happy. The Yucca flowers are so striking. I do wish I had the variegated variety.
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Fuchsias can be rather intolerant of high temperatures, which I guess you get a lot more of than I do, or perhaps I should say did. The Yucca came from a batch of plants I grew in my nursery days, so pre 2014. I don’t think I’ve seen that variety anywhere else since. It’s been very slow growing, which would be a big deterrent in the nursery trade.
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I think you are right re the heat, Jim. one minute my fuchias were fine and the next ….
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I had never heard of Podochaenium eminens. When I looked it up, I found references to a nursery in Southern California now closed and a Southern California botanical garden that I visited decades ago when I lived in the area that has a ~50 year old specimen. The Fuchsia is lovely! I also really love the Indigofera pendula. Nice choices! Things are definitely winding down in my garden, but still a little color! Her are my six:
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/october-3-2026-six-on-saturday/
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Your reflective taking of cuttings I hope gave you some comfort in happy memories. All the same it’s a difficult time. Your fuchsia looks glorious. Once again you have so much to share. Here is my linkhttps://n20gardener.com/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-heroic-last-stands/ as October begins to take hold in my garden.
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Oh, I would give me left arm for one of those Amarine ‘Emanuelle’. It sounds and looks delightful! I also really love the Indigofera pendula. https://cathscamera.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-3-10-26/
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I have a Nerine called ‘Stephanie’ which is the same shade of pink as ‘Emmanuelle’ but smaller; but likely also not obtainable in Tasmania. Indigofera pendula can be grown from seed, which might be easier to get hold of.
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That yucca is pukka, if you’ll forgive me using an Oliverism. I’ve also never heard of an Amarine. They look amazing. Not much to show in my garden this week. Things are definitely slowing down. https://potsandplots.blog/2026/10/03/sixonsaturday-03-10-2026/
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Yucca gloriosa is splendid. It is one of prettier Yucca. Is Yucca elephantipes grown there, or is it too cold in winter? Amarine looks interesting.
Six on Saturday: Bark II – Tony Tomeo
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Yucca elephantipes is quite popular here as a houseplant but not to my knowledge outdoors, though I should think it would survive in more or less frost free places in full sun and very well drained soil.
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Oh my; that is a bit houseplant!
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The Yucca is a certain beauty. I was touched that you described taking cuttings reflectively, thinking of Sue of course. You were a great team.
Here are my six:
https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2026/10/from-my-garden-at-start-of-october-2026.html
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Your winter maintenance ofthe Fuchsia has paid dividends. I commend you, Jim.
One question… If I were to prune mine hard, should the debris be dumped rather than chopped for compost heap?
There’s still plenty of strong colour. However, last Sunday we had 63mm of rain in an eight-hour period, and as a result many of the plants toppled. On Tuesday we had gale force winds and further toppling took place. Toppled plants toppled further. Sunshine on Wednesday reversed most things back perpendicular once again, but the large Begonias did not cooperate. Blue sky on last day of September was a super bonus, but the first few days of October have been very mixed.
I’m doing very little this week.
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Oh that did not paste as I expected! 🙈
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The yucca looks amazing! And that is a lovely colour for a Fuchsia. We haven’t got one yet, but if we do, we’d want it to be something like that – more purple than pink.
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Thanks for showing the Podochaenium again—we were talking about it a while back. The foliage is truly stunning. I hope you get to see it bloom; you’re right to give it a try in the ground while keeping a backup in a pot.
As for Plectranthus I once left a prt of mine in the ground over winter and lost it. Fortunately, I always keep a backup in a pot. https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-on-saturday-03-10-26/
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