Six on Saturday – my garden 18 July 2020

/ karen

Calendula Snow Princess. Starts off butter yellow and fades to cream. Edges look as if they have been dipped in chocolate. Each flower is different. Such a pretty thing.

I talk about my calendulas in this week’s Garden News magazine. It’s quite a challenge to say a lot in just 350 words. But luckily I like a challenge. And I’m getting some lovely feedback from readers who say they enjoy hearing what I’m getting up to on my plot.

I have to weave in and out of the calendulas along the path. Verbascum provides a lot of flowers for minimum space. If cut back repeatedly, it flowers until first frosts, and certainly brings in plenty of pollinators.

Sweet peas are in full production. There’s Wiltshire Ripple in the foreground, and Mayflower 400 behind.

We’ve had four hoglets born in the garden this summer, one less than last year. They are all thriving and putting on weight. I’m remembering to put water out for them every night. They drink from the tiny bucket pond on the veg plot and the horseshoe wildlife pond. Early- ripening plums are falling to the ground in the orchard, providing a feast for the hedgehogs. Luckily there’s enough for all of us to share.

And my sixth picture this week, isn’t strictly speaking from the garden, but this little kitten has come to live here and is currently keeping me company in the potting shed. He’s slept all day in a fruit crate, having kept us awake half the night with fun and games. We haven’t decided on a name yet. Suggestions welcome. He’s very bossy. Brave and intrepid. We’ve never had a kitten before. All our cats have been adults or seniors from the RSPCA. But this little fellow is here because of covid. Vets cancelled all neutering operations, and the inevitable happened when the mother cat managed to get out. I like to think that he is something positive to have come out of this challenging time. Certainly we will never forget the year he was born. And he’s making us all smile -when we haven’t really had much to smile about recently. Honestly, who could resist!

Let me know what’s making you happy this weekend. How’s your garden looking at the moment? Have you managed to meet up with family and friends? Get in touch and let me know.

40 thoughts on “Six on Saturday – my garden 18 July 2020”

  1. Karen Hello from me. Your garden look so very beautiful, somewhere very very special. I do like nature and everything to do with it, and wild life too. I am someone who is very interested in the environment and preserving everything to do with it. I have lot of Birds coming to my back yard, Rainbow Lorikeets and Honey Birds, and also night time visitors like the Possums, that I feed. Winter time here in Aussie Brisbane, have to go in the cold out to feed them too. Yes I love cats too, but does not have any pets, with so many Birds around. Suddenly they fly into the house also, so have to be very careful to keep the doors closed.Nice to have come across your website 🙂

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  2. Gosh, Snow Princess is lovely! I’ve developed a love affair with calendula this year so will add that one to my list to grow.

    What a gorgeous kitten. Has he tried climbing the curtains yet? Hope you find a suitable name to match his cheeky personality!

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    • Thank you Valonia. You’ll be thrilled with Snow Princess. It is such a delicate colour, and flowers for a long time. We’ve called the kitten Monty. He has an M on his forehead, and I’m fond of the name. Yes, he is climbing the curtains and everything in sight! Thanks so much for reading the blog. Have a great day. Karen

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  3. Oh, sorry, pressed send without realizing! It‘s really hot here today so outdoor activity will be limited to watering the veg this evening. I visited friends for the first time in months at the weekend. (Feels more like years!)

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    • It’s cooler here at the moment, and we are only watering the greenhouse as we are lucky to have had rain. It’s been such a windy summer though. Several plants have shrivelled leaves and I think my hamamelis has succumbed to the drought in March and high winds in June. Such a shame as it was just getting going. I’ve been to a friend’s garden and kept 2m apart. It felt so strange to be out and about. Today we all have to wear masks if we go out. It’s such a shame as I love to smile and see smiling people. I’m practicing smiling with my eyes! Have a good weekend. Give my best wishes to your parents. My mum has been to visit twice now. Still just outside in the garden. We are being extremely careful xx

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  5. There was some difficulty signing in to comment this morning. It seems okay now. Your pictures, as always, are lovely.
    Little furry friend is going to be a lively one and it is easy to see how he will have you trained up to his every wish. An interesting companion. You are bound to find a name which registers. The only name that come to my mind when I look at him is ‘Ping”. have fun.

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    • Thank you for persevering. I wonder what the problem is. Let me know if you have problems again. We have called the kitten Monty. He has an M on his forehead, and I am fond of the name. Have a great weekend. Karen xx

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  7. Hedgehogs are . . . odd. Those who know them do not seem to be too bothered by them. I would not want to find something so strange in my garden.
    Your sweet peas are so excellent, especially so late in the season. I do not grow them because they do not bloom for long here.

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  8. Was going to say that since the darling kitten is here only by a chance spaying cancellation, that maybe his name is Chance, but have to agree with Eliza that Rosco fits him very nicely.
    The resident hedgehogs are wonderful. We don’t have them here, of course. Our loss!

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    • Thank you Sandy. I’ve got a long list of names. He is such a gorgeous little thing, so brave and lion-like. Thanks for your kind comments and for reading my blog. Have a great week. 👍🙂🌻

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  9. Hello, have you had any Snow Princess pot marigolds with light coloured centres? I ask as I’ve yet to see any among the ones I’ve grown so far over the past couple of years. .
    Lucky you with the hedgehogs, and I like the kitten picture. xx

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    • Hi Mike. Do you know, I don’t think I have. They all seem to have brown centres. They vary so much in colour. I’m going to take shoot cuttings from the very pale ones. Instead of growing them from seed next year. The cuttings will be exact copies of the parent, so should be nearly white. Quite a few were yellow this year. Have a great wee. Thanks for reading. Karen xx

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  10. What a cracker your new baby is, your going to have lots of fun time with him, what about calling him Codie, I wouldn’t get much work done, I’d never put him down. Plants look lovely by the way not as cute though!!

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    • I must admit, I’m carrying him round in a little wicker basket. Not much getting done …lots of fun though, never had a kitten before. Thanks for reading and your kind comments 😊👍❤️

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    • What a lovely name. They become such a part of your life, don’t they. When our old cat died, it took me ages to not look down on the chair where he used to sit, before sitting down there. And another one always sat on the doorstep, so you had to step over him. It was months before I got out of the habit.

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  15. The kitten is so cute.

    Our three children and both grandsons were with us for a time. The one from Denmark stayed the longest, and the one from New Jersey was here a week. It was glorious to have them all together.

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