Six on a Saturday for October

On a Saturday, gardeners from around the world share six things from their garden in their blogs and on social media. The #SixonSaturday is hosted by The Propagator, a gardening blog you should most certainly check out. It’s a great way to see over the fence of what is going on in other people’s gardens and to find fabulous, new inspiration for your own garden. As we have a gorgeously, sunny Autumnal day in Glasgow, I thought I’d share #SixonSaturday from my garden as we slide into October.

At this time of year, we often thing of our gardens as being bereft of colour as the perennials slowly and often ungraciously, die back but a walk around the garden to look at the colour that is still there, can lift your spirits and allow you to appreciate the effort some plants are still making to put on a sensational show! Here are the colours which are still shining out in my garden:

Lupins

Lupins I absolutely love Lupins! They are in the top five plants I just would not be without in the garden. I love their jellybean blooms which are enjoying a remarkably floriferous second flush. I have about twelve purple Lupin Persian Slipper and white Lupin Polar Princess in my garden but next year, I will have so many more as I’ve saved loads of seed this year – it’s going to be a #LupinFest! 

Hydrangeas

There’s nothing quite like a Hydrangea for putting on a blousy show at this time of year and looking quite unaffected by the recent heavy rain and gusty winds. I have lacecap, mophead and climbing Hydrangeas in my garden but the Hydrangea Paniculata Silver Dollar is standing head and shoulders above the rest in a shady border.

Hardy Geraniums

It’s very hard to overlook hardy Geraniums in the garden for staying power. Geranium Rozanne has been in flower since May, providing colour, interest and much welcome ground cover. It really is the gift that keeps on giving!

Salvia Nemerosa

I use Salvia Nemerosa wherever there is a space. As purple is the dominant colour is my garden, these Salvias Nemerosa Ostfriesland pull the colour through the whole garden and help to unify the different borders. I plant them in twos then in late May, once they are growing strongly, I give one of the pair the Chelsea Chop. This keeps one in bloom until late July and then just as it is going over, the Chelsea chopped one comes into play. This gives that purple vibe right through to Autumn.

Salvia Amistad

This is a plant I have fallen in love with! I love the statuesque height it gives and the longevity of the purple bloom is quite outstanding having now been in flower since June. I have some in pots and some in the borders. This is the first year I have grown Salvia Amistad and I am hoping it makes it through the Winter but I’m going to move the pots to shelter. I haven’t quite decided yet if I’m going to mulch and chance leaving some in the borders to see how they do – watch this space!

Chives

Nothing fancy about growing Chives except that I forgot to cut them back this year once they had finished flowering so the clump is in a bit of a mess. I hadn’t expected new growth at all and yet, here the are, the unexpected late star of the garden!

Do feel free to leave a comment and enjoy reading other #SixonSaturday blogs for information and inspiration – you’ll find lots on Twitter on the #SixonSaturday hashtag. The Pink Wheelbarrow can be found on Twitter too at @PinkWheelbarrow.