A Six on Saturday in Uncertain Times

It’s a sombre week in the world as we all come to grips with the reality of our current situation. How we manage over the coming months will test us all but never more so than now, will we appreciate our gardens!

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be bringing you lots of easy gardening activities which you can do alone, with your children and even on your windowsill if you do not have a garden so do feel free to share them with those who may need some stimulus.

I haven’t really had much chance to get out in the garden this week as we’ve been making adjustments to our new work set up for the next while but this is what I did manage this week.

I managed to weed a border, just one but it was a great start as I lifted and rearranged some shrubs and then spread the magic which is Dalefoot Lakeland Gold Compost! Made from sustainably harvested bracken and being organic and vegan-friendly, this compost promises to be a clay-busting, soil conditioning mulch which is packed with slow-release nutrients. The company also produce a range of wool based composts for all your peat-free compost needs. Most importantly though, Dalefoot Composts as a company, work tirelessly to restore damaged peat bog and to date, have restored over 32,700 hectares of peatland in Dartmoor, the Lake District and the Cairngorms. I can’t wait to see the difference spreading this as mulch this will make to my heavy, clay soil!

I have two Vibernum Tinus in the garden and although they are planted to give some evergreen structure and not really for the flowers, this week I’ve been up close and personal with their pinhead blooms. They are really quite extraordinary as they appear at first as pink and gradually unfurl their tiny blooms to a pretty white. More marvellous nature at work!

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The purple Crocus have decided to follow their yellow friends and I am delighted to see them! I set them under the conifer trees, that area where notoriously nothing wants to grow but the yellow ones came out a few weeks ago and just as they have gone over, the purple ones have appeared to prolong the colour. Hopefully, these little pops of colour will thicken up year after year.

Getting out in the garden was a great chance to see some new growth up close and personal. I worry every year that my Peonies will survive the Winter so it is such a relief to see such strong, new growth coming through. Time to cut away the old growth – it’s on the list for this coming week!

On the list also for the coming weeks are the new veg to plant and seeds to set. I love seeing the chits develop on the potatoes, it gives hope for the future to know that I’ll be planting them soon and looking forward to some lovely crops of potatoes in the Summertime!

The last one for this week’s six on a Saturday is a big, bright, beautiful burst of colour! My lovely friend gave me a potted Azalea this week and it sure is brightening up my kitchen this week!

Do feel free to me leave a comment on these six and let me know what is going on in your garden right now or how you are preparing for the coming months in these troubling times. Stay well!

Enjoy reading other #SixonSaturday blogs for information and inspiration as gardeners around the world share six things from their garden this week. #SixonSaturday is hosted by The Propagator, and you’ll find lots of links on Twitter on the #SixonSaturday hashtag. You can find The Pink Wheelbarrow on Twitter at @PinkWheelbarrow.