November Squelches On for #sixonsaturday

Yes, I know I have been so remiss with my #sixonsaturday posts; believe me, I’ve been missing them too! I’ve still been out photographing the little details in the garden but just haven’t managed to write about them as I am now editing the new Scottish Gardening Magazine which is all time-consuming, though simply wonderful as I get to see and hear from different gardeners all over Scotland.

So to November…how is it looking in your garden? It has been rather soggy here in Glasgow so much so that there have been puddles on the grass which is never a good sign. I had great plans for moving things around in the borders this autumn but planting into wet soil does not bode well for the vigour of the plant so I am contenting myself with cutting back and mulching in other areas in the hopes of a drier spell.

A quick walk around the garden reveals that there still are welcome pops of colour everywhere, defying the dreadful deluges and so, here are my picks from the garden this week, for #SixonSaturday as November squelches on!

I do love Hydrangea paniculatas with their showy, white, frothy blooms and they really come into their own in the late summer/ early autumn border but even now as they start to die back, they are still giving colour and form in the borders and some heads look like they haven’t even registered the change in season.

The Verbena bonariensis was really late to open its delicate flower heads this year, almost into September before there were any signs of that intense violet colour but the benefit of late bloomers are that their colour is still strong now. I just wish it was more wind-proof as it has been pretty battered around high winds and parts of it are growing with a bend or have already flopped over which hopefully will mean that it is scattering seeds for a show next year!

One of the best plants to have in the garden is a Hardy Geranium – they cannot be beaten for colour, longevity, ground cover and their ability to come back year after year without any special care. I regularly divide and spread them all around the garden to fill in any odd spaces and was delighted this week to see little pops of pink dotted all over the place.

I have one, solitary Hollyhock in the garden which is the only one which survived the original lot I planted a few years ago. This one pops up every year in late summer and blooms its pink head off and now, even into November, it still has more to give in unopened buds!

This bedding Pelargonium is another defying logic by trying to open buds in November long after all its friends have packed up and withered away for the winter. I should have pulled it out as I was tidying around this border but I can never bear to cut short the lifespan of anything with a bit of colour left!

I have two Viburnum tinus which give structure all year round and which have grown way better than I had anticipated to really fill out the space but that is such a bonus at this time of year as the cut stems from the Viburnum are great for adding to evergreen arrangements and I’m already eyeing up their winter arrangement chop.

Do feel free to me leave a comment on these six and enjoy reading other #SixonSaturday blogs for information and inspiration from gardeners around the world sharing six things from their garden on a Saturday. #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.

I would really love it if you’d also have a read at The Scottish Gardening Magazine which is a bi-monthly, digital issue and drops right into your inbox with a completely FREE subscription. You can subscribe to receive it right HERE.