It is Hot, Hot, Hot! I’m hiding in the shade, feeling sorry for my plants that can’t move and get out of the heat, any gardening is done first thing in the morning, sometimes even before breakfast, after that, I wilt!
My six for this week are as follows……
No 1.
Zantedeschia aethiopica, and I think, Kiwi Blush, has flowered at last. I can’t remember when I planted it but to have a flower after a gap of at least 10 yrs, is cause for celebration!
It comes from New Zealnad and it certainly is blushing! I hope I don’t have to wait as long for more flowers.
No 2
My newest visitor the other day was a Magpie Moth. Apparently they are quite common in gardens and woodland but the book didn’t say anything about front door steps!
No 3
It’s Astilbe time in my shady areas, they are enjoying the moisture in this heat, in the bog garden.
no 4
I think Walt Disney, or one of his designers, must have had some Nectaroscordum in his garden for the seedheads to give him the inspiration for his fairy tale castles!
No 5
Thalictrum aquilegifolium growing at the back of the bog garden where it is a lot drier, is doing very well, growing a lot taller than me!
No 6
This Day Lily or Hemerocallis missed my post the other day as it was still in tight bud. This plant has increased nicely, a medium sized variety.
There we have my six for this week, I can see my six for next week already! Try and stay cool, I will be watching the finals at Wimbledon and staying cool that way, any gardening will have to be done very early before the sun gets too high in the sky. I see our host is running in the Lake District this weekend so it should be cooler for him, but do still pop over to Jon, The Propagator to see what is happening in gardens around the world.
What a beautiful Kiwi bush flower. And I agree that the seed heads of the Nectaroscordum look like fairy castles. Perhaps your garden fairies live there?
Somebody suggested that the garden fairies had painted one flower on my cistus bush
Z. Kiwi Blush is certainly a beautiful flower, I wonder why it has been so long to flower? Yes, if I have garden fairies, I’m sure they would live in the Nectaroscordum seedheads!
Each of the six so completely different than the one before! I can see where the Magpie Moth got its name from, but it doesn’t do it justice. So beautiful. Nectaroscordum really was copied by Walt Disney. It’s a lovely plant from start to finish and one wonders why it is not more widely grown.
There was so much choice this week Denise! The Magpie moth caterpillar has the same colours as the adult moth, the yellow spots are to warn other wildlife that they taste nasty! The Nectaroscordum are now beginning to seed gently about the front border so soon I should have lots of little castles!
I’ve not seen a magpie moth before. Wow. Those pink Astilbes are very pretty indeed.
I’ve never seen one before either Graeme, in the 30 odd years that I have lived here, we sometimes get Jersey Tiger moths but they are quite different. The Astilbes like my heavy clay soil, thank goodness something does!
Lovely looking garden!
Thank you, very kind. Hope you noticed the Z. Kiwi Blush!
Gosh, Kiwi Blush is stunning – and what a wonderful surprise after all these years! You have reminded me to look out for my astilbes and I will check them out on my first ramble of the day. Thanks for sharing today, Pauline
I agree Cathy, but Kiwi Blush isn’t blushing nearly as much now that it has grown bigger since I took the photo the other day, I think maybe it needs a mulch in the winter if I can remember. Astilbes are so pretty in the shade, I keep adding more all the time!
What a fantastic six! Love the Zantedeschia ‘Kiwi Blush’ and the adorable magpie moth.
Thank you Allison! I agree the Moth is something special, the first time I have ever seen one even though the books say it is common in gardens.
Loving these, especially the Kiwi blush, fancy it taking that long to flower. What a pretty moth, I haven’t seen that one around these parts. Haha, how cute are those seedheads!xxx
I’ve never seen that variety of moth either Dina, so not as common as the books say! The seedheads are obviously where my garden fairies live, the ones that go round painting my flowers!x