The raisin moncher is back home, after a few nights with the vet. While he’s been gone, all raisins have been removed from the house. We’re not taking any chances. 🐈‍⬛

For the second time in as many months Mochi has had an emergency trip to the vets for eating raisins. Cats are supposed to not like raisins, but this little monster tears open packets to find them. He’s in overnight on fluids. 🙀

The Bandcamp app now allows you to download music for offline listening! This is an excellent development.

Six on Saturday 22-05-21 🌱

This week my Six on Saturday arrives on Saturday itself. Hope you enjoy my selection of six things from my garden, and why not check out the latest in the original series here on The Propagator.

1 - Stachys Byzantina. This floppy-eared cutie was in the garden when we inherited it, and is clearly very happy, spreading like wildfire down the main border. It’s very fluffy, and catches water droplets (of which we’ve seen a lot this week…) in a beautiful way.

2 - Heuchera. We’re not sure which Heuchera this is, because it came as a stowaway in another plant bought from a garden centre. One day we spotted it at the base of another plant, and gave it a pot of its own. Last weekend it was repotted and is loving the extra space - its leaves have all reached up and out, like it’s having a good old stretch.

3 - Erica arborea ‘Estrella Gold’. So many tiny white flowers on this miniature Tree Heather. Please ignore the mess behind it…

4 - Salvia ‘Amethyst Lips’. This Salvia (in fact, it was three 9cm pots of it) was bought on the strength of its scent - intense blackcurrant. Ideally we’d have it on the edge of a path so it’s brushed against, or in a container at waist height so it’s easily touched and smelled. There are flower buds on the way too, and it has purple flowers similar to it’s more famous sibling ‘Hot Lips’.

5 - Salvia x superba ‘New Dimension Blue’. Slow to get going this year, but is doubling in size by the week now. I’m looking forward to these flowers heralding the arrival of summer.

6 - Erigeron karvinskianus. A flower has appeared on our little Erigeron, hopefully the first of many.

I’m hoping to get out and do some tidying in the garden tomorrow, having finished off a major piece of work today. Keeping my fingers crossed for some more consistent sun this week, and perhaps warmer temperatures.

Whew, what a morning. The usually simple act of icing a cake was made infinitely more complex by Mochi (🐈), who decided to help by sitting on one layer and nibbling another. The end result was Mochi’s first bath, during which I definitely got more wet than him.

⚽️ Back at The Shots for the first time in 18 months.

Six on Saturday 15-05-21

I’ve just found out about Six on Saturday through The Propagator, so although it’s now Sunday, I thought I’d give it a go.

It’s been a wet week here, with some long, slow rain days, and some ridiculous downpours that had Mochi the cat dashing in through the catflap at high speed. We got to visit a couple of gardens on Friday, from which a couple of these six are taken, as well as a nursery and garden centre today.

Here’s the Six:

1 - Tomatoes. I bought some plug plants a few weeks ago, having moved house in February and not got organised to sow any seeds this year. They’re Tumbling Tom Yellow, and I haven’t tried a tumbling variery before. Today I finally got round to planting them into a hanging basket, although I failed to get a photo of the actual thing…

2 - Alpines. We’re a big fan. The central bowl in the photo below we assembled last year, and it’s been a pride and joy ever since. The Lewisia is a new addition. The pots on the left and right, including Sedums and Phlox, are new today. The plants came from Woburn Forest Growers, a lovely nursery which we visited for the first time.

3 - Hanging basket. This also went up today. Last year we had great success with Nemsias in a hanging basket, so we’re trying it again, with Diascia, Calibrachoa, Dichondra, and Bacopa.

4 - Saxifrage Whitehill. Back to alpines for this stunning Saxifrage with leaves that look encrusted with diamonds. Spotted in the amazing garden at 23a Perry Road, which is in the National Garden Scheme.

5 - Acer groundcover. Also from 23a Perry Road, this beautiful Acer which has created a groundcover with its own lower branch.

6 - Border. Finally, here’s a lovely combination I spotted at the Swiss Garden at Shuttleworth on Friday. Irises at the front, behind that Euphorbia characias wulfenii, and behind that Cytisus scoparius (Broom).

Well that was fun. Maybe I’ll manage it on Saturday next week. Have a look at The Propagator for some more garden goodness.

Took most of the day off yesterday, so Saturday becomes the new Friday. Plenty to get done.