I am joining Jim@gardenruminations for his floriferous ‘Six on Saturday’ meme: essentially a ‘show-and-tell’ post for six garden related things.
This week I’ve been enjoying:
1 A new Spiderwort
A friend recently gifted me this beautiful Tradescantia. Not sure what kind it is, but it maybe Tradescantia ‘Osprey’?
Tradescantia
Anyhow, while I was admiring the delicate petals the other morning I realised that they go completely translucent in the rain and also are probably double the size of my purple variety. Wonderful!
2 Begonia ‘Santa Cruz’
I didn’t used to like begonias, but in a complete about-face I am beginning to rely on their long-lasting, weather-proof flowers and beautiful leaves to get through our changeable summers. I particularly love the cascading shape and spear-like leaves of Begonia boliviensis. ‘Santa Cruz’ is the one I’ve chosen for the pots round the patio this year and they are looking suitably dramatic already.
Begonia
3 Orlaya
At the other end of the showy scale, the island beds are filling with self-sown, delicate, lacy Orlaya flowers. As with most umbels, the hoverflies and small wasps etc. seem to love them. This one (below) is only clear of them because I took the picture in the rain 😉
Orlaya
4 Dahlia merckii
Grown from seed two years ago and left in the ground to over-winter, this is our first Dahlia to reach flowering this year. Despite its long flowering stalks that loop well above the leaves, it’s a surprisingly robust plant. It grows quite happily in the shade of a crab apple tree on the driveway.
Dahlia merckii
5 Centaurea macrocephala
Another bit of drama in the garden is currently coming from the giant knapweed, Centaurea macrocephala. The display feels like it goes over fairly quickly (~couple of weeks), but what a punch these huge golden balls make while they last! In any case the basketwork of the brown outer bracts lasts a lot longer, so there is a much longer term reward from the flowers.
Centaurea macrocephala
6 Lychnis … the white kind!
If you grow lychnis, you probably know that it seeds around prolifically and you can certainly end up with too much of the stuff. But what if it was this lovely white kind, Lychnis coronaria ‘Alba’? Yes, probably there would still be too much, but the white sea works so well with poppies, delphiniums and even clematis.
Lychnis and poppies
Well, those are my six. Check Jim’s post for other lovely plant ideas.
In between rain showers this weekend, I’ll be desperately trying to get as many seedlings and plants into the ground for safe keeping, hoping they will survive the slugfest that is on-going in our garden. This urgency is because we are imminently anticipating the birth of our second grand daughter, and are likely to be travelling up and down to Southampton quite a bit in the near future. The plants will have to take their chances! 🙂
Have a fantastic weekend!
Frogend dweller's Blog 
It’s a variety of tradescantia that I don’t have. The leaf is rather light green, right? The flower looks like others I grow Fingers crossed for this imminent birth: all my early congratulations if I can…
Thanks Fred! The tradescantia leaf is not noticeably different in colour from my other examples. The photo does show it jumbled amongst grey leaved plants like plectranthus though, so maybe it is an optical trick ?
The Lychnis is a lovely colour. I have the pink one.
Well, that’s a brilliant one too!
I love the arching habit of the dahlia. The begonia is “wow” red.
Thank you Topdock!
A beautiful six, Allison!
Best wishes for the impending birth, that’s very exciting. 🙂
Lovely flowers today, a dahlia from seed would excite me! I have come to love Begonias too. I used to think they were common, now I have some weird tropical ones around the garden.
Thank you Amelia! I adore that massive begonia you occasionally show 🙂
Yes, that looks like Osprey Allison – I must go and check the blooms of mine after rain to see the transparency! I love the white lychnis as well as the pink – and ‘Occulata’ with the pink eye. Every garden should have them – although I forgot to sow any this year and realised I had only one pink one left…couldn’t be without it! I have belatedly sown (very old!) seed but will make sure I collect some fresh. Not sure about the yellow centaurea, but I am possibly getting towards your way of thinking about begonias… 😉
Thanks for the ID Cathy! Lychnis ‘Occulata’ is already on my list. I know what you mean about the yellow giant knapweed, it will never fit in … but next to a deep delphinum or a dark physocarpus it can look stunning. I still hate bedding bedonias btw! 🤣
I can send seeds of L occulata if you like ps bleh! to begonias (most of them, anyway!) 🤣
Oh yes please … when they are ready obvs!
I feel a begonia post coming on 😉
That last photo is fabulous! I love Lychnis – white or pink – but pairing the white with a vivid colour is wonderful. You always have such interesting plants – I have never seen a Begonia as attractive as that and would certainly rethink my aversion to them too. 😆
🤣 It’s a slippery slope! I used to hate dahlias too, but with the right kind it’s easy to be won over.
I used to be like that with zinnias….
I love the Begonia ‘Santa Cruz’
I too have overlooked Begonias in the past. You mention wildflowers or at least Centaurea macrocephala
It’s suprising how they can enhance a border or open ground
Thanks Piglet! I think begonias have their uses, particularly in pots 😉 . Interesting comment about the giant knapweed … does it grow wild in Portugal? I’d love to see pictures if so …
This is a link to the Portuguese identification site.
https://flora-on.pt/#1centaurea+macrocephala+
so yes and in different colours. I had a purple one growing in my garden until it got dug up as a weed 😦 I should have dug up all the other plants in that bed and planted wild flowers instead
Wow … there’s a lot to like there!
I’d never heard of your Centaurea macrocephala, which makes sense, given that it’s native to the Caucasus. The BONAP map shows it primarily in the northwest here, labeled as non-native or noxious. That said, yesterday I finally found some Plectocephalus americanus, formerly Centaurea macrocephala, to photograph yesterday. Both plants are commonly known as basketflower, although our native is pink to lavender, and sometimes white. There will be photos!
Lovely photos of beautiful flowers! Love your last photo, your white Lychnis goes beautifully with the red poppies. Also love the colour of Dahlia merkii, so pretty.