Six On Saturday – April 8

I haven’t contributed for ages though I read SOS posts every week. I’ve had a good week in the garden so I thought I’d share some of the joy!

1. Snakeshead Fritillary – I grew these for the first time last year – I had one flower from the 10 or 12 bulbs I planted. This year I have four (two in another pot from this one) with maybe one more on the way. I call that progress.

2. I made the mistake of using plastic labels for the bulbs last year and every last one of them is blank. I think this is a Kauffman’s variety which means it’s a couple of years old because I didn’t plant any of them fresh last Autumn. I love the spiky petals.

3. This is a wood fern – I’m sure it has a real name but the label says wood fern. I am obsessed with watching its little fronds emerge from last year’s dead stems.

4. The return of the hosta. Every year I wait with bated breath. And here it is. I have repotted it this year as it was very cramped in its previous pot. For some strange reason (and I say this under my breath for fear of being overheard), the slugs do not eat my hosta. I have two pots (you can see the other one in the background of this photo) and they never succumb to the slugs. They sit happily in the shade of my cherry blossom tree and seem to be wearing some form of invisibility cloak!

5. My beloved lupin. This is its fourth year – I say “it” but I think there are two or three plants snuggled in this pot. It flowered for the first time last year, just the one flower, so I have high hopes for two flowers this year. Let’s hope it has been talking to the snakesheads! I was overjoyed to see seedlings in another pot I thought were lost over winter – I managed to save some seed last year, planted them and they started to grow really well. Then it snowed. And was minus 7 a few times. They died. But hallelujah they are back!

6. Aforementioned cherry blossom tree. For large parts of the year I curse this tree for the shade it throws on my raised beds. But for this brief window in Spring I love it – with its tiny little buds and promise of frothy pink flowers in the next few weeks. Then I will return to hating it – dropping its petals all over my raised beds and hiding my broad bean seedlings.

So that’s my Six On Saturday. Pop over to Jim’s blog for all the information on how to join in and share six things from your garden this week. #SixOnSaturday