#SixOnSaturday: tulip and geum time

 Established plants in the garden seem to be coping with the lack of rain quite well. Those featured this week, apart from the new primula seem fine, but seed sowing outdoors has to be put on hold until we get some rain. I already have masses of pots to water ahead of the community gardening project mass planting on Thursday, and also I'm getting plants ready for the plant sale on the 25th of June. On the subject of plant sales, I had a message from someone who had bought a Tiarella Spring Symphony from me last year, it's now flowering wonderfully and he wanted to know what it was. Very pleased to see it thriving so well. But onto my six:

Top of the list this week is swiss chard, the new growth just now is delicious and cooks in minutes, I like it best stir fried, the stem and leaves cut quite small. These two looked a bit bedraggled a few weeks ago, but are now kings of the veg patch. If I was to grow just one vegetable, it would be swiss chard, if I get some sown now, it will be just about ready to eat by the time these plants are flowering, giving me a 365 day a year vegetable.

I went to a rare plant fair at Ampney Crucis yesterday and bought this lovely primula, it didn't have a label, I was told its name, but of course have forgotten, it was from the wonderful Tortworth plants stand.

I paused by Geums at the plant sale, I would have bought this one again, but silly really, I need a proper plan of the garden so I know what I've got and where it is situated. This isn't Mrs Bradshaw, I thought it was Juliana, but will have to check what I bought last year.

Another viola from the fab Wildegoose Nurseries, this is Roscastle Black

Above Euphorbia 'fireglow', a spreading pest for some, but welcome in my garden

And last but not least, the Red Riding Hood tulips bought en masse from Parkers are now beginning to flower, these are in the planter in the road.

So there are my six, I'm heading off to see what The Propagator and others have chosen this week, and if drought is a problem everywhere. Having seen his six, I realise I've not included the unrolling ferns, but they can join in next week.