Tuesday this week saw May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Marked by International Nurses Day, it’s also our daughter Sophie’s birthday, a nurse who has been working on the front line during the Covid 19 crisis; we’re so proud of her. It was heartwarming to witness the outpouring of appreciation for the nations nurses and we can only hope that in future they are properly recognised for their continuing contribution to our safety and welfare.

Meanwhile in the garden and beyond, at this time of the year there’s new growth every day and it’s getting harder to choose just six!

I’m starting with a walk in the park – I absolutely love anthriscus sylvestris, more commonly known as cow parsley. I wouldn’t dream of letting it loose in the garden, but a walk through a tunnel of its billowing freshness in May induces a calm and peaceful appreciation of nature’s beauty.

From an autumn planting, the bulbs of allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ spring into life with their deep purple spheres in May and will be in flower for a few weeks to come. They will spread, but it’s advisable to plant more each year as they can diminish in size and colour over time.

A stately and striking plant, euphorbia characias ‘wulfenii’, or Mediterranean spurge, self seeds but doesn’t spread by invasive root running, unlike it’s cousin euphorbia amygdaloides ”Robbiae’ . I planted the original (long gone) about 10 years ago and have been enjoying its offspring ever since. It isn’t fussy about soil, but is best in full sun. Once established, apart from trimming back stems after flowering, it requires very little care.

This morning, the first bud on rosa ‘Pearl Wedding’ opened. This diminutive rose will now flower continuously until October. I’ve got it planted in a pot and so it does require special attention and will be fed in late June after the first flush. This is a special rose – a present from close friends for our 30th wedding anniversary.

Next – an unplanned combination; geranium macrorrhizum has infiltrated a dierama pulcherimum at the edge of our pond. Both plants are welcome, the geranium leaves smell wonderful and the gently arching stems of the dierama which flower in July are just lovely. However, although I love the combination, the geranium needs to be checked to ensure it doesn’t overwhelm and damage the dierama.

Finally, a rose with no name – of course it must have a name, but I planted this sweet smelling rambler approximately 15 years ago and didn’t keep the label or make a record of it. It is now advancing into trees at a height of at leat 20 feet and will be receiving a hard pruning back after flowering.

That’s my six for this week – stay safe and well all!

For more SoS please visit its home at: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/