Six on Super Saturday

It’s been a couple of weeks since I participated in The Propagator’s SOS, for one reason or another I seem to run out of time, so this week I resolved to start earlier. I’m sure in England the fact that today has been nicknamed Super Saturday in honour of the re-opening of bars, pubs and restaurants won’t have passed anyone by, but I think we’ll be keeping to the confines of our garden until the initial excitement has died down! Instead, here are six plants chosen for their super qualities:

One of my most favourite plants and certainly worthy of being in any super six is ‘Albertine’, an old rambling rose with the most gorgeous scent and wonderful flowers through June and July. It doesn’t suffer with common rose problems such as black spot or aphid invasion and is easily pruned to contain its growth – the only drawback is that is doesn’t repeat so I have to wait for June every year to enjoy it!

Papaver somniferum ‘Drama Queen’ is aptly named. I introduced this poppy with seeds purchased from Eastgrove Cottage Garden before it closed some years ago and it now self seeds each year – not in great numbers as some of these annual poppies do, so highly welcome in our garden.

The colour intensity in the super phlox paniculata ‘Otley Purple’ is mesmisersing! This plant is an absolute trouper, it is at least ten years old and shows no sign of diminishing at all, just beautiful. Phlox paniculata is wide ranging in colour and prefers a sunny spot in moist well drained soil.

I grew verbascum ‘Snowy Spires’ from seed last year and had completely forgotten it – how I don’t know as it is about 4 feet tall and a real showstopper! Verbascums grow in any soil and prefer full sun – they are relatively easy to grow from seed.

When a packet of free seeds grow this well it’s very satisfying! Dianthus barbatus, the lovely Sweet William is a hardy biennial I sowed last summer for flowering this year – well worth the wait. I’ll certainly be growing these jewel like beauties again, en masse they are a worthy addition to the border.

I started with a favourite rose and I’m finishing with another, this stunning plant is rosa ‘Munstead Wood’ a David Austin English shrub rose. Growing to about 4 feet tall, it has a strong fragrance, fabulous deep crimson flowers and the most velvety of petals. It has the added benefit of a long flowering period, from the end of May through until October – another super plant!

Enjoy your weekend wherever you are – keep safe!

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

19 thoughts on “Six on Super Saturday”

  1. Lisa says:

    I always get Sweet William free too! And I always plant them. And I always find the plants way too big for anywhere in my garden beds and take them out! I dislike biennials, they take up space for a full year without anything to show for it!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Ann Mackay says:

    Your six are beautiful! I had the lovely surprise of a similar verbascum popping up in the garden in a couple of places this year. I’ve grown other, shorter verbascums but not these, so they were very unexpected. I think they may be seedlings that came in with plants from a friend’s garden. They’re very welcome! 🙂

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  5. Catherine says:

    Rosa ‘Albertine’ is a beauty! I don’t have anywhere to place another rambler, otherwise, I’d be putting in an order for that one – it seems to tick all the right boxes – resistant to black spot, aphid invasion and is easy to contain its size. Wow. Munstead Wood is another I need to consider. Beautiful.

    The phlox paniculata ‘Otley Purple’ is a fabulous colour, I have made a note of this in my new-border list. I’m seeing a good few Sweet Williams this year too – they can be relied on to really liven up a border. That one’s already on the list.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Heyjude says:

    Your borders look lovely, a mix of shapes and sizes and lovely colours; I like the spikes of the Verbascum, but it is probably too tall for here (wind). I grew Sweet William as pot toppers for tulips and they have flowered for a second year, they are lovely plants and I will try and take cuttings for next year. ‘Drama Queen’ is very dramatic and fits in perfectly with your colour scheme. I have just pulled out several self-seeded poppies that were so huge they were taking over the raised bed.

    Liked by 1 person

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