Sometimes, and I would argue often, the minutes (adding up to hours) I spend on social media lead me down interesting paths to long articles and quick insights. For example, last weekend when it was raining without stop and even snowing for a morning and I was twiddling round on twitter and Instagram, I came across #SixonSaturday. As well as reminding me of one of my favourite (and brilliantly written) gardening blogs: Off The Edge Gardening  it lead me to a new source to feed my propagating addiction: The Propagator  This is the blogger who came up with the idea of the six on a Saturday. So to give some structure to my random blogging, I’m going to try to add my six to the mix for as many weeks as I can manage.

The first out of the six to come to mind,  are the perfect miniature iris reticulata, Pauline. Planted too late for Christmas, but now coming all at once and too early for the market where I sometimes sell my extras. So we will just have to enjoy them ourselves inside and outside the house. And I can enjoy them a lot now. Years ago, when I wasn’t so desperate for Spring or so preoccupied with gardening, I found them a little odd – a bit stunted, but now I am convinced, especially when they pop their perfection through cold Winter soil.

Iris reticulata – inside for a closer look

Second in the list of positives are the pale green tentative shoots of the germinating sweet pea seeds which look so delicate, but in fact are resilient- useful with my tendency for random neglect.

Third up are the snowdrops just outside the kitchen window which are resistant to the cold, snow and rain and keep on appearing. Hopeful.

Fourth is the next source of loveliness – the original and self seeded hellebores, mostly in different shades of white, some with lovely crimson speckles and others with petals which seem to have been very lightly dipped in a deep pink-red ink. Every time I go out to look  at them more closely, I remember that the leaves need removing, before wandering off and doing something quite different.

Fifth are the remarkably perky and healthily green Scabious Black Cat plants which have just been left to their own devices on the garden table all Winter. Autumn planted, they have survived so well uncovered through frost, snow and storms that I am now too afraid to move them in case any unfamiliar kindness kills them.

Sixth and last is the very yellow and very cheering crocus which appeared  in the sunlight to make me feel glad.

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A bright splash of yellow