Lets be honest if it was difficult last week to find a different Six, this week it is teetering on the impossible. The real blanket on the ground, close schools and make the road outside your house impassable snow only arrived softly and slowly on Thursday. Now, on Saturday, it has got all my garden under its grip and there isn’t much to see apart from its whiteness. But I am not going to miss my Six again so here goes, with apologies for the sparseness and possible repetition.
First of all and surprisingly healthy considering it has overwintered on my draughty windowsill is the brilliant, bright red of pelargonium, Stadt Bern, bought as a small plant from Derry Watkins’ Special Plants and potted on. I love it so much that I bought another by mistake a few months later. I have at least managed to get a cutting from it to survive the Winter. Its leaves are still dull and not Spring fresh, but it’s alive.
Next is the everyday loveliness of narcissus Tete a Tete; before the snow came this flower was bent over and frozen so picked it. A few hours later, it had perked up and cheered me up. Pretty sure you can’t have too many of these. Now all my other daffodils are bent over and weighted down with snow. Hope they bounce back up too once its gone.
Third is a bit of a cheat – another pelargonium. This time a cutting of Salmon(maybe)Queen which is hanging on indoors waiting for some warmth. Took this at a propagation workshop so am looking forward to seeing what it looks like.
Number 4 are the tender seedlings, sheltering on the kitchen table waiting to be potted on. The compost in the greenhouse is too cold and would probably see them off. I am waiting for tomorrow when everyone else is out for the day to do some furtive potting on the kitchen table. Slim Jim aubergine, Principe Borghese tomatoes and Submarine chillies will all be moved into their own small pots. Then the real challenge will be where to put them…
Fifth is the delicate and beautiful acer just outside our kitchen window. As with many of the plants in the garden, its name is long forgotten and I am not even sure we realised that it would provide interest on every single day of the year when we bought it. It has fresh green leaves in spring, fiery Autumn colour and these wonderful red stems in Winter and we don’t have to make any effort to see it.
Last of all is not a plant, but my very trusty and useful small white van which we bought when the car finally died. The regular sprinklings of soil in the boot of our last shared car, along with tools and sometimes an odd plant was a source of regular disappointment to my partner. Now, how wonderful to have a van where all that is legitimate and where I can fit all my farmers market plants without having to shove boxes on the passenger seats.
But today it is not going anywhere. Lots of time then to enjoy other people’s Sixes with thanks to The Propagator.
thedevelopingplot 
Five snippets of optimism and a white van. I used to have a white van, my memories of it are not great. I went to sow some seeds yesterday and the bag of compost was frozen. I’m hoping to absorb a bit of other peoples optimism today.
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Isn’t it wonderful when you think you can’t possibly find six things but you do! My daffodils had not even opened before the snow came. Lovely pelagonium and like you I brought a few things inside to shelter. But I wonder what is happening under the snow!
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and it’s a French car! … I don’t have a van like that ( but I have a Reanult too 😉 ) but it’s very useful … I am surprised by your pelargonium with flowers … Mine are always in my attic, nicely waiting for better days ….
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Those seedlings look very good. I have seeds to sow but frozen or very cold compost. Thinking of engaging the microwave…
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That is definitely a new one on me!
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You’ll always find six things where you least expect to. I have a reasonable looking pedal bin in my cloakroom (downstairs loo). I made sure that the inner bin didn’t have an holes in it. It’s great for storing enough compost for the odd sowing and potting jobs I encounter at this time of year. 30 litres capacity is light enough to lift out and carry to wherever I’m potting and enough for what I usually need. And it’s nice and toasty warm; just what the babies like. It’s surprising how many visitors have to look inside the bin to see why I have one that big in a loo. I usually say it’s for the cat.
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Fantastic tip. Will definitely try this.
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Lovely acer. I hope we’ll see it in future sixes. I’m glad it’s not just me that forgets plant names I think I’ll remember. I’ve never been a notebooker. Maybe my new blog will become my most valuable record keeping tool!
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Think a blog is a really good way of keeping a record. Definitely going to try to record more this year.
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What color is the white van when the snow melts?
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Very muddy!
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Oops,
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I’m also in love w/your acer. What made me smile most about this is house your gardening encroaches on the non-gardening aspect of your life – using the table to pot things up. I thought mine was the only family that had to endure bathrooms taken over & all sorts of junk not tossed out because I can plant seeds in them. Then John adds his loo bin idea. It must be common to most of us. Good to know.
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