Once upon a time there was a gardening meme called Six on Saturday. It was a thoroughly wholesome and charming meme that encouraged people to get outside to find six things in the garden, on Saturday, to share with garden bloggers around with world.

Saving our souls with seasonal garden joy this week are the January belters, those blooms that somehow burst forth mid-winter, with no care for the lack of light or heat. Here are my six highlights for this Saturday, the last of January 2019.

1. Hello Hellebores

The hellebore is the biggest bloom in our garden right now. We have a well established clump under the silver pear tree, planted many moons ago by a previous owner of this old house.  I think one’s a variety called painted lady, the other is a mystery and possibly a self-seeded.

Hellebore ‘painted lady’ perhaps?

Hellebore ‘mystery bloom’

2. Incongruous yellow snapdragons

Yellow snapdragons

I rather love these, what a bright way to greet garden visitors they are, happily churning out a post-it-note yellow splash of flower. These were ones I grew from seeds planted back in Feb 2017 when we’d just arrived here. I’m quite pleased that they came out so vibrantly. Some folk thing yellow flowers are gaudy, and won’t have them in the garden. They may be right about the gaudy nature of a yellow bloom, but I think they’re wrong to deny themselves a splash of custardy sunshine, especially in January!

3. Cyclamen and snowdrops

Purple cyclamen

Snowdrops

White cyclamen

I do like a clump of cyclamen, they’re a reliable performer for winter colour and once established can take care of themselves.  Snowdrops can be a bit more tricky to establish, but I have a few clumps planted last year that are doing well. I find little spring flowers, especially heartening at this time of year, as they’re so much tougher than they seem.

4. Sweet pea seedlings

Just a handful of seeds from last year’s sweetpeas, chucked into a small pot and almost forgotten… I rescued these from a corner of the greenhouse, potted them on and gave them something to climb. They’re doing ok so far despite significant neglect.

5. Eucalyptus and Dogwood

This colour combo is working well, I like how the minty green of the eucalyptus contrasts with the bright red bark of the dogwood. But I must move the eucalyptus, as it will very soon outgrow this spot and has the potential to become a monster. I intend to put it into a pot before it gets too big… But for now, I do like this combo.

6. Hazel catkins

These are beautiful yellow blooms from the hazel, which is a monoecious plant, meaning that it puts out both male and female flowers. These catkins are the male flowers, and their pollen will carry on the wind and hopefully find a nearby hazel. I don’t think there’s one conveniently placed in the neighbourhood, as this tree hasn’t been pollinated or produced any nuts in the past couple of years.

The hazel is said to be a magical tree. The stems are used for water divining, and a hazel rod is said to ward off evil spirits. I’m not entirely sure this would stand up to rigorous scientific testing, but I’m also unaware of any evil spirits in this corner of the garden, so it’s probably doing the trick. 🙂

Well, that’s my six this Saturday. I encourage you to get out into the garden if you can and see what’s occurring. I find that the more you look the more you see, and even on a soggy, cloudy Saturday there’s always something worth seeing when you get outside.

To see many more more marvellous collections from gardeners sharing ‘Six on Saturday’ visit the Propator’s blog for more on this lovely meme.