The best thing about this week has been the weather. Lots of bright sunshine, very mild, with an almost spring-like softness in the air. This has been invigorating; I have done quite a bit of gardening. To be enjoyed as long as it lasts! Sorry for those bloggers in Ireland who seem to have had nothing but rain!
Here are this week’s Six on Saturday, six things in or about the garden, as hosted by The Propagator.
1 Great spotted woodpecker. He was my reward for clearing almost the last of the sodden Lime tree leaves from the terrace, and as I collected and swept, he tap-tap-tapped above my head.
2 Hot Pepper ‘Apache’. Still going strong, and still far too hot to add to anything! Must try a milder chilli next year. This one is great on a sunny windowsill though.
3 Rainbow Chard. It’s nice to have just a few veg still giving it their all in December, and Chard is one of my favourites at this time of year. Good for a small patch like mine, and perfect for a stir-fry with plenty of ginger, garlic and chilli (not Apache!).
4 Seed storage. I admit to being a bit jealous of Jon’s good-looking seed drawers, which he posted last week. Nonetheless, I can do some virtue-signalling through the re-use of old wine and champagne boxes (we lead a decadent life here in Brussels). They do the job nicely.
5 Dried flowers. These may be only a faint reminder of the glories of last summer’s flowers, but reminder they are. Are dried flowers frumpy and boring? I am in two minds.
6 Party-time Alliums. For a more snazzy look, I dressed up a couple of my Allium Christophii for a night out on the town. As I, like many, am missing out on both office Christmas party and nights out this Christmas, I clearly have far too much time on my hands to mess around with stuff like this!
It remains to wish you all a Merry Christmas, as merry as you can muster! This year, I have discovered blogging, Six on Saturday, and am learning about photography. I have been able to spend time getting to know my friend the Great Blue Heron. These are things I am grateful for, along with good health, and I hope you readers too have found simple pleasures and compensations among all the upheavals of this trying year.
Oh, how I would love to have a few of those bright and clear days to get out into the garden again. We have had nothing but rain and there is water lodged in several places in the garden so it is out of the question at the moment. I have never seen a woodpecker though I have heard one drumming on a tree in the last few years – the first record in our area.
You often hear the woodpeckers without seeing them, though in our case the trees are directly above our terrace by the kitchen door, which is handy (also for red squirrel spotting, but they are very hard to photograph). The bright and clear days will come your way, hang on in there!
I’m struck by how many of us introduce ideas from others, and I’m likely to try chard next year. You sell it well! Happy Christmas, a chara. I’m off to help Paddy drain the swamp…
You are right, this is a fab way to share ideas and inspiration. You won’t regret chard! Good luck with swamp drainage…
You made a beautiful creation with the dried flowers Sel. May I also wich you all the best for Christmas – stay safe and enjoy nature.
Thanks Rudi, wishing you a Merry Christmas too and looking forward to seeing all your future photos in 2021!
I grow chard in a large pot. Somehow, though I sowed rainbow chard seeds, only the red grew this year – last year it was the yellow :-/
🤔 And for 2021? Surely not red again?
Your guess is as good as mine – I’ll put all the colours in and see what happens 🙂
That’s not a proper rainbow! Come to think of it there are a few colours missing in mine, no violet for instance! 😉
And a happy Christmas to you too, I agree Six on Saturday is a wonderful creation. After being envious of Jon’s seed box, I am now envious of both the champagne and the seed box! Love the woodpecker and the “all dressed up” alliums. Have fun x
Thanks and Merry Christmas to you too! Buy some champers and you get a free seed box 😆
What a beautiful arrangement of dried seed heads and I like the idea of storing seeds in old wine boxes!
Thank you! The good thing about the wine boxes is they fit perfectly on the shed shelves and stack well (too many seeds, up to four wine boxes now!).
It’s a great idea to have this wooden champagne box reused for storing seeds. Know that I use old shoeboxes…😂
You took a very nice photo of a spotted woodpecker !
A Merry Christmas then to you and all your family
Thanks Fred, Merry Christmas 🎄 Joyeux Noël 🎄
Love that woodpecker shot, Sel! And the party-time Alliums display is beautiful! Looks like fireworks. Merry Christmas and happy shooting in 2021!
Thank you Donna! Ideally there would be less twigs in the woodpecker photo but that’s trees! Merry Christmas to you too.
In my “poor” days I often sprayed dried allium heads bright red, gold, or white and used them with greenery as Christmas bouquets, then resprayed them pastel colors for Easter!
A nice bit of recycling!
I love the party allium and I think the dried flowers look good. I’ve not seen a Great Spotted Woodpecker in some time – great photo. Merry Christmas.
Many thanks 🎉
I love your dried seed head arrangements – not frumpy at all. I like to use them too but tend to move them on to the compost heap once they gather dust. Happy Christmas!
Thanks Katharine, yes the dried flowers shouldn’t hand around for too long. Happy Christmas to you too!
Lovely shot of the woodpecker! Great idea for seed storage too. All the best for 2021!
Thanks, all the best to you too!
I’m a big Rainbow Chard fan too. It survives frosts and most insects and goes on and on. It’s an excellent substitute for spinach. I hadn’t used dried flowers until recently when I sprayed some hydrangea heads white – they look good in our bathroom – and some red which we have in our conservatory. They look good as you have shown them…….certainly not boring. Have a good Christmas,. 🎄
Thank you, sounds like I need to go out and buy some spray paint 🙂 I like the sound of white hydrangeas in the bathroom.
a lovely way to display the alliums and others. Your alliums look like an interesting kind I’d like to find to join the others in my garden. Happy Christmas to you, Sel. Perhaps another useful champagne box afterwards???
Thanks they are Allium christophii – they are fab in a sunny border and the bees love them of course. Happy Christmas to you too! More champagne ? Hope so🍾
Nice blog
Thank you for visiting Saania.
Had to laugh about your pride in your prolific Apache chilli, which you don’t actually use! I long ago decided that I mostly grow chillis for their decorative appearance. So I select for rainbow colours or dramatic black ones etc. Great photo of the woodpecker. They are such lovely birds and a treat to see. Take care and have a happy and peaceful Christmas!
I know, it’s silly, but I can’t bring myself to compost Apache! They have well and truly entered the house plant category now. I said to myself that I would grow a mild chilli next year, but as my hubbie likes to cook Thai curry, I actually ordered seeds for red Thai chillis. Turns out they are really hot too!
That woodpecker is pretty special. Not enough woodland in our immediate vicinity though I’ve heard them not so far away. Good photograph too.
Many thanks Ian, it’s so lovely to have the woodpecker visit us, and to have the mature trees around (in a city!).