Good morning from a very grey and drab part of North Wales though not foggy as I believe it is ‘down south’. Showers are forecast for later in the day so we’ve taken a chance and hung washing out. I doubt it will be there for very long. My husband will have to keep an eye on the weather as I’m about to start the second week of my course as soon as I’ve posted this week’s Six on Saturday, courtesy of The Propagator.

Welsh onions – aka Japanese bunching onions – my red onions have finally grown to a reasonable size; the white remain tiny, like spring onion seedlings. Unfortunately, my brother failed to listen to instructions for the two clumps I gave him – separating them out into singles rather than planting each clump as it was – and he’s now complaining that they’re not bunching!

Sedums and Sempervivums

. . . are now at the side of the shed, where they will have some shelter from wind and rain until November when I will move them into the Tiny Greenhouse just around the corner.

Jerusalem Artichokes

Are nearly ready for de-foliating. Another week should do it and then it’s chop chop and checking to see if anything has grown below soil level. I never got to seen the flowers this year as I had to cut them down to half-height to prevent them blowing over.

Cucumber ‘Crystal Lemon’

After a very slow start, is producing a succession of fruits – not fast enough that we don’t have to buy any, but one or two a fortnight are a treat. It is suggested that they are peeled because of the prickly skins but I remove the prickles using a clean teatowel so I still get the crunch of the skin.

Watercress

My second attempt at growing this – in self-watering containers so it never dries out – it might drown though.

Hellebore ‘Christmas Carol’

My one surviving plant. I’ve done nothing to it since I planted it, but now I’m wondering if I should have cut off some of the leaves, though they don’t look particularly tatty to me?

There’s no news on the tree felling front yet (I’m hoping for a cold-snap to get those leaves of so they can see what and where to cut).

My bulb order arrived this week – unlike some gardeners I could mention, I only have 85 bulbs/corms to plant – a small matter of finding the right container for the right bulb and my work will be done.

Still no sign of my onions and garlic!

Enjoy your weekend.