In early November you’ll still find some autumn coloured leaves on trees waiting to be blown off in a gust of wind. Late flowers like Chrysanthemums and Nerines and the odd Rose still provide us with a little colour and winter berries are hanging on until the birds eat them all! Later on in November the onset of winter will become more apparent with low clouds bringing rain and fog and all round dampness. It may not be that cold but winds can make it feel colder and, of course, we’ll start to see more frequent evening frosts.
Tidying up is still high on the gardening agenda this month – with leaves still falling you can gather them up to make leaf mould for next year. Your lawn and most plants will suffer if leaves are not collected as they need all the sunlight they can get to stay healthy – if they’re not moved lying leaves will block out the light and in some cases covered plants will suffer from dieback. Also, clear away old stems and dead foliage to make everywhere look tidier; this also prevents slugs and snails settling it to a new home.
You’ll need to bring your non-frost-proof pots and tender plants inside if you don’t have a greenhouse or cold frame to insulate them. If they are too heavy to move wrap pots with hessian or bubble wrap and any plant pots you can move do so – huddle them all together near a house wall preferably south facing which will retain the sun’s warmth. Don’t forget to remove any saucers if you’ve not already done so and lift any pots off the ground by using decorative feet or similar; this provides better drainage and stops the plants getting waterlogged.
November is a great month to plant new trees, shrubs and roses and if you’ve been thinking about wanting to move any around your garden – now is the time. Remember any you do move will need to have as much soil kept on the roots as is possible and make sure they have a really good watering in and lots of organic mulch on the top. If they are large plants make sure you stake them and keep them well watered.
For something different consider converting part of your flower or pleasure garden into a productive area – if care is taken with the design and choice of vegetables they can look really lovely. It might seem like quite a big project but by doing it this month you will be ready for spring. Make sure you can get around all sides of your vegetable beds and that they’re no wider than 1.2m so you can reach everywhere without treading on the soil!