Gardening: Romantic delights in November

In the Garden 

Many people view November with all the excitement of an upcoming speed awareness course, but it’s light years away from that feeling if you can just tune into it. The light at this time of year is often romantic given that the garden exists in monochrome due to summer displays on the wane and less sunlight hours. 

One positive about the moist weather is that the ground has finally become soft enough to push bulbs into and safely secure winter bedding plants. If you ve bought plants from a garden centre, give them a week or so in a cold frame to get used to new conditions away from the cosseted nursery environment they were brought up in.  

This is a good window to plant spring bulbs and in particular to refresh tulips that are at least two years old as they ve probably given their all last year and won’t impressively flower this time round. 

The lawn might need a cut this week as the temperatures will be dropping which means grass will be reluctantly slowing down. We can then get on with the business of lawn care when it’s a dry day in a few weeks time. If there’s standing water on the lawn or boggy areas then you know where to target spadefuls of sharp sand. 

Put down a thick layer of mulch around tender perennials. If you know they won’t get through winter then lift them after cutting back the stems and keep them in a dry and cool place away from frosts until they can go back in the ground in early spring. 

Another positive is that weeds don’t grow back half as fast so you can really get value from hoeing the beds at this time of year. Its not advisable, but some people use early November for a final tidy up of the beds and lawn. 

Wrap containers in fleece or re-use bubble wrap and start your rounds of protecting plants from frost. If you can’t put your hands on any decent material, bring them indoors as a last resort. 

On the Plot 

It’s time to clear away spent crops and bamboo canes before either digging over and adding manure, or covering with a substrate and mulch if you’re a no dig devotee. Empty all the bins that you’ve been layering and turning all summer and incorporate into the soil. This year I seem to have added more coffee grounds to the compost for some reason and its made a difference to the pile by adding nitrogen and heating it up which makes all the difference. They are neutral when ‘cooked’ and not acidic as has become an urban/rural myth so won’t unbalance your compost. 

During a dry window think about planting Elephant garlic. Unimaginatively named its the giant cousin of regular garlic. Although if grown healthily it can produce cloves as big as a head of garlic, its deceptively mild and you can use it like leeks. It’s a favourite of those wanting to garden in a sustainable way as it can be separated and replanted every year at this time. 

Any cooled potash from bonfires can be collected and sprinkled around cherry and apple trees. This will eventually get watered in and be used by the trees as nutrient for fruit making. Gardening is often about being thrifty and reusing anything and everything we can. Potash is no exception. You might pay for expensive fruit tree feed next spring and through the growing season when you don’t have to. Spend that on a specimen plant that you will enjoy for years. A nut tree of any variety would be a better use of your resources and feed your grandchildren into the bargain. 

Make the most of the romantic light and enjoy the delights of this season by seeing and acknowledging those gems we only get in November.