It is very hard to write a “top-tips” list for November when the weather is, well…what you expect for October. We have had the fireworks, the onset of heavy rains, got the bulbs in: a fair number of trees are still glistening in the autumn sun and buds are swelling and flowering in scented shrubs such a Viburnum fragrans and Mahonia japonica. Only unlike my Christmas shopping, they are early.
It is all very pleasant and wonderful for country walks and exploring but a tad unsettling! I don’t like big heating bills, but I do like walking on crunchy, frosty paths!
Still, there are plenty of jobs to do to keep everyone busy this month:
• Now is the time of year to prune Japanese maples. Make sure you cut right back to the branch or stem so as not to leave a “clothes peg”!
• Raking leaves can seem to be an endless task, but it is worth it. Firstly, it allows the lawn to breathe and reduces the chance of mould developing in your lawn. Secondly, the leaves are good news in a compost heap when a layer of soil is added every 30 cm or so.
• Burning leaves is another way of processing them: the ash is good for the soil as it is high on potassium - the element that encourages fruit and flowers. Add any diseased plant material to the fire too including rose leaves that have black spot.
• Put rabbit guards on new trees to stop them gnawing at the bark if food is scarce in a harsh winter. Check tree ties too: loosen one that are too tight as this restriction can inhibit the flow of sap and therefore nutrients, around the tree.
• Prune shrub and standard roses by about a third in order that the wind does not move them around and damage the root system.
• Lift pots and containers off the ground by a few centimetres and give them “feet” of tiles or stone to avoid water logging. Pots that are fragile should have their winter wrap to prevent frost damage: bubble wrap is effective.
• Continue to mow lawns until the frosts come in, raising your blade to the maximum height as the month goes on.
• Put out bird feed such as fat balls or hanging peanut feeders.
• If you are into gin (I’m sure not!), now is a good time to go foraging for sloes – those wonderful bluish berries that adorn hedgerows at this time of year.
• When the frosts really do kick in, be prepared by protecting tender perennials with mulch, straw or bark chippings. Salvias and Penstemons are particularly vulnerable.
Maybe I’m getting sentimental, but I miss warming up by raking leaves and creating huge rotting piles that are a godsend to undernourished borders: please don’t get me onto the subject of noisy leaf blowers used by people who pay to go to work out in a gym that they drive to.
I’ll need to take a swig of that sloe gin…