NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER QUOTES

The wild November comes at last
Beneath a veil of rain;
The night wind blows its folds aside,
Her face is full of pain.
~ Richard Henry Stoddard~

November woods are bare and still;
November days are clear and bright;
Each noon burns up the morning's chill,
The morning's snow is gone by night.
~ Helen Hunt Jackson~

November's sky is chill and drear,
November's leaf is red and sear.
~ Sir Walter Scott~

Autumn wins you best by this, its mute
Appeal to sympathy for its decay.
~ Robert Browning~

Clear November skies are rare,
As like as not fierce storms arrive.
But still the garden is not bare,
Chrysanthemums the rain survive.
~ David Squires ~

Winter is an etching,
spring a watercolor,
summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all.
~ Stanley Horowitz ~

No month is ever dull. At this time of year trees, devoid of leaves, reveal their sculptural beauty. Bluetits and nuthatches zip back and forth from nearby shrubs to the bird table, Keep a bowl of water for them too. Thrushes tug at worms, and blackbirds stab at fallen apples.

Evergreens cheer us. Goldheart ivy butters walls, blue-green eucalyptus contracts effectively with that golden-variegated shrub, Elaeagnus pungens maculata. Late-flowering Kaffir lilies, reminiscent of starry-flowered gladioli, cast a pink and red glow.

BULBS, ROSES, SHRUBS and TREES

Complete tulip planting, as herbaceous plants die down and you can again get at the border soil between, to interplant bulbs. Tulips can be planted as little as 4in deep, where they are to flower and be removed again for summer bedding. For permanent planting, 7in deep is better. Deeper planting helps to keep bulbs out of the way of mice.



Evergreens and conifers planted last month should be watched for wind rock, and firmed in again immediately after the high winds. Strong winds can dry out newly planted evergreens rapidly, especially if they had a tight, container-grown rootball at planting time, and a can of water really helps.



This is a good month for planting or moving roses. Those arriving by post, or bought at supermarkets, may have dry roots and should be soaked for an hour in a bucket of cold water before planting. The same applies to bare-rooted trees and shrubs. Trim back any broken or damaged roots to healthy growth before planting. When moving established roses, it is almost impossible to get up all the long, wiry, deep-root system. Do your best and use a fork, not a spade, a spade will cut the roots. Make sure the plant goes into an enriched hole, and reduce the top growth by a half or more, to stop wind-rock and to give the roots a chance to re-establish.



Ensure alpines are not smothered in fallen leaves. Damp and lack of air encourage fungal diseases.



Continue planting deciduous trees, shrubs and hedging plants. Deciduous trees that have been container-grown may have their rootball opened at planting, if the leaves have dropped. Pot-grown evergreen trees should be planted now.



Attach wire hoops or a sheath of light plastic netting to upright specimen conifers prone to being broken by the weight of winter snows.



Plant fruit trees this month, to give maximum time to establish a good root system before next spring. A plastic bottle with its bottom cut off, can be set among the roots at planting time, with its neck a few inches above ground. It will allow easier watering in the first year or two and to put the water below the roots to draw them downwards and discourage any surface rooting.



VEGETABLE, FRUIT and HERBS

Cloves of garlic may still be planted outdoors on light, well-drained soils. Use only plump, firm bulblets and set them 7in apart.



Give protection from frost to root crops left in the ground, with straw or bracken, hedge prunings, or horticultural fleece.



Hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries taken last autumn can be transplanted into their final positions, after thorough enrichment of the soil in the planting hole.

LAWN, COMPOST, GREENHOUSE and POND

Remove leaves that have settled onto the pond.



Make a compost bin for the leaves you have collected.



Continue raking leaves off the lawn and borders.

Prune indoor vines after the leaves have fallen, and burn the old leaves to reduce disease. Ventilate well and keep the greenhouse cold. If there are no plants inside that could suffer, leave it open for a couple of months.

Pots of pelargonium cuttings under glass should be kept just moist. Do not let them sit in moist stagnant air, good circulation is a life-saver for over-wintering cuttings of all kinds.



Hardwood cuttings of Abutilon vitifolium are successful if put in a pot under glass.



Pot up from the garden a few double or coloured primroses for Christmas display, and put them in a cold greenhouse.



Patio pots and containers should be scrubbed out and stored when their contents have succumbed to frost. Lift pots with a permanent planting of shrubs or topiary to a sheltered spot for the winter, (I always put my pots against the side of the house, ie against a wall, this gives extra warmth during the winter months).



Repair fences and broken posts before winter gales blow them over. Wooden posts are less likely to rot at the base if they are not concreted into the ground. Drive the metal spike-type post-holders into the ground and slot the posts into them.









I have removed my guestbook for the moment,
but do write to me via e-mail if you wish,
would love to hear from you.

Enjoy your gardening this month both indoors and outdoors.




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