On good days outside keep going on the autumn tidy up of the garden and cutting back of herbaceous plants. Leave ornamental grasses uncut until spring to give winter interest in the garden and at the same time provide over wintering insects with protection.
November is a good month to plant tulips for the spring and finish planting other bulbs.
Gather up fallen leaves and mix in with other matter in your compost heap. It helps to ‘mow’ them or shred them into smaller pieces for quicker composting. If you have lots of leaves, put them into a compost section of their own made from chicken wire, or alternatively put them into plastic bags, add water to wet them, puncture a few holes in the bags to allow air to circulate and store them outside for 12 months to allow the leaves to compost.
Add a thick layer of compost to tender plants such as Agapanthus to insulate them from winter cold and frost.
If last month you planted up your containers for a winter show, ensure they are placed out of the wind, or group containers together so they provide support to each other to prevent them being blown over and damaged. You can also wrap containers in fleece or bubble wrap in very cold spells and raise the bottom of containers on pot feet or bricks to assist drainage.
Finish insulating your greenhouse and ensure heaters are working before the winter starts to bite. Move tender plants inside. Water greenhouse plants sparingly and ventilate the greenhouse on fine days.
Roses and Clematis – prune climbing and rambling roses. Prune back Clematis viticella and C. texensis to ground level, removing all their top growth, new shoots will emerge from underground in the spring. Leave summer flowering Clematis (May and June) until the end of February for pruning. Don’t prune evergreen Clematis or C. alpina, C. macropetala or C. montana now.
Plant winter and spring bedding such as wallflowers, pansies, violas and polyanthus for a touch of colour in the garden.
November to March is the season for bare root planting, I will be planting some beech hedging and fruit trees this winter for clients.