You might be thinking that now November is here, you can put away your gardening gear and settle down to daytime telly with a cuppa and a crumpet.
But there are still tasks out there that need doing, so how about earning your buttered crumpet by tending to the
Pondlife
There are very few additions to a
First of all, scoop out any debris, rotting leaves etc. that have fallen into the water. Wildlife ponds need weeds and oxygenating plants to provide a healthy habitat for the thousands of big and small creatures that live there. But these plants can quickly get out of hand (and don’t I know it!), so thin them out now by pulling out floating weeds and twirling blanketweed round a stick to scoop it out.
Also yank out some of the sludge at the bottom of the pond; this can become horribly thick and deep very quickly. But don’t take all of it. Disgusting as it looks and smells, it’s actually full of nutrients, and removing it all would hugely upset the natural chemical balance of your pond. Leave this pulled-out stuff next to the side of the pond for a few days to allow pond critters to creep back into the water; then you can put it on the compost heap.
A net over the surface is a good idea to catch falling leaves. We made a frame out of wood and chicken wire to fit over our small town pond. We move it off the pond again in late winter and store it in an out-of-the-way place until the following autumn.
Lastly, if the pond freezes, oxygen levels for fish can become depleted, but smashing the ice can be too much of a shock for them, so having something in the water like an old football is quite a good idea. It can delay freezing, and be easily lifted out to provide a hole in the ice.
Autumn seed-sowing
You may be forgiven for thinking that this is NOT the time to be sowing seeds of any kind. But actually you can! In the veg department, you can sow broad beans and kale, plant out garlic, onion or shallot sets, and sow all sorts of salads, mustard and spring onions if you have somewhere bright but frost-free.
There is also a group of gorgeous perennials that need a period of cold before their seeds will germinate. My science-geek sister Laura will tell you that the process is called ‘stratification’, but all that we need to know is that we can sow these seeds now in pots, leave them to go through the winter. The cold breaks the dormancy, and they will germinate in the spring. You can also fake this process by mixing the seeds with some damp sand in a plastic bag and keeping them in the fridge for a month or so.
A load of lovely summer perennials need this period of cold to germinate their seeds: Echinacea, Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan), Eryngium. Angelica. Californian poppies, Cleome, Digitalis (foxglove), lupins, delphiniums, larkspur….. lots of them. So if your fingers are itching to sow some seeds even as we approach the festive season, go for it!
Gardening shorts
- I hope you put off your tulip-bulb planting until now. If you plant tulips earlier than November they are much more prone to pick up a nasty disease called tulip fire. If you are planning pots with combos of wallflowers and tulips (always a winner), then it’s a very good idea to lay them all out first, as Laura was doing this week.
Putting all the bulbs and wallflowers across the soil where they are going to be planted makes sure that they are spaced out well, and prevents you from stabbing your precious new tulip bulbs while you’re planting the wallflowers above them! Remember to place the tulips 2-3x deeper than the depth of the bulb, and add protection from squirrels if they are a menace in your area.
- If you like hyacinths in a bowl inside, I’m afraid you’ve probably missed the boat as far as Christmas is concerned, but what about starting some now to put some cheer into cold old January? Buy the specially-prepared bulbs, plant them shallowly in bulb fibre, water them and then put the bowl somewhere dark and cool. Once the shoots are up about 2 inches, bring the pot somewhere light, but still cool if possible, and watch for the scented blooms.
- Have a long critical look at paved and patio-areas as well as any decking. Brush and scrub away any dirt and grime that has built up during the year – a pressure-hose is a useful tool here, and I find it handy to have a little trowel with me for scraping up patches of moss on the paths in shady areas which can become horribly slippery when wet. Make any repairs to the joints between slabs that you need to and tidy up any manky corners.
- I can’t remember an autumn when the roses have flowered for so long! If yours are doing the same, do make time to go out and enjoy the blooms – they feel all the more special for clinging on to the dreams of summer.
The final hurrah – and what a beauty! The last of Louise’s asters to flower and here’s why she thinks it’s also the best…
We have put together a list of our favourite plants for autumn and winter. Hope you enjoy browsing it – wonder if your favourite winter plant is there?
We’ve had a look at the range of prices for Helleborus niger – or Christmas rose – which is rightfully a very popular purchase during winter. Take a look at our price comparison table for these, and other deals on our ‘great offers’ page here
Two of the3growbags (Elaine and Laura) will be giving a talk on How to grow Happy Plants this coming Tuesday (November 11th) to the East Dean Gardening Club at East Dean Village Hall (near Eastbourne in East Sussex). The talk begins at 2.15 pm, and is open to non-members for a £4 entrance fee. You might also be interested to know that we will be bringing lots of items from our online gardening shop to buy as gifts or for yourself (cash or card), and with no postage and packing to pay 😊!
💚 The costs of keeping our site working and safe are going up. We want to go on sharing everything for free without adverts, but if you enjoy our weekly posts, the price of a cup of coffee would be extremely helpful in paying the bills! Thank you 💚
NB If you’re not already a subscriber and you’d like a bit more gardening chitchat from the3growbags, please type your email address here and we’ll send you a new post every Saturday morning.
2 replies on “Ponds, seed-sowing and tulips – Gardening tips for November”
Thinking to lay out bulbs and wallflowers to ensure proper spacing is a great idea, made complex for us because the garden already hosts a multitude of plants. At least one already housed bulb will no doubt get damaged this weekend when new tulips will be planted out 😐
The orange hyacinths are really pretty, are they really that colour in natural light?
Also enjoyed seeing the roses; we have one, “Nostalgie” that usually produces a beautiful flower in late November / early December. Sadly I don’t think we will have a late autumn rose this year as the plant produced beautifully in October. It has been an odd gardening year.
Many thanks for another inspiring and informative blog. 💐
Hi Diane, you are so right about having lots of plants already in the soil that could get damaged as you plant others – arrrggghh, it’s a horrible feeling as you inadvertently slice through a fat bulb, isn’t it! The orange hyacinths were actually Caroline’s from a while back, and she thinks they were actually more pink than orange, so perhaps the bowl was sitting in the warm glow of artificial light or maybe a candle. They do look nice though, don’t they, and if you Google ‘orange hyacinths’, they are certainly a few pink/apricot ones around. I have looked up ‘Nostalgie’ – it’s a pretty thing, isn’t it, with its creamy centre and cherry-red outer petals. Good name for a late-flowerer too – I am already feeling pretty nostalgic for the gorgeous summer we have just had. I think that’s why I’m particularly grateful to the last roses with their blooms waving like bright pennants among the browning foliage. Glad you’re still enjoying our chit-chat, all the best, Elaine (and the other two…..)