22/11/2018
As the nights draw in so the temperature should be dropping but so far it's a bit hit and miss.
People say to us "There's nothing to do this time of year......" but infact, weather permitting there is quite a bit to do.
One word of advice if you are precious about your lawn....keep off of it on ground frosty days. Use a plank to spread your weight if you need to spend a lot of time on the grass.
DIVIDE SNOWDROPS
Snowdrops spread by seed and will expand about 3cm in all directions per year. To help them spread more quickly, dig and divide them immediately after they’ve flowered and replant about 30cm apart. If you’re planting them from fresh, planting in the green in February is usually the best route to success.
Now that the leaves have fallen, it is a good time to remove unwanted plants or have a bit of a garden makeover. There is less plant to dispose of and you can see what you are cutting. If ivy or brambles are a problem now is the time to dig them out or cut them right back now you can see them more clearly. It can be the same for bind w**d, although more drastic action like digging up plants to disentangle the bind w**d from the plant roots may be called for.
MULCHING
Add compost or well-rotted manure to your beds now for healthier plants next year. Either fork it in or, if you have ‘no dig’ raised beds, spread it on top. It’s also a good time to make leaf mold. Make a wire cage for the leaves so they don’t blow away, or keep in black plastic bags with a little soil added to help them break down, and a few punctures in the bag. Plant bulbs....There’s still time to get bulbs in the ground in November to guarantee winter colour from January onwards. Choose a mixture of varieties and plant in clumps, so that you get a good effect. You can lift and divide them every few years too. Roses should still be dead headed and then cut back in January. New roses can be planted now usually supplied by rose growers bare rooted but you can buy potted in nurseries and garden centres.
Garlic can go into the ground now as long as the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged. Rhubarb can be divided and bare-root fruit trees and bushes can be planted now, as can raspberries and blackberries. Fruit trees are dormant now, so it’s safe to prune them. Remove dead, diseased and damaged wood, and eliminate any instances of branches crossing and rubbing against each other – remove the weaker one. Wear gloves, use sharp, clean tools, and cut at an angle, so that the face of the cut angles downwards, allowing rain to run off.
If your garden feels bare of plants offering winter interest, buy some in. It is said that the amount of care you are likely to lavish on a plant is in direct preportion to its distance from your back door. Check the plants and shrubs we have listed and imagine how they might look in your garden....such as hellebores, skimmias, heucheras, euphorbias and evergreen grasses such as the grey-green Festuca glauca and black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) look good throughout the winter months when arranged in frostproof pots (add pot feet or a couple of bricks etc.to ensure they don’t get waterlogged). Winter bedding such as violas, pansies and Cyclamen persicumcan offer a jolt of colour, but they are more susceptible to winter wet and cold, so put them in the most sheltered spot possible, such as a windowbox or in an unheated porch. Consider too that they only last a season: perennials may be more expensive initially, but will go on and on, especially if planted out in spring.
Here's a top 10 of winter shrubs for a small garden. Scented shrubs are marked.
Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'
Viburnum tinus 'Gwillian'
Erica carnea 'Springwood White' - doesn't need ericaceous soil.
Skimmia x confusa 'Kew Green' - has aromatic foliage
Mahonia x media 'Underway' - scented
Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise' - fragrant
Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' - fragrant, needs ericaceous soil
Coronilla valentina subsp. Glauca and 'Citrina' - scented
Cornus mas 'Golden Glory'
Chimonanthus praecox - Fragrant.
Top 10 winter perennials.
Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles)
Winter Ericas (heathers) - some require ericaceous soil.
Cyclamen
Hellebores
Winter jasmine - They can be very vigorous
Clematis Cirrhosa 'Freckles' or 'Balearica'
Iris Unguicularis or Algerian iris - Scented
Sarcococca or Sweet Box - Fragrant
Look them all up and buy in a local nursery rather than the big chain garden centres. They know their stock and you will get good, healthy plants at great prices and excellent advice if you need it.
WILDLIFE.
Having said its a good time to tidy up its also the ideal time to forget being too fastidious, for those of you who can.
Resist the urge to tidy up to cut back all the unruly ivy in the garden, hold back until spring, because right now it’s providing valuable thick cover for wildlife: its flowers and berries are valuable winter food sources, too.
Many creatures will be sheltering in leaf litter and the hollow stems of dead perennials. Hedgehogs should be hibernating in drifts of dead leaves and log piles, so avoid strimming or burning leaf piles. They may still venture out on mild evenings at this time of year: leave dog or cat food, or mealworms, out as an extra food source if you think one uses your garden.
Fresh water is also vital: add logs or stones to your pond so wildlife can clamber in and out. If you don’t have a pond, a water and pebble-filled upturned dustbin lid dug in so it’s flush with the ground makes a fine watering hole for ground dwellers and birds alike. If you have spare bricks, rockery stones or rubble, pile them up into a mini cairn: toads and newts will use this as a place to spend the winter. Toads and hedgehogs may hole up in compost heaps, too, so take care if you are turning or emptying yours.
Finally, have a clear out in the shed, but take care – many beneficial insects such as lacewings, ladybirds and butterflies such as the peacock and small tortoiseshell may be treating your shed like a giant insect hotel, hibernating in nooks and crannies; don’t turf them out. If you want to do even more to help insects, treat yourself to a bug hotel for Christmas (wildlifeworld.co.uk has a good selection). Alternatively, make your own super-simple, thrifty bug houses by bundling up bamboo canes and placing inside a terracotta or plastic pipe; leave them in a sheltered part of the garden.
And when it is too wet or cold to do anything but sit by the fire, don't forget to dream about that new bed or border or how about growing some bedding or veg from seeds. You can order catalogues from all the major seed companies and don't forget Sarah Raven too.
Have a healthy and warm winter and a merry Christmas to one and all!!
Elaine & Chris.
The Constant Lady Gardeners
