After the first frost of last week, two more came this week and the greenhouse thermometer recorded it’s first minus temperature -1 degree. That was more encouragement to get the last few jobs done. I’ve planted out most of the tulips now and some thalia bulbs found at the back of the shed. The pellies in the greenhouse have been cut back but I still have roses to prune. Here’s the six things that I spotted in the garden this week.

One 

The bright orange berries of iris foetidissima.  When I first moved to this house there was a small clump of them lurking at the side of the shed.  The birds have helped them self seed at various points around the garden and I have collected them up and moved them to a new clump under the rhododendron.  Three years on and they have become quite established.  The summer flowers are easily passed over but the winter berries are wonderful.

Two

I managed to track down some cyclamen hederifolium at the garden centre which were in flower then, a couple of weeks on and there’s not a flower in sight but the leaves look magnificent.  These are in the front garden, a space that is just beginning to get some attention from me.

Three

The front garden has, to my eyes, a very suburban look.  It’s a sequence of assorted shrubs which have  grown and grown over the years.  My least favourite was the cotoneaster horizontalis.  I say was, because after giving it some attention over the last few years, snipping off a branch here and there, it has now become quite an impressive feature which truly comes into its own at this time of the year.  It was on the ‘dig up’ list along with the forsythia but I’m going to be generous and let it stay.

Four 

Having put the pellies away for the winter I had dragged my heels on putting in some winter bedding.  In truth I am a little mean about spending money for the winter pots.  But the reliable mistreatment of plants at diy stores often throws up a bargain and this week I snapped up two trays of pansies for  £1.75 each.  I’ve put them in with  some pale purple primroses  primroses that had been dug up and were sitting around in pots waiting for their next move – which was likely to be the compost heap as I am a bit of purist on the primrose front.  Four containers full for under a fiver.  I’m happy.

Five

Almost all the leaves are down (yet strangely those on the apple trees still remain)  and now the full extent of the persimmon crop for this year is revealed.  It’s well up on last year which is good news for the birds as I don’t harvest them.  Once they are ripe the parakeets will descend which makes for a colourful sight on a December day.

Six

Lastly, the seed heads of the rudbeckia have blackened adding a striking note to the border.

Time for me to have a look at other SOS choices for the week.  Winter inspiration from the UK but summer gems from the other side of the world all at The Propagator’s site.

My enjoyment of November continues. This week the goldfinches have arrived in the garden to feed off the verbena bonariensis seeds.  My six on Saturday walk around has set me off thinking about next year.  This morning I spotted something in the wrong place aesthetically but clearly in the right place horticulturally.  I’m going to move it anyway.  My gardening jobs are few and far between and mostly seem to involve leaf collecting.  Here’s my collection of six for today.

One

This is astrantia ‘Roma’ looking lovely in the north facing border.  I collected a batch of astrantia major seedlings from the long border earlier on and planted them in the white section of this border.  Beautiful though it looks here, this surprise ‘Roma’ will be going back to the long border where it works very well with salvia nemorosa ‘Carradona’.

Two

I find that SOS walk round is always a good time to spot those plants that need tying in.  This is the climbing rose ‘Blush Noisette’ which has put out a late but very strong stem.  I’ve left it with some room to grow upwards to encourage more growth.  The rain continues to drown any new rose buds so I am not expecting much now but next year, next year.

Three

The lowest temperature in the greenhouse this week was 2.2 degrees.  I have half a tray of cowslips left.   I need to see if the slugs and snails have eaten those that I planted out earlier. If they have been devoured I shall be potting these on and then keeping them in the greenhouse over winter ready to plant out next spring.

Four 

The greenhouse was too cold to get these agapanthus seeds to germinate so they have been treated to a space near the window in the house.  They will be evicted when the N20 hotel opens up for Christmas and I’m not sure where they will go. For now I am pleased to see them making progress.  They were sown about a month ago.

Five

There has a been a leek disaster in the veg beds.  I didn’t have many growing and all of them have collapsed.  I am suspecting nibbling mice.  I thought I might be able to salvage them as baby leeks but none of them made the grade.  Leeks were on the list of things that I might not grow again and that has now been confirmed.

Six

With apologies for the poor focus, the autumn crocus speciosus  ‘ Albus’ bulbs that I bought on the cheap a few weeks back have just pushed up to the surface. Why does it always look like you have more than enough to plant and yet when the flowers appear you realise you had room for double the quantity?  There is a promise that they will form large colonies, something I shall be looking forward to.   I should have packed them in tighter among the forget-me-not seedlings.  I’m looking forward to those flowering next year too.

Damp and cold it may be but my gardening optimism is currently running high.  I hope yours is too.  There’s always plenty of gardening cheer to be found in the links to SOS to found on Mr P’s site.  Thank you Mr P for keeping us all going.

 

 

I am going to stick my neck out and say that I like November in the garden. It’s a wild, wet and windy day today and the leaves are dancing off the trees.  It’s the sort of day to to stay inside and enjoy the autumn colours through the window.  At this time of the year my neighbour’s willow tree sheds its leaves far and wide.  I just can’t photograph the sight of them twirling down into the garden but it is truly lovely.

One

Here’s my view from the inside.  The garden is surrounded by trees in other gardens and the falling leaves all get added to the leaf heap.  I’ve emptied out last year’s leaves into old compost bags to allow them to rot down for a few more months before they are spread around the raspberry canes.

Two

In my garden the large fig tree and the persimmon are changing colour and dropping leaves.  I had a bumper crop of persimmons this year until September.  Then the majority of them dropped off.  I think I’m left with about a dozen.

Three

I like November because I don’t  worry about what is giving colour in the garden.  It’s time to relax and enjoy the settling down for winter.  The manure for the veg beds has arrived.  In a week or two the tulips will be planted and there will be some tidying up of the borders but then it’s time to let it all go for a while and indulge in some wishful thinking for the next surge of growth.

Four

An update on the green manure sown in September.  It’s a bit patchy but maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.  It’s going to be dug in next week when the manure will be spread around the veg plot.  Then the worms can do their thing over winter.  Parsnips are my only winter crop so other than tidying up the soft fruit the veg plot will be off my radar for a while.

Five

There are still lovely plants filling the borders.  In the summer I bought a couple of small pots of gunnera magellanica to provide ground cover.  It has settled in really well and I like the small leaves.  There is a promise of flowers followed by berries but I haven’t seen any evidence of them yet.

Six

The roses continue despite the rain.  This is Gertrude Jekyll.  I will give the roses a winter cut back but for now I’m letting them bloom.

It’s a late post from me because I watched the rugby.  Oh well!  Time to catch up with the SOS posts on  Mr P’s site there’ll be plenty to see there.