Three consecutive nights of frost have very clearly announced the arrival of winter. A last minute flurry of activity saw the cutting back of all the soggy green stuff and most of the tulip bulbs were planted out. I have twenty left which will now almost certainly go into pots. In other confessions the winter bedding has not yet gone into pots. I also had to call in the muscle men to dig out the tree stump that was hosting the honey fungus – an old holly self-seeder. I could not budge it. Here’s six from the garden this first week of December.
One
Cobwebs on the verbena. These are left standing for the goldfinches who come for the seeds.
Two
The old leaves of hellebores have been cut back and new ones are coming through.
Three
The leaf mould cage is back in action. It’s been in use for about five years now and sadly the original posts used for the corner supports are rotting but there are just enough left standing to do for another year.
Four
The last of the fig leaves have fallen and once this frosty weather moves on these will be mowed up to shred them and then added to the leaf mould pile.
Five
The long border in winter. The seed heads of veronicastrum fascination are also left standing.
Six
One final confession. I have not yet cut back the autumn fruiting raspberry canes. But there’s no hurry here, these can be done in January.
The forecast suggests a mild spell is in sight so the remaining tulip bulbs will be planted then. Other than that I am pretty well shutting down the gardening for the winter. Fellow SOSers in the southern hemisphere will be showing blue skies to keep us going through the cold. Jim, our host, will almost certainly have a wonderful camellia to show us so stop by his Garden Rumination site to find out more. Keep warm or stay cool depending on your hemisphere!
n20gardener 
You have reminded me to go and check the hellebores.
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My pleasure!!
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I had about a dozen goldfinches on my verbena a couple of weeks ago, it’s amazing to see them.
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They are so beautiful and for me very Christmassy. I hope you are well. A difficult time I’m sure.
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They are lovely colourful birds, but very argumentative! I’m doing OK, thanks for asking. His friends are having a farewell party for him tonight, lots of reminiscing as several of them have been pals since playschool. It’s what he wanted, a celebration of his life.
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A perfect idea and so lovely to have the support of his friends around you. Best wishes.
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We get flocks of goldfinches on our birdfeeder but I’ve never seen any on Verbena, teasel or anything else. They know an easy meal when it’s on offer.
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I think my bird feeder is slightly difficult for them to enter. But we do see some there.
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I also have a small colony of goldfinches that appreciate the food offerings.
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They have such wonderful colours. I think of them as Christmas tree birds!
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It’s not a race to cut back your raspberries, I sometimes take a while to cut things back. 🌸 Impressive leaf mould pile!
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Indeed, the weather is expected to be milder soon, which will allow us to enjoy being in the garden (and especially to collect all the leaves. Our gardens look very similar at the moment)
I pruned the raspberries a few days ago whereas in past years I did it in January-February (but we can also do it at the moment.) Last week, the weather was mild: the advantage is that my fingers were less frosty than I would have had if I had done this at the beginning of the year.
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Verbena is such a great plant. Flowers for ages and provides good winter structure too. The goldfinches always remind me of crooning Elvises when they feed off their seeds – the stems bend over like a microphone stand.
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What a great image to have. I shall watch out for them even more!
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Haha.. I wouldn’t have thought of that, but it does amaze me how those delicate stems bend with the weight of the birds.
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I’ve still so many bulbs to plant, well done for getting most of yours in. Do you always cut your Hellebore leaves off at this time of the year?
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Always on the hellebores – they often look scraggy so I don’t feel bad about doing it. RHS says it can help prevent black spot.
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The main problem that I encounter with cane berries is that they do not get cut back at all, as in never. People plant them and ignore them, as if they can just make berries and never get overgrown. It is a typical problem with all the fruit trees as well.
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I always like starting again with them. So always do it.
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That is how it should be done. Old canes will not be productive again.
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Impressive leaf mould pile! We don’t get enough deciduous leaves to make a big pile, I just leave ours insitu as a light mulch. 👍🌿
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I love Verbena, not just when it’s flowering.
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If you don’t look the raspberries in the eye, they won’t know you’re there. This is most definitely my strategy to put off pruning until the last moment possible 😉
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🙂 A very interesting thought!
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