It is definitely November. Several gusty and very wet days have brought down leaves from the trees and much time has been spent chopping them up with the lawn mower. This year’s leaf mould stack has been started and last year’s leaf mould is ready for distribution. Fungi are popping out all over the place and yet the snapdragons, astrantia and calendular putting on a fresh show. The roses continue to flower and mild weather is again forecast for next week. Here’s this week’s six.
One
The persimmon tree contributes some beautiful shades of red the leaf mould stack at this time of year. There are also the golden leaves of the tulip tree that landed in the greenhouse. The leaves are collected in chicken wire cage in the corner of the garden and at this point offer up a truly Autumnal glow to an otherwise forgotten place.
Two
Mushrooms are appearing on the lawn and in the borders, but here they are colonising an old fig tree log in a small stack that I keep for the local wildlife. I am just wondering if this is honey fungus. I think not, but please advise if you think otherwise!
Three
The astrantia major self-seeds rather prolifically here and needs to be relocated or pulled up. But it was a joy to find these in flower yet again.
Four
The antirrhinum majus ‘White Giant’ didn’t reach giddy heights this year. But after sulking through the summer the recent rain has provoked it into action. Not exactly a giant but rather pretty all the same.
Five
The humble calendula hasn’t featured at all in SOSs for this year but the sunny glow of orange in early November deserves a mention.
Six
And once again, I can finish on a rose. These are two shrubs of ‘Wisley’, planted at the shadier end of the long border, still pumping out new buds and in the foreground the seedheads of rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, reminding me that it really is November.
Our new host, Jim, at Garden Ruminations is into his third week. Jim regularly delivers gardening knowledge and an eclectic mix of plants which frequently send me off on an internet search to far flung places. Take a look at his posts and don’t hesitate to join the other SOS contributors. See you soon.
I garden in London and so get a little complacent about frosts. But this week the lawn has had a light frosting and it was clearly a sign that cold weather gardening had to start. Last year’s fleece was in shredded tatters in the shed and I hate all those white flaky bits. I hot footed it to Homebase and found some delightful green bags of 35gsm fleece with very handy draw string pulls. I usually fleece up the agapanthus armed with a stapler but these jackets were easy to pull over the plants and the fetching shade of green is slightly less obvious than white. Job done.
I was certainly lulled into complacency by the balmy days I experienced in Suffolk last week but the cold evenings are changing the colours of the garden. The persimmon tree is looking beautiful even as the leaves are falling.
The previously sun scorched hydrangeas are also taking on their winter hue.
But elsewhere the summer container plants are still in good health and I will leave them out throughout the winter. In mild years I have been able to carry the geraniums over into the next summer.
The white antirrhinum sowed from seed is still in flower at this end of the garden but elsewhere I have collected seeds from another plant that has done its bit for summer.
I recently planted out some gaura and pennisetums in a west border and alongside them I put in some Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’, which still thinks there’s time to put on a display. Thank you!
n20gardener 