Flower Garden - November

Protect tender plants such as Phormiums, tree ferns and Cordylines in case frost should strike. It may be easiest to move large containers into a sheltered corner and cover them altogether with horticultural fleece rather than covering each plant individually.

Continue to plant evergreens and conifers at the beginning of the month, while the soil is moist and still retains some warmth. Follow the instructions on Planting in our Quick Tips. Do remember to water well if the weather is dry – new plants still need moisture at their roots even in winter.

November is a good time of year to plant new hedges. You’ll see bundles of bare-rooted hedging plants in garden centres now. Prepare your site well, digging in lots of organic matter such as homemade. compost, New Horizon Organic Garden Compost or J. Arthur Bower’s Organic Farm Manure before you plant.

Continue tidying up the borders by clearing old stems and dead foliage. Not everything needs to be cut down – many ornamental grasses will look fabulous through the winter, especially when frosted. Other plants such as sedum have attractive seedheads. And don’t forget the mini-beasts and other wildlife in your garden – they need places to shelter and seeds to eat through the cold winter days.

Leafmould is worth its weight in gold, so it’s well worth collecting up leaves to make your own. Contain the leaves in a simple open frame made of chicken wire, or pack them into black binbags. Moisten the leaves with Liquid Garotta and tie them up. Leave the bags for a couple of days before piercing all over with a garden fork. Them move to an out of the way shady place and leave for a year by which time the leaves should have rotted down to a rich dark pleasant-smelling mixture. This can be used as a mulch or dug in as a soil improver – especially useful for woodland plants.

Harden off autumn-sown sweet peas by keeping the cold frame open as much as possible during slight frosts. If the temperature drops below –2º C (28º F) close the frame and cover it. Watch out for aphids on the young plants.

Roses need very little attention this month – just make sure they’re all tidied up for the winter.