November Tasks for your Garden
We will soon be feeling the first frosts to let us know winter is on it's way. A great week to get things done and burn your waste on bonfire night.
It's the time to cut back your roses, we usually say by a third. If you have the ever popular buddleia do those too. They bounce back great next year with more blooms.
A good clean prune will really benefit your garden at this time, it gives your plants a good start in the spring/summer next year.
Between now and December (if all the leaves have fallen) is the best time to take hard wood cuttings from your existing shrubs. If you do this and get them planted most will be ready to plant up in summer from giving them chance to root through the spring.
If you haven't already moved them, put your tender perennials into somewhere sheltered.
If you have got some more jungle-looking exotic plants in your garden they will need protecting. Most people wrap trunks in straw or bubble-wrap with hessian. It would be a shame to lose them when they are such a big investment for your garden.
When it comes to leaves, it's the same as last month really. Don't leave them piled up and sitting on your lawn or they will kill your grass underneath. Let nature take its course in the beds and let the worms mulch the leaves into your soil (if they are not too deep). You don't want them too deep or they may cause your smaller plants to fail. Try and keep the plants themselves free of large piles of leaves to give them air and keep them dry.
The garden paths and patios will need sweeping which will give you an instant clean and tidy look.
Make a separate spot to keep your leaves in if your garden is big enough. It will make a great free soil improver for adding to your compost. You can easily bag your leaves but you must put holes in them to let them breathe.