by Janis on 1st December 2023 / 0 comments
We’ve planted more bulbs
Our garden is now beginning to go to sleep for the colder months of the year, and our beautiful dahlias are in their final flourish.
However, even though we are still in the throes of autumn, and winter is just on the horizon, our Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ continues to flower. This plant is amazing; it just keeps on giving.
We purchased a Salvia ‘Cherry Lips’ in the summer, so I’m hoping in years to come this will flourish too. Salvias are also extremely easy to propagate from soft cuttings; believe me, if I can manage it, then anyone can.
Who doesn’t love free plants?
Pinterest?
Why not Pin it for later?
What we’ve been up to in November
In the garden and on the websiteAs I just touched on softwood cuttings, I’ve potted on the last of my cuttings, and they’re looking good. I’ll keep them in the cold frame over winter and decide where to plant them in spring.
Now, the important task we completed in the garden in early November was planting our spring flowering bulbs that we purchased online from J. Parker’s.
A box of bulbs from J. Parker’s
Last autumn, I planted around 400 bulbs in containers and in selected spots around the garden. These bulbs included a selection of daffodils, snowdrops, crocus, dwarf iris, tulips, hyacinth and a few alliums.
Fast forward to spring, and the garden looked much more colourful; however, we would have liked more alliums. Alliums are beautiful flowers; not only do they add structure and elegance, but they last for many weeks, which is always a winner. So, needless to say, we bought some more alliums.
Purple crocus
We bought a selection of alliums and daffodils for our cottage garden bed; in total, we found a home for around 175 spring bulbs. My leg muscles were certainly aching the following day.
Poppy pods seeding
We haven’t completely cleared our patio pots yet as they are quite protected on our courtyard patio, and they are still adding colour on otherwise dull autumnal days.
We also moved our Peony ‘Coral Sunset’ as we planted in early summer, and the position wasn’t quite right. I’d done a little investigation, and autumn was an ideal time to move it.
Achievements for November
Let’s keep ticking those boxesNovember has been a bit of an overcast month in the southeast of the UK. We’ve had plenty of rain and only a few bright days, so we haven’t been in the garden much. Although our fortnightly garden waste bin is always full.
Gathering the autumn leaves
So, let’s see what we’ve managed to tick off for November.
Planted around 175 spring bulbs.
Potted on the last of my softwood cuttings, ready for over-wintering.
Pruned and tidied our bay tree.
Still collecting leaves from our many trees.
Continue to clear the patio when plants have died back.
Rehomed our Peony ‘Coral Sunset’.
Our coral peony
Lessons learnt & mistakes made
You live and learnBy early November, I would have liked to have given the lawn another trim before winter sets in. However, the rain has arrived nearly every other day in the UK over the last month or so. There are so many muddy patches on the lawn that it would look messy and clog up the lawnmower.
I think it may be too late for another trim.
The russet colours of autumn
Our plans for the coming month
What’s on your to-do list?Continue to trim and clear the dead plants in the Cottage Garden bed.
Continue to monitor our garden tasks on the RHS Planner; this online tool is so handy.
Clear patio pots where required.
Keep collecting those leaves
Please let us know what you have planned in your garden this month; we’d love to know.
* This post may contain links to affiliated sites where we earn a small commission at no additional charge to you.
