Gardening Hints & Tips for the month
NOVEMBER
November hints
It’s getting colder and wetter as we draw into November. Trees are putting on their autumn displays and winter stems start to come into their own. As autumn turns to winter, your main jobs in the garden are mostly about protecting plants and structures from the wilder weather to come.
There’s still sowing and growing to do this month to keep the garden ticking over. Here is a list of the top jobs to do in the garden during the month:
As the weather starts to get more wintry, our gardens need some protection.
Insulate your outdoor containers from frosts. Use hessian or bubble wrap held in place with garden twine.
Prevent containers becoming waterlogged by raising them off the ground for the winter using bricks or 'pot feet'.
Encourage hungry birds into your garden by investing in bird baths and bird feeders. Our feathered friends will keep garden pest numbers down and bring joy on a bleak winter’s day.
Protect roses from wind-rock by pruning them by one-third to half their height. This will stop them swaying in strong wind and prevent roots coming loose in the soil
Remove fallen leaves from around the base of any rose bushes which suffered from blackspot or rust this summer, to reduce the chance of reinfection next year.
Cut back the yellowing foliage of herbaceous perennial plants, and lift and divide overcrowded clumps to maintain their vigour.
Cut a few stems of holly with berries for making Christmas garlands. It’s early, but now’s the time to do it before the birds eat all the berries. Stand them in a bucket of water in a sheltered spot where birds can't take them.
Looking after your lawn
- Aerate your lawn now before winter sets in. Either use a lawn aerator or simply insert a garden fork at regular intervals and lean it back slightly to let air in.
- Continue to clear fallen leaves off the lawn to keep it healthy using a light rake.
- Set your lawn mower to a higher cut-height for winter.
- Edge your lawn. This is easy to do in the winter months once beds are clear. Lawn edging creates a neat and tidy appearance and makes maintenance easier throughout the year.