November Gardening Tips 2022

Well, it has certainly been another mild autumn. My garden looks more like it should in September than the last week of October. We have experienced autumn rains after such a dry summer so the soil is nice and moist, making digging, planting and general gardening much easier. And, at risk of sounding like the most stuck of records, the autumn is the best time of year to plant by far.

As the garden dies back in the autumn, but you can still remember what it looked like in the summer, it’s a great time for thinking about (and doing) projects to improve the structure of the garden – changing borders, planting a hedge, making a pergola. Trees, shrubs, climbers and any hardy plants can all planted now. If you don’t have one already, please think about planting a hedge. I think it may be the single most important thing you can do for wildlife in a garden, other than providing a source of water. And it is so much more attractive than a close boarded fence. There is still time to plant bulbs, especially tulips -remember to plant bulbs deep enough and in clumps, for the best burst of colour next spring.

You can also move established plants now if they are in the wrong spot and divide clumps of perennial (cottage garden) plants that have got too large or overcrowded. This is a great way to increase your plant stock for free. Another way to garden for next to nothing is to take your own hardwood cuttings. Roses, most deciduous shrubs, climbers, fruit and trees can be propagated from a healthy shoot of this year’s growth.

To set your garden up for winter, shorten the branches of shrubs and roses. This reduces the potential for the wind to rock your plants during the winter, which can loosen their roots and damage them. This is also the traditional time to dig over the vegetable patch and incorporate well-rotted organic matter, such as homemade compost or composted stable manure.

The last cut of the lawn must be fast approaching – with a degree of relief.  Set the blades high for the final cuts. Then give your mower a good clean removing any grass before storing it for the winter. You may want to think about getting your mower serviced over the winter too, rather than in the spring when the mechanics will be busier.

I hope you can enjoy the colours of autumn and look forward to the promise of spring.