Gardening tips for November & more !

[Gardenman]

Where have you been I here you ask ?)) Well it?s been a busy year designing & building many gardens & running my retreats out in Kefalonia more recently. I believe due to covid, many more people are having to work or stay at home & therefore enjoy their gardens more . Certainly, I?ve had more work than ever before thank you & thank you to my wonderful team

More on the new retreats later )

But back to the subject. It?s been a very wet Autumn season so far & while I as a gardener like rain, too much on the clay soil we have locally can be a problem. If you have a sloping garden , digging a soak away will help , but as the clay line is over 6ft deep! So it will need to be shored up at that point , take care or get someone in

1. I?m sorry but it?s that same old thing every Autumn; leaves all over your lawn need to be cleared & composted now. They make great compost next year, but now they?re full of toxins they?ve taken out of the air all spring & summer & these toxins are what eat into your lawns & ruin them. So, a regular raking or leaf blowing will do the trick each week

Very difficult I know, but try to separate the Sycamore seeds ( helicopter seeds) & Plane tree leaves, they will reproduce in your compost & cause problems.

Any debris that wont break down should be burnt in an aerated fire bin

2. Plant late spring bulbs now where believe it or not the soil

Is relatively warm . Tulips Daffodils & later summer flowering bulbs . Think about you colour scheme & plant in secret & open spaces where you will enjoy them most .

Buy Hellebores or Christmas roses as they are known for beautiful winter colour in the shady parts of your garden. Clear old leaves & debris for existing plants & give them a little straw for winter protection if you want Christmas colour

3. Prune climbing roses now to prevent wind rock , not a new band, a disease that brings black spot . Take as many infected leaves as possible from the bush & off the ground as they are a fungus & will re infect again & again! Tie in the branches securely

4. Put grease bands around any fruit trees , this will prevent moth damage

5. Good time to create free plants by lifting herbaceous plants , pruning & dividing them. Also, collect seeds & berries store them in brown paper bags labelling them for next year

If you want to keep the structure & beauty of your plants like grasses , leave pruning until early spring.

If you do want to prune them, mulch over the crowns afterwards.

Lift Dahlias, Cannas & Begonias & our in paper bags in dry dark storage

6. Dig new flower beds adding sand & mulch for better drainage . Dig out weeds to prevent them seeding & coming back stronger next spring. NO WEEDKILLERS PLEASE, they go into the water table & add to Montsantos profits Grrrrr!

7. Harvest Apples, Pears Grapes & Nuts . Please leave a box out for your neighbours if you have too many & are not going to be used . It?s such a waste & sadly our supermarkets don?t use beautiful British brands of fruit anymore. I won?t rant , but our beautiful orchards are being turned into Lavender fields. Not happy about that!

8. It?s going on a bit, but I did warn you ))

Lawns. Scarify with a spine rake or proper scarifier if a big lawn if you don?t need the exercise ( of course you do))

Aerate with aerator or a garden fork every 6?

Add topsoil & lawnsand & then treat with Autumn weed & feed to provide a potassium feed over winter

Or this is a good time to lay a new lawn if yours is compacted or badly worn . This gives it time to establish when you are not using or playing on it . Your children, not you )) or maybe you if you like

9. Great time to plant or move trees , shrubs, climbers & hedges . Use bare root plants if you have many to plant or containerised plants if planting in ones & twos . Be creative with new hedges . There are many trees shrubs & plants , you can use like Pittosporum, olives , Evergreen Jasmin ( a beautiful welcome home in the front garden. Oleander & many more. Ask your garden centre or me . Try not to use Leylandii, they upset too many people in town gardens & are high maintenance

10. Use your last chance to prune hedges now before the birds start nesting . Prune Buddleja ( other spellings are available)), Cornus , Lavatera by half until early spring .

11. Please buy good feed for your birds & wild animals & enjoy watching them. If you want to kindly ward off Foxes just apply chilli sauce to your boundaries . They have a very strong sense of smell & it keeps them away rather than killing them

Well done for getting this far))) Enjoy yourselves out there . There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing . My suggestion for covid is to build strong immune systems with vitamins C & D , good supplements & diets . Keep your core strength with yoga or exercise & I highly recommend meditation. But I would wouldn?t I )))

On the subject of which , I am out in beautiful Covid free Kefalonia creating new working retreats in beautiful villas overlooking the sea for people who maybe struggling working at home . Bring your laptops , get morning & evening yoga & meditation with great food from our nutritionist for a balanced days work , or if you want to close your laptop we have two pools & a beautiful beach 500 metres away . The temperature doesn?t go lower than 17 & you get out of London to be surrounded by the natural beauty of this fabulous island. Some free spaces for those who need it

Just give me a call or watch out for my Big Calm post soon

As always , if you are not up to tending to your gardens , please use the well recommended gardeners on this wonderful forum . We are still taking surveys for design & build over the Autumn & winter recommending you get in early before we all get too busy for you in Spring

Any questions: ask here, give me a text or call . Happy to help )) Take care of your Selves & your older neighbours this winter. They need it more than ever

Nigel

The Big Calm Gardens

[email protected]

Tel:Text 07759 862191

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[Gardenman]

I forgot to say, I now have a stonemason I met recently to help with my designs & any stone works you may have in mind . His work is beautiful & could make a nice gift for someone?s garden or house this Christmas

[Gardenman]

Need to add, prune your apples & pears now. Shape them in a round shape with an open centre, cut any crossed or touching branches , fruit trees need air to circulate through the branches to maintain their health.

Prune back Wisteria taking new growth back to 3/4 buds from main stem . Prune Raspberries back to 5cms from ground

Cut back shrub Roses hard close to a bud with clean secateurs

We are getting through our designs & projects & taking on two new members of staff , so let me know if you have any projects for us through the winter in time for enjoying come springtime.

Keep happy, keep safe

Nigel & Team

07759862191