Mzzz B's November Garden Blog

One of those brown jobs???

Salvias and asters.

Fly agaric- poisonous! But like a fairy tale mushroom ( image form the internet – all the ones I saw were eaten by slugs!)

Our autumn has been very mild with enough rain to make things in the garden start growing again. It has been an amazing year for berries, the field fare and redwing birds when they arrive will have a feast on all the holly berries that are around. There also seems to be huge amount of acorns and beech mast. It has now been proclaimed a beech mast year .What is a 'mast' year?

A mast year occurs approximately every 5-10 years, when trees like oak and beech produce a bumper crop of seeds. Although it takes a huge amount of effort for the tree, the bumper quantities of seed means that animals and birds cannot possibly devour all of them, so many more make it through the winter, germinate and begin to grow. It's great for both birds and animals as well as the trees.

It has also been a bumper year for some sorts of fungus, the woods seem to have been full of them. Wonderful fly agarics and lots of those brown ones that are very hard to identify!

We have not had any frost yet, so the dahlias are still going strong, and the garden is full of asters, salvias, and tender annuals like cosmos. Salvias especially have managed this strange summer of extreme heat, drought and then wet. Some have been in flower the whole summer, so a really important plant in the garden. There are some varieties which are hardy – microphylla and Jamensis and others that are tender, so if you plant some make sure you are getting the hardier ones. The tender ones need to be overwintered in a greenhouse. Some will survive in a sheltered site as long as it is well drained.

• Jobs to do in November
• Plant tulips now- if in pots protect from the predations of mice who seem to love them!
• After the first frost dig up your dahlias and store in a frost free place. If you have well drained soil and a sheltered site then you could try leaving some in and covering them with a thick mulch.
• Cut back stems of perennials that are likely to rot on top of other plants, but leave those with seed heads for the insects and birds. If you leave 15cm of stems after cutting them this will also provide habitats for overwintering insects.
• If you haven't already done so ensure that all tender perennials are tucked away somewhere frost free, a window sill, greenhouse, conservatory, porch.
• There is still time with this warmer weather to split perennials and make new plants. I have been digging up perennials that have outgrown their space and potted some up to use elsewhere – maybe the Garden society plant sale next May!
• Mulch your borders with compost or leaf mold. Now with the leaves coming down rake them and either make a more leaf mold – use wire mesh or put into large plastic bags – make holes in the sides , and keep a little moist, and next year you will have wonderful mulch for the garden.
• Clear the fallen leaves of roses from the base if possible to prevent black spot from appearing next year.
• Buy your seeds for next year, and if you join the Tattenhall Gardening Society not only do you get access to great talks, but also a huge discount off seeds from Dobies, 10% off plant purchases at Okells and the chance to register for the same discount at Walkers.
• Whilst you are thinking about buying seed you could plan what you might enter into next years Village Show- annual flowers, veg etc.