November is the time for trees in the garden
November is all about compost and getting everything ready for winter.
Clearing leaves and cutting back dead growth is top of the agenda – which is great news because leaves and garden debris are perfect ingredients for homemade compost.
It’s also a great month for planting trees and shrubs and good planting needs good mulch.
Leaves don’t need the heat of a compost to rot down; you can compost them by filling up bags with leaves to make really good garden mulch. The best way is to fill biodegradable sacks, then place them somewhere in the garden where they will be rained on…and wait.
Come spring next year you will have a bag full of nutritious leaf mould compost.
If you’re planning to plant trees then do it now before the ground gets too hard or frozen whilst you can still position them in the soil they will thrive in. They can tolerate acidic, chalky, sandy and clay soils and come in all shapes and sizes.
Trees can add structure to the landscape and garden and some make excellent hedges and screens whilst others are ideal as statement specimens.
If you have exotic fruit trees such as figs, apricots and pomegranates now is the time to insulate them so they can get through the winter if you are unable to bring them indoors.
Use horticultural fleece to cover the plant which will give protection from physical damage and, as it’s porous, will also let air flow around it which will help prevent rot setting in. Remove the protection in the spring.
If you are thinking of planting exotics then go for trusted varieties such as: Brown Turkey – the most reliable variety of fig - it is self-fertile, so you are assured of having a good crop; Moorpark is the most commonly grown apricot in the UK, with fragrant pink blossoms in spring, followed by the leaves, then juicy fruit, ripening in August; and Provence is one of the hardiest pomegranates, it can tolerate temperatures down to -15ºC if grown in a sheltered spot and is also suitable for growing in pots, so can be moved undercover in autumn.
You can also dig over and weed vacant areas in your fruit and veg beds incorporating well-rotted organic matter.
Winter is on its way and tender plants will need protecting from frost, gales and freezing rains.
Move plants into the greenhouse, or into a sheltered spot, but if you can’t, it is worth wrapping plants or pots.
Remember winter can be a tough time for birds in terms of water and food, so keep supplies well topped up.
Top three jobs this month: Clear up fallen leaves especially from lawns, ponds and beds; raise containers onto pot feet to stop waterlogging; plant tulip bulbs for a spring display next year.
Crerar Hotels has received a Wellness Charter certificate from Scottish charity Hospitality Health.
The Wellness Charter is awarded to businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector which pledge to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff with a key focus on positive mental wellbeing.
Hospitality Health, which was formed in August 2018, to support staff in the hospitality industry, is on a mission to change the way the industry thinks about mental health, and to create a discussion around wellness.
At the presentation in Glasgow, Chris Wayne-Wills, said: ‘We are delighted to be awarded the charter from Hospitality Health as we have invested in keeping the wellbeing of our team a real focus, especially throughout the past two years.’