Stunning salvia goes on and on with blooms
It seems hard to believe that another year has gone by, but our tree fern has once again had its double wrap of fleece for winter hibernation. A few frosty mornings sent us frantically covering tender plants and filling the greenhouse with pelargoniums. The year may be drawing to a close but the late mild weather has meant there’s still a tremendous amount of plants in bloom. One of the most long-flowering shrubs I know is salvia ‘Hot Lips’ and as I write it’s still in full bloom, a sea of white and red petals against autumn’s copper tones. It certainly earns its keep! Many shrubs benefit from a prune before winter properly sets in and our ligustrum ‘Aureum’ (golden privet) was one of them, looking wild with an abundance of new growth but easily sculpted back into shape.
The importance of leaving seed heads intact in the garden for wildlife was demonstrated in front of my eyes the other weekend when two European goldfinches spent a considerable amount of time feasting off the seed of evening primrose and teasels. It was a beautiful sight and reiterated the need to resist the urge to cut everything down for winter; there’s plenty of time for a tidy-up in spring.
I sowed aquilegia seed ‘Chocolate Soldier’, which came free with Garden News. I’ll look forward to seeing these unusual brown blooms next year.
Many gardeners have been in a perpetual loop of raking up fallen leaves but the silver lining has been bagging them up to make leaf mould. There’s immense satisfaction from collecting this leaf litter to return it to the soil, once transformed into sumptuous goodness.
Rainy weekends gave way to some indoor gardening, concentrating on my houseplants. I was given a silver squill/ silver African
hyacinth (Ledebouria spent outdoors, I’m catching up on jobs that didn’t get done indoors through summer and I’ve put up the trees and decorations early to keep me cheerful. I’ve been cutting foliage from the garden for my door hanging and table decoration. I love using the variegated holly, Osmanthus heterophyllus, variegated myrtle, sarcococca and ‘Goldcrest’ conifer.
The garden is ready for the winter. Everything that needs protection has been put in the greenhouses and cuttings look good, with not too many losses. We started the heater up at the beginning of November, which is later than normal. I’ll check the greenhouses weekly to water and pick over anything that needs it.
Barry’s been busy cutting plants back as well as pruning and leaf sweeping. When clear of leaves the paths and patios will be power washed. socialis) a couple of years ago and although they love a constricted space, the plant was literally bursting out of every corner of its pot so it was time to divide it. The numerous teardrop-shaped bulbs have been split down and potted on; they’ll make great presents once they’ve bulked up. Outside of my garden there’s some exciting news this month. bought a copy of Cuttings, a charity
Ibook compiled by Gardening for
Disabled Trust to raise money for its lifeWe
still have leeks, carrots, beetroot, spinach, chard and parsnips to enjoy and I’ve been using my stashed away tomato sauce to make soup and ragu sauce – a lovely taste of summer in winter.
Arum italicum is popping up in a few new places – I love to have these striking leaves through winter. The mahonia ‘Charity’ is just starting to come into flower, Viburnum bodnantense is full of buds and solanum ‘Album’ just goes on flowering. One of my favourite shrubs is Drimys lanceolata – it has the changing work. It’s a fabulous book of gardening tips and recipes from a wealth of famous gardeners, designers, experts and green-fingered friends and I’m very proud to have contributed tips to this worthy cause. It will make a great Christmas present for keen gardeners! most unusual flowers in spring and as it’s evergreen it’s lovely to see the dark green leaves and red stems in winter. Callicarpa berries look even more stunning now the leaves have fallen. Primroses and pansies are growing well too, with some unusual colours.