Gardening is always dependent on the weather, but rarely more so than in November.
A favourable spell makes this a really busy time in the garden, getting ahead for spring, planting and pruning, while cold, wet conditions or even drifting snow, like that of 2010, can make it impossible to do much at all.
After a wet autumn, I’ll be making the best of any dry weather to rake up and compost fallen leaves, remove the weeds that keep on growing, and carry on cutting back the fading stems of herbaceous perennials.
My sticky, clay soil is sodden, which means it is best to stay off it wherever possible – standing on a plank of wood if necessary – to avoid compacting it. Early winter can be a good time to dig heavy soils, but this year any as wet as mine are definitely best left until spring.
This is also the ideal opportunity for a quick tidy-up. Pick up any redundant canes, plant supports, labels and pots as you go, and give them a quick clean before finding them a home for the winter. This doesn’t take long, will lengthen the lifespan of these essentials and means everything will be to hand in spring.
The first frosts will blacken dahlia foliage, signalling that it’s time to cut back their stems to about 15cm and lift tubers to store for winter. Dry them upside-down somewhere cool but frost-free, then keep in a box covered with dry sand or compost until spring.
Some root vegetables, such as carrots, beetroots and swedes, can also be lifted and stored in similar sand-filled boxes. Other root crops keep better in the soil, so be sure to leave parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes be until required.
November is often considered the best month to plant tulip bulbs, although they are always available much earlier. Now that deciduous trees and shrubs have lost their leaves and become dormant, it is also a good time to plant and move them.
Bare-root trees are available from nurseries during winter and are often cheaper and quicker to establish than pot-grown specimens, but as their roots are exposed to the air they do need to be planted as soon as possible.
Pruning trees and shrubs now, while leafless, makes it easy to see where growth is congested, and any dead or diseased wood needs removing.
On with the hat and gloves. We gardeners don’t have time for bad weather!