November
This has been a quiet month really, as I have not had the energy to do a great deal in the garden. To be fair, not very much needs doing either! The weather has been variable with torrential rain mid month leading to flooding of the lower parts of the garden and flood alerts and warnings from the environment agency. Nothing like a paddle in the middle of the night! Luckily, the worst we had was temporary puddles on the path, but it is good to know that the Environment Agency alert system works.
The broad beans that I sowed last month have germinated and are now about 8 inches tall; I may have a glut of beans next year. The plants that I have transplanted appear to have settled in too, so should bring some cheer to the borders next year. Of the two cheap plants bought at Morrisons, only the Clematis has survived. I may have to get another Cistus. I bought a reduced price Penstemon at a local garden centre, as well as a Camellia sasanqua; the latter was to remind me of my late sister who died at this time of year, and who liked pretty flowers. I have also planted snowdrops and fritillaries into pots for the spring.
After the storms the Gingko biloba has lost most of its leaves, so there is a carpet of butter-yellow leaves around the garden. Lovely! I also bought a min-max thermometer for the garden and have been tracking the daily temperature for the last couple of weeks; the temperatures have been unseasonably warm but are gradually dropping, although we haven't got anywhere near a freeze yet. It will be interesting to see the results over the coming year.
Jobs for this month may include building a log pile for wildlife, and seeing what else I can do to encourage wildlife into the garden - I have quite a good range in the garden already but it is always good to have more. I watched a presentation online about Creative Use of Rainwater in the Garden through Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts, and have come away thinking about rainwater planters and leaky waterbutts. Sounds mad, but actually makes ecological sense. A leaky waterbutt was easy to implement by knocking the chewing gum plug off the hole in ours! I need to improve this a little but it is a start.
Flowers this month have included:
Camellia sasanqua, Berberis darwinii, Daisy, Evening Primrose, Fuchsia, wild grasses, green Hellebores, Lavender, Toadflax, English Marigold, Rosemary, Spurge, Strawberry, Teucrium, Geranium endressii, Salvia 'Amethyst Lips', Verbena bonariensis, Penstemon, Rosa 'Brother Cadfael', Groundsel, and Dandelion.
December
I have done very little this month as the weather has either been pouring rain or solid frost when I have been free. The broad beans have severe frost damage so probably won't make it. Ah well, worth a try! I planted two varieties of garlic on Christmas Eve (Lautrec Wight and Carcassonne Wight) so hopefully they will do well. There's very little in flower now, just green hellebore, purple toadflax and a dandelion. I must add to the winter planting.
