9:38am Saturday 14th November 2009
By Gina Parkinson
AS the nights draw in and days become chillier and shorter, it can get harder to find time to go out into the garden – despite there always being plenty of things to do.
Even though we are speeding towards the end of the year and perhaps already beginning to start those endless lists that occupy the mind as Christmas approaches, November can spring a surprise and provide a warm few hours for us to pop outside and get our hands dirty.
Plants are definitely beginning to fade out in the garden, with the rich tones of October rapidly turning to the more subtle hues that will take us over the next few weeks.
Here in our garden there are still the odd blooms resolutely standing in the border.
From the window, I can see a few Aster frikartii “Monch” daisies, the lavender blue petals giving a splodge of colour among the drying remains of the plant. Dahlia “Twynings After Eight” still clings on, too, and has one perfect flower standing above the dark foliage.
The accompanying bud may open, but recent low temperatures could have already rotted the infant flower enclosed in its shiny coat.
Michaelmas daisies provide a good amount of colour in the late garden, even at this time of year.
Although the favourite “Monch” mentioned above is really past its best, Aster lateriflorus is still looking good if less eye catching than its relative.
In our garden, A.lateriflorus blooms late, sometimes not until late September, and the flowers are tiny with dark pink centres surrounded by white petals.
But what they lack in size, the flowers make up with sheer amount; the stiff stems covered in masses of petite blooms.
In our garden, this daisy grows with an autumn-flowering sedum whose mid-pink flowers open at the same time and enhance those of the aster by echoing the colour. Both plants thrive in the bed they grow in where the soil tends to remain moist even in the summer and the sun remains, with luck, from morning until mid afternoon.
• Peter Holden will give a hands-on demonstration of “Floral Arrangements for Christmas without Flowers” on Tuesday. Organised by Askham Bryan College (ABC) Gardening Club, the talk will begin at 7.30pm in the Conference Hall at the college. Tickets, available at the door, are free to ABC Gardening Club members and £5 for non-members.
November catch-up
There is still time to plant garlic and wallflowers, although the wallflowers should be put out as soon as possible, especially if they are bare rooted.
Soil cools down this month, and although wallflowers are tough it is nice to get them off to a good start by putting them into reasonably warm bed.
Don’t worry if they droop for a while, since the leaves will soon perk up once the roots begin to absorb moisture. Soak them in a bucket of tepid water for a couple of hours before planting, and water well once they are in the soil.
The plants will soon fill out and make stocky evergreen clumps.
Garlic can be planted anytime up until early spring, although experience has shown me that March is too late.
I planted mine during March this spring which resulted in almost instant growth and the bulbs when harvested in August were deliciously tasty.
However they were small and many failed to split into individual cloves. I have since read that they need a decent spell of cold to initiate bulb formation and went to the other extreme by planting the new crop in October.
Any time from late autumn to late winter should be all right.
We had a very cold spell last February which would have been ideal for this hardy bulb.
Gardening TV and Radio
Tomorrow.
8am, Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.
9am, Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden.
2pm, R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and chairman Eric Robson are at the London Transport Museum. Pippa Greenwood also talks to contestants of the Underground in Bloom competition about the challenge of container gardening. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).
Friday.
3pm, R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. A postbag edition with John Cushnie, Pippa Greenwood, Anne Swithinbank and chairman Peter Gibbs. There is an update on the slug trials set up at the GQT garden party at RHS Harlow Carr earlier in the year and the gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm. (Repeated on Sunday).
Saturday, November 21.
7am, Radio York. Julia Booth. Presenter Julia Booth and gardening expert Nigel Harrison present their weekly Plant Surgery. Telephone number 01904 641641.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk