Trouble comes in threes....

Not the easiest of months.... we acquired a puppy from my brother in law who had purchased it about 2 months earlier. 5 month old Millie proved to be a lot livelier than they had imagined so we took her in to add to our two collies. Millie is a lab/staffie/whippet mix, and is a very strong, happy little pup who likes to chew anything from the phone charger to slippers, the corner of the settee to an entire packet of dog biscuits. She broke our garden gate, climbed the pallet put there temporarily, and when we installed a lovely wrought iron gate she squeezed straight through the gaps! We now have the bottom of the gate covered in corrugated plastic. Not pretty, but finally effective.

For anyone who is interested, you can see one of our other dogs on youtube: put in ‘tree climbing dog’ and watch the BBC Midlands Today report.

In the gardens the leaf colours have changed and some of the acers are really beautiful. (see pic). Autumn has truly arrived. However, it is a little disheartening to clear an area of leaves only to return the next day to do it all again. I know that we will get to the end of it but this time of year can be frustrating as jobs don’t seem to stay ‘done’.

One of the more satisfying jobs has been the clearing of the next section of the South Border. All the plants have been removed and those for keeping have been potted up. We will repeat the process we undertook last year, with the first section we cleared, and hope to radically reduce, or even eliminate the bindweed etc. by the end of next year.

That short, sharp frost that occurred in the middle of the month gave us an opportunity to test out the new conservatory boiler. It certainly worked a treat and is holding heat and water as it should, finally! It was a serious cause for concern last year. We have also lifted, fleeced or frost protected the tender and susceptible plants around the gardens so hopefully we won’t see a repeat of last year when the really cold weather killed off several plants.

Of course the sharp frost meant that we were able to lift the dahlias earlier than we have done for the last few years. They are now all neatly stored away in a frost free shed. The cannas however are a different story: we lost nearly all the canna purpurea, a couple of variegated varieties and a few of the canna Robert Kemp whilst they were in storage last year, so we have stored them in a warmer room in the main house this year, hoping to avoid a repeat.

Best wishes

Kate

Topical tips for November

Check through stored apples and veg, discarding any that are damaged.
Use any spare space in heated greenhouses for quick crops of lettuce etc.
Keep an eye on the greenhouse and ventilate on warmer days.
Ensure that all tender plants have been taken into the warm, or protected by fleece or straw as we are just starting to get those nippy nights.
check guttering/drains and keep them clear.
lift and divide borders, so that perennials are regenerated for a better display. Then top dress the borders with well rotted farmyard manure, or garden compost.
Lift and store the last remaining dahlias, cannas, and gladioli bulbs.
Plant wallflowers and other winter displays, on warmer dry days
Keep an eye on ponds and ensure fish have a breathing hole by placing a pan of boiling water on the ice. Some people float a tennis ball to absorb the pressure of the ice and prevent damage to the pond.
Lift the last remaining dahlias, cannas, and gladioli bulbs.
On dry breezy days continue to cut lawns with mower blades set high, but try to avoid walking on grass when the weather is frosty.