Garden Planning, Tips and Planting Advice

Garden Tips: November Lawn Care

Ensure that you have cleared leaves from the lawn using a good rake or blow vac. This is important, as a carpet of leaves can smother grass.

Now is the time to sow new grass seed, with the soil being damp and warm, which is perfect for germinating. Before sowing, fork over the area and rake level. After sowing, lightly rake over and ensure the seeds are watered.

Garden Tips: November Evergreen Hedging

November is a good time to check you evergreen hedges for any plants that are past their best of dead. Dig these up and replace them with new plants.

Garden Tips: November Pruning

Fruit bushes such as blackberries, red and white currants and gooseberries benefit from pruning this time of year. You should also remove any dead branches from apple, pear and cherry trees.

Deciduous shrubs, for example, berberis, can also benefit from pruning in the autumn. Once they have lost their leaves, it is easier to see their shape and improve their overall look for next year.

Alpine plants will also benefit from a good trim this time of year.

Garden Tips: Container pots and patio plants

If you have delicate plants in container pots on your patio or elsewhere in your garden, you must protect them from frost. If you have room, bring pots indoors. If you do not have room, insulate them with a layer of bubble wrap or Hessian.

Garden Tips: November Preparing Beds

You can start to prepare vacant plots ready for planting next year. Clear away the remains of dead crops, dig over and fork in manure or compost. Apart from the usual spade and fork, you may need to consider using a rotavator.

Garden Tips: November Plant or transplant

To plant, the type of equipment you will need includes:

• Trowel
• Shovel
• Rake

Garden Tips: Watering can or hose

When planting or transplanting, use compost from your compost bin, manure or purchase compost. Once you have dug a hole big enough for the plant, add 2-3in of compost or manure into the hole to feed the plant. Fill the hole with water, preferably from your water butt and let the water sink in. Place the plant in the hole and water again. Fill in the hole with soil to the top of the root ball and water again.

Examples of the type of plants you can plant in November are:

Fruit bushes and fruit trees – November is the best time to plant many varieties of fruit bushes and trees, for example:

• apple
• blackcurrants
• gooseberry
• pears
• raspberry.

Vegetables

• Spring cabbages
• Savoys
• Leeks
• Early peas, for example Feltham First, which will give you a harvest in May.

Flowers

• Spring bulbs, for example, daffodils, hyacinth and tulips, ready for next spring.
• Hardy perennials, for example, heather.
• Spring flowering plants, for example, wallflowers, polyanthus, daisy and forget-me-nots.

Sow

Protect autumn sown Brussels sprouts and lettuce with cloches.