Paul GarganOn hushed November mornings the waning border is embroidered by sugar coatings of frost and seed heads are transferred into iced confections.
It’s on mornings like this that you reap the rewards for changing the way you garden in the herbacious borders as most gardeners have. The old traditional way was to cut everything down and clear it away, then dig over the border and mulch, for that was the end until spring.
A better system is to work with nature rather than trying to fight against it. Clear away and compost any plant that has been melted or blackened by frost such as hostas. The plants that have seed heads, leave them there. They will not only provide food for birds, they brighten up your bed on frosty mornings. In years with milder winters some plants go on performing until well into winter. Don’t be too tidy, only clear away what is really necessary. Mulch your beds with homemade garden compost or the leaf mulch you made last year from leaves gathered from your lawn. Spread it around the remaining plants and use your hands to put it under any leaves still growing.
Empty containers and hanging baskets that held summer bedding when frost kills them.
With smaller containers and baskets just dump all the contents into your compost heap. With bigger pots and tubs you can leave the lower parts, just remove the top 30cm. Always plant bedding into fresh compost. Old compost is spent and has nothing to offer new plants. Wash and store your containers unless you are planting them with winter/spring bedding.
If you are planting them with bedding, try underplanting with dwarf daffodils such as tete-a-tete or jetfire. Crocuses, anemones, scillas and grape hyacinths are other choices. In most parts of Ireland you have to ask yourself is it worth it, planting spring/winter bedding as it tends to just sit there looking miserable until spring starts to warm up in May.
Planting a tree
If you are thinking of planting a tree, now is the time to do it. No garden whether it is big or small will not benefit from having a tree planted in it. No matter how small, there is a tree to suit your garden. If you have space, it only takes three trees and you can call it a woodland.
Make use of a garden wall or fence instead of painting it every year, plant beneath it and train it up it. The evergreen hedera colchica ‘sulphur heart’ masks a boring wall while sheltering nesting birds. Many insects remain active well into autumn and ivy flowers provide a great source of pollen and nectar for moths, butterflies, wasps and other flying insects. In autumn the pompom flower heads develop on old stems attracting insects. These in turn feed birds, spiders and other creatures as part of the gardens’ natural balance.