'This week, Oi 'ave bin mostly..................'

The Raspberry Patch

...........muck spreading!!  Yes really.  A lovely neighbour who farms up the lane brought us a bucket load - that is, a tractor sized bucket!  This is the real deal - well rotted farm yard manure.  Chris and I barrowed it around the garden and shared it out between the roses, raspberries, Beech hedge and, of course the veg patch.  Our muck fork doesn't usually get a lot of use but yesterday made up for that.  It's quite a smug feeling to know that all that goodness is ready in situ for next year.  I promise I only put down my fork to take a couple of piccies!

The Veg Patch

All Bark and Plenty of Bite!

Acer griseum

Inherited common Birch - probably a Betula Pendula or Pubescens

Prunus Serrula

It's not just the leaves that are full of colour!  Check out the paper bark maple (Acer Griseum) and the Birches.  I know!  Here she goes again but all summer long this fab bark has been hidden by the leaf canopies and suddenly all these naked forms are being revealed fro winter!  When these have lost their remaining leaves, the bark will stand out even more. This is exactly what's needed on a dark winter's day.  Despite all the hard work devoted to leaf clearing, it's worth every minute.  Some of these trees are uplit at night and they look more spectacular in winter than in summer.  I find that surprising as I imagined that in summer when there's a lot of leaf surface from which the light can bounce, they would carry more impact.  Not so.  The skeletal forms of winter are far more striking - especially in snow!

Beacon in the Garden!

I know I keep banging on about colour but we Brits associate November with darkness, wet, fog and general greyness!!  We don't associate this month with the sort of colour that abounds right now.  We have one Acer that sits pretty much in the middle of the garden totally exposed to winds and sun and I don't think it's meant to be this happy!!  Most Acers prefer dappled shade and a modicum of shelter from wind.  Right now this one is the jewel in the crown and its colour is startling from every other point in the garden.  Even from the kitchen it's like a giant glowing lamp! When the sun shines, its nothing short of dazzling and on the darkest day it's like a big warm beacon.  As if that wasn't good enough - to think that when it drops all its leaves, we get to compost them all!  Oh, and in case you're wondering: it's an Acer palmatum dissectum Seiryu and it moved here in a pot from my last garden!

Automatic Greenhouse Shading off for the Winter!

Now that the automatic greenhouse shading has done its job for the summer and the vine has now conveniently dropped all its leaves, these plants are being allowed maximum light during the darkest time of the year.  It has to be the easiest and most conveniently natural way to provide shade in a greenhouse.  Easier even than flicking a switch!  Oh and did I mention zero cost?  This greenhouse is not 'heated' as such but the heater thermostat is set to keep the temperature just above freezing - which is fine for these plants which are just being grown for a little winter colour and fragrance.

Just 2 hyacinths have filled the air with their perfume but actually the little Cyclamens have their own much softer perfume as does the yellow Primula.  None of the other coloured Primulas have any perfume at all.  There are bulbs in the larger terracotta pots - not planted as early as I'd have liked!  Hopefully, they'll follow on and provide a little continuity.

Barking up the Right Tree!

OK so the weather has turned much wetter but so far, the heavy rain and the high winds have been arriving overnight and the days have been bright and sunny.  Who could resist a quick nip round with the camera and spotting the sun on the bark of the Prunus Serrula.  It just looks so spectacular and  proves that trees don't need leaves to look amazing! Shaggy, shiny what depth of colour!!

Useful Winter Colour

Using the stems in March

November leaf colour

Naked November stems

All in the same garden but, different Dogwoods at differing stages and different colours!  All are Cornus sanguineas and those in leaf are definitely the Midwinter Fires with the odd Alba! Colour is so important at this time of year with the shorter days and the ever lowering light levels.  These stems are cut down each year in March as younger stems retain the brighter colours. The stems make very useful plant supports as they can be woven like willow stems and become available at exactly the right time of year!  The picture of me making a support was obviously taken in March.  I'm using a dustbin lid as a template for my extremely rustic looking plant support but it worked perfectly well and how much more natural than plastic?

Frosty Stripes!

Well!  After such a prolonged spell of such unseasonably warm weather, the first frost was always going to come as a bit of a shock.  After all, we've gone from working outside in short sleeves to the reality of proper November weather!  It's so unusual to be cutting lawns in November.  The drop in temperature has been dramatic and will hasten the remaining leaf fall.  Those which aren't ready to drop will colour up a lot more.  The Acer Palmatum Dissectum Seiryu still has the majority of its leaves and we're still waiting its usual really sizzling red colour change.  What's weird about these photos is seeing lawn mower stripes on a frosty November lawn!  Yep I did a high cut only 2 days earlier!  Maybe it'll stop growing now?