Ground work

Work at this time of year involves 'hidden' gardening, the stuff you need to do in order for everyone to see the results next year. The stuff people don't see. I am often asked at this time of year "Do you work all year round?" and I find myself reeling off the endless tasks we do and thinking to myself "How on earth are we going to fit all THAT in?" !

At Heale we have been planting more bulbs, scattering them upon the ground and squirreling them away, forgetting where they went and looking forward to seeing them pop up in the Spring. We planted Nectaroscordum bulgaricum, Dutch Iris, Allium and Ornithogalum nutans. I had never heard of these. Also known as 'Drooping star of Bethlehem', I am looking forward to seeing the little white flowers ; https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/11944/Ornithogalum-nutans/Details

We have also been pruning shrub Roses - Duchess de Montebello - taking it slowly, methodically pruning each stem. A tangled mess soon becomes a neat and tidy structure. I love this work. Pruning can be really satisfying when you have a good sharp pair of secateurs as your best buddy.

I vaguely remember this rose - it sits in a private area of the garden - but judging by this image I cannot wait to see it again next year!

https://www.agel-rosen.de/fotos/Gallica-Rose-Duchesse-de-Montebello-83566.jpg?size=mgr&nr=0

The artist that is HG showed me how to use Hazel as a support for Paperwhites (which are shooting up to the sky in their pots). What a fab job, twisting and tying Hazel to create a pretty support, complete with catkins.

A varied few days as usual, never two days the same. We have even taken delivery of two little Kittens for our veg garden. Hopefully they will help keep little rodents away from our veg! Salad is still going in mid November, plenty of Rocket and still some Carrots to pull.

November, November

I have been a bit slack on the old blog of late. There have been changes in the weather, the clocks have changed and it can all become a bit of a trudge. November has arrived and with it comes changeable weather, sun, wind, rain, cold, warmth, sludge and today at Heale: a rainbow!

I do love the wind though. Leaves are dancing maniacally, falling behind me as I clear them away. The bare bones of the garden are once more showing their shape.

I have been in two of my gardens this week, a lot of clearing has been done, pruning, dead heading, raking, cutting back, weeding. Still things continue to grow and flower, I even planted some Onions out this week.

At Heale we spent some time in the veg garden clearing Asparagus and Tithonia. We planted more than 4,000 bulbs in the grass (my knees were talking to me by the end of the day), including Tulips, Scilla, Crocus, Muscari.

So much continues to shine; Salvia in big pots in the veg garden has been at it for months, Globe Artichokes are showing off new foliage, Leeks are huge and dark green, Wisteria leaves glow a golden yellow, even Magnolia grandiflora on the house is STILL flowering and producing buds at least the length of my entire hand. Oh the scent!

Always something to be getting on within the garden so still, much time to plan and prepare for the season ahead.