Top Tips for November 

The leaves have nearly finished dropping, frost is just around the corner and the wind is picking up, but there's still plenty to do around the garden, so wrap up warm, get your wellies on and get out there!

Essential things to do in November:

1. Prune any deciduous trees - most will have lost nearly all of their leaves now, so it's the ideal time to give them a quick trim. Climbers such as Wisteria and Honeysuckle can also be trimmed back at this time of year, but not too much (down to last years growth will be fine).
2. Insulate your greenhouse with bubble polythene to protect your fragile plants or those you wish to over-winter.
3. Dig up any shrubs that are in the wrong place and move them, but be careful not to damage any of the roots whilst doing so.

4. Make your own leafmould! Put aside a space in the garden, build a basic container (just a square frame will do) and place any leaf litter you've collected from the garden in there, ready to be used as a soil improver next year.

5. November is the perfect time to plant fruit trees which can provide you with a large harvest next season. Be sure to check which root-stock the plant has been grown on if you are tight on space.

6. Bare-root roses are also best suited to being planted now, and to help them along, why not add some bonemeal when planting to provide some extra nitrogen and phosphates.

7. Bring any bedding undercover to protect it from the coming frosts. Herbaceous plants that have died back can also be dug up and brought inside to over-winter.

Growing your own?

There's still plenty to be planted in November, including:

Soft fruit (raspberries, blackcurrants etc)

Hardy onions (espc. Shallots)

Bulbs:

Daffodils

Tulips

Hyacinth