Ok this is getting beyond a joke now - what happened to November? It started then it finished, what happened in between? (I think mainly rain, frost, cold and a bit of sun and more and more rain).
Its been a fairly standard November really, a month I feel that should be more cherished. It is just before the festive madness truly kicks in. The nights are getting longer but still have a distance to go before the shortest day. The month starts with leaves still on some trees but ends generally with few left hanging. I took the photos for today last weekend as I rarely see the garden in daylight during the week. It was a misty frosty morning, leading to a rainy, blowy afternoon, what I like to call 'autumn'.
It is a time of year when I look for signs of hope. The magnolia by the front gate is covered in flower buds for next year.
I am still happy with the knot garden and I have discovered an added benefit; the lightness of the gravel has added more light to the front of the house in the dark evenings. It is not quite so pitch black out there at night now, this is a definite bonus.
The Rosa Gertrude Jekyll by the front door is still trying to flower.
The gravel garden still looks green. The mexican daisies have had a good year.
The back garden is largely shades of green and brown. The annuals have now been cleared allowing more light into the bare bones of the borders.
The borders are a mix of dead looking stuff, t brown lumps and some new growth starting to show.
The nigella seedlings are on the way up, as are some verbascums and lychnis.
These rudbeckia give some welcome colour.
The prairie borders are holding up well. These rudbeckia are still going, the echinops are largely blackened shapes and yet still beautiful so they will not get cut down yet.
The woodland border is a bit scrappy, but lots of new growth is showing and I think next year it will do quite well. There are lots of forget me nots coming up, I edit them in this border but I do let quite a lot grow as it makes a lovely pool of blue.
On the edge of the woodland border is this clump of teasels. As I walked away I saw several goldfinches land on them and start to feed, as I walked back camera in hand to take the photograph of the decade they flew away. Such is life.
The ivy in the hedge is covered in berries and in slightly warmer days is usually buzzing with life.
I think the persicaria orientalis is now finished. I have collected some seed in the hope that it is viable. This is the second year I have grown these wonderful annuals and I think they are amazing.
The veg beds are cold.
There are still rose hips in the hedge, I am pleased to see such a good show of them, I love the colour.
I finish on the pond, which has a light cover of ice today. It is overflowing it has rained so much lately. I need to clear out the leaf fall and debris from the water but it has been a good year for the pond as it has rarely suffered a large drop in water. This does mean it has been a wet year.
Thanks as ever to
Helen for hosting this meme.
Its amazing the difference in the pond from last year.
ReplyDeleteI really like your front garden, I think that was an inspired idea. It looks so neat and smart.
Thanks for joining in again this month
Helen
Thanks - yes the pond is settling in well, full of plant debris at the moment, but it is a great thing to have in the garden.
DeleteSorry, I was sure I had commented, and said how much I like your knot garden with its gravel in the front and the pond, which is a wonderful size.
ReplyDeleteI do like your knot garden - such a good idea for the front of the house. I think brown and green sums up the November garden but I do agree that Rudbekias deserve applause for still flowering at this grim time of year.
ReplyDelete