Where have the days gone, November passed so quickly and I don’t seem to have done very much in the garden. We have had so much rain that it hasn’t been possible to do much, I still have bulbs waiting to be planted, today seems a good day, it’s dry so far but rain is due later. I have started my wander in the front garden and then follow my usual route clockwise round the garden.
Iris unguicularis Walter Butt
Walter keeps on putting up new flowers, but someone is having a nibble of them all.
Berberis.
The Berberis by the front door still has loads of berries and the leaves are turning too, making a very red bush.
Cornus alba sibirica Westonbirt.
All the burgundy leaves have gone now, but we are left with the beautiful red stems for the next 4 months.
Betula Jaquemontii
The bark was peeling on this Silver birch and I couldn’t resist peeling some of it away, it is so beautiful and silky to the touch when the bark is new like this.
Jasminum nudiflorum.
More flowers open each day on the Jasmine by the front door.
Miscanthus Silberfeder.
Towards the border by the field, this Miscanthus has been tumbled a bit by the wind, but I will enjoy it a bit longer before I need to cut it down.
Miscanthus malepartus.
Looking very beige at the moment, I think this Miscanthus was sheltered by the dead oak in the centre of the garden, when the gales came , so it is still more or less upright.
Crocosmia Lucifer
By the pond at the top of the garden, Lucifer is still managing to look ok, even when he is dying back.
Phlomis.
I leave the Phlomis seedheads on over the winter, the spaces are just the right size for overwintering ladybirds!
Viburnum plicatum Maresii.
In the central bed, poor mixed up Viburnum, it has decided to flower again as it is so warm.
Clematis durandii.
Also in the central bed is this Clematis which I think has got burnt by the frost of a week ago.
Rosa Iceberg.
and…….
Rosa Bonica.
…….are still flowering, most of the other roses have stopped now.
Hydrangea.
Some of the Hydrangeas in the back by the woodland, are still putting out new flowers.
Hydrangea.
I think these last two have been sheltered from the frost and wind by the trees in the woodland.
Iris foetidissima.
Whichever bird dropped the seed of this iris while it was sitting above in my Acer…
Iris foetidissima.
I’m ever so grateful that it dropped the seed into the Euonymous bush below, they look so good together at this time of year.
Campanula poscharskyana.
Still flowering, will it never stop!
Acer campestre
In the woodland are a few seedling Field Maples, which I’m encouraging to grow as the leaves have such wonderful yellow leaves in the autumn. The lanes and roads round here are lined with this shrub/tree and they look very pretty contrasting with other trees.
Acer Sango kaku
Acer Sango kaku is still hanging onto a few leaves…..
Unknown Acer.
…as is our unknown Acer by the archway into the woodland. This tree started losing its leaves in all the gales that we had this month, before it had achieved it’s full colour. I think the colour now is about the same as last year, but most of the leaves have now blown away.
Oak tree.
There are still plenty of leaves to come down from all our oaks, more sweeping!
Cyclamen hederifolium.
I love the leaves on this cyclamen and seedlings are popping up in other parts of the woodland, thanks I presume to the ants spreading the seed around.
Hyacinth.
This little pot with one bulb was given to me by the local garden centre when I was shopping there in the spring. I just put it in the back garden, meaning to plant it sometime in the summer. You know how it is, other things demand your attention, and things get forgotten. I was so surprised as I was walking round taking my photos this morning to see the bulb with its flower, I really must plant it as it is so determined to live in spite of my neglect!
Primula.
Just before I reached the back door, I spotted that a few of the primulas were flowering, all in this colour, the other colours are still hunkering down, keeping a low profile.
This concludes my wander round the garden first thing this morning. I have a couple of areas where I want to change the planting, rather, I have one area where I want to change the planting as I think it is now a bit boring and another area where I have to change the planting as a large bush has died! I will keep those for another time when there won’t be as much to look at.
Many thanks to Helen at The Patient Gardener for hosting this monthly meme, do pop over to her and see what other gardeners are doing in their gardens.
The phlomis seed heads should look wonderful with a bit of frost on them too. As long as the ladybirds don’t mind!
I’m sure the seed heads would look nice with frost Jessica, but I tend to keep off the grass when it’s frosty, maybe we’ll have to put up a path up the side of the garden! I think the ladybirds might get frosty bottoms though!
A lovely tour of your garden. You still have lots of leaves on some of your trees. I think most of ours are down now – even the neighbour’s oak. I fell in love with that Rosa ‘Iceberg’. It is so pretty. I was fooled for a while by your lovely iris berries in the Euonymous – I’m glad we got an explanation.
The oaks here Annette, always seem to hang on to their leaves until Christmas, but this year they might be down sooner, with a bit of luck. The Iris berries stand out so much against the Euonymous, they look good together.
Wonderful wander through your garden. The hyacinth is hearing a different drummer I guess. I like the Iris foetidissima and it appears it should do well here. I’m curious if there a strong odor with it?
The Iris foetidissima doesn’t have any smell that I can find Susie, unless you really bruise the leaves. The flowers aren’t showy like bearded iris, more of a shy retiring type, the plant is mainly grown for the berries in the autumn.
I never tire of the seemingly endless variety of cyclamen leaf patterns. Your hyacinth is quite a stalwart soul!
I love the way that all the cyclamen leaves are different on each plant Peter, no two seem the same. I don’t know what the little hyacinth is playing at, I planted it today on the alpine scree, so I hope it’s happy there!
I also must confess to a love for peeling birch bark. It is so beautifully clean underneath and has that feel to it as well. I wish I had room for a grove of them!
The cyclamen photo is great. The silver ones are so nice even though each form has its own charms. Isn’t it fun to see just what all the new seedlings turn out to be?
We once visited a museum Frank, where they had Roman artifacts and birch bark was used way back then (300=500 AD in this country) to send messages, they even had a shopping list asking for more supplies from the soldiers stationed way up north in Northumberland !
It is at this time of year that I can appreciate all the cyclamen foliage. The only other foliage, apart from the shrubs, is from hellebores, so we can see just how far the cyclamen are spreading, soon there will be drifts!
I just noticed there are more cyclamen seedlings in my beds than I suspected. I may have drifts someday as well!
Good, you have ants as your workforce too Frank! It takes time, but eventually we will both have beautiful drifts.
I also love birch bark. In this area Himalayan Birch seem to have the best color. The color on that Cornus alba is fantastic!
Once I have tidied the front border Jason, where most of the cornus and silver birch are, the view will stay the same until March when it will be time to coppice the cornus once more. I think they make a stunning combination, I can’t take the credit for thinking of it, I was inspired by one of our garden visits a few years ago.
I agree, the combination of birch and multicoloured cornus is wonderful especially in the long winter months. Yours looks great. Will Silberfeder straighten up once it dries? I find some of the more arching miscanthus have knack of doing this. Lovely tour of your interesting garden, thank you.
Thanks Kate, we like the combination too, especially on a cold winters day, the cornus stems make me feel a lot warmer! I have been out and had a look at M. Silberfeder, I think it has gone half way back to the upright, but it still looks nice waving in the wind.
There seems to be so much going on in your garden, judging by the photos! Still some colour! I too have Rosa Bonica flowering, though the flowers are smaller than in summer, and a deeper pink than they are in summer.
The flowers are not standing up to the gales we are having at the moment Jane, there’s less and less each day. I hadn’t noticed Bonica’s flowers being smaller, I must go and check next time I’m outside!
Lots of interest Pauline; I’m sorry I didn’t get to see it on this visit, hopefully next time. I must check if ladybirds live in my Phlomis, I do always leave them until later winter so I hope they do.
I too was very sorry that we couldn’t meet up, just too many appointments and things to do that week unfortunately. I’m always surprised when I find insects hibernating in seedheads, usually if I do cut stems down early, I leave them on the soil so that other insects can find them, usually at the back of the border so they don’t look a mess.
lovely, as usual. I’m jealous of your Phlomis. I’ve now planted a Jerusalem one, hoping it’ll work out but so far it’s not looking very happy. Those seed heads are as attractive as the flowers, maybe even more interesting.
I’, lucky the Phlomis grows for me Catmint as it likes well drained soil, but ignorance was bliss when I planted it! I hope yours decides it wants to stay in your garden as the flowers and the seedheads are so beautiful and the bees love it.