Andrew Pitman Plants Department Manager at Monkton Elm Garden Centre offers his seasonal advice
The seasonal nature of gardening is never so apparent as in autumn, with preparation for winter and planning for spring, there is usually a lot to keep our minds and hands occupied! Focusing on creating structure in the garden, filling gaps in the borders and planting trees and shrubs are typical seasonal chores for this time of year. Your evergreens can create architectural interest throughout the garden whilst offering the framework to further develop a planting scheme for the year. Conifers provide good structure, colour and interest to the garden in so many ways.
Grow Conifers? I hear you ask incredulously, they are so old fashioned!
Well, after years of being ostracised by mainstream gardeners, conifers are back with a bang, and many unusual varieties are taking the forefront. Dwarf conifers are slow growing and as such make excellent container plants and even with some varieties, groundcover. All conifers provide architectural structure in the garden, adding colour, texture and form to the border. The Italian Cypress provides an excellent focal point within the garden such as natural screening or hedging or a focal point within the garden.
The first and most important reason for selecting conifers, is that they are evergreen, providing year-round interest and structure. They are also low maintenance, providing you choose the right variety of conifer, they are trouble free. For screening and privacy, their hardiness means that you won’t get gaps during the different seasons. With so much choice of conifer available, there is a conifer for every type and size of garden.
As a ground cover, conifers can offer a combination of colour and texture all year. These are good for rockery gardens, with their array of coloured foliage, they contrast well against the sharp edges and lighter coloured rocks. Add interest to the garden with dwarf varieties like Chamaecyparis Nana Gracilis (Also known as Hinoki Cypress in Japan, meaning fire-tree). Interestingly, ‘Nana’ means dwarf and ‘Gracilis’ means slender or graceful. This slow growing dwarf evergreen needs very little pruning, it’s shell-shaped sprays of dense and glossy dark green foliage make 'Nana Gracilis' an excellent choice as a low maintenance addition to the garden and good for combining with alpines.
A personal favourite is the Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Baby Blue’, an eye-catching conifer with a silvery blue colour. It needs an open position with partial shade for best colour and an occasional light prune in spring to keep it shapely. A good choice for containers or rockeries.
Another dwarf conifer I love for its late autumn interest, when the foliage takes on a bright shade of golden yellow, is the Pinus mugo ‘Wintergold’. Something completely different is the Thuja plicata 'Whipcord'. With its ‘weeping’ cord-like foliage drooping from upward branches creating a fountain shape. It typically grows as a flattened mound when young, eventually forming a more rounded shrub up to 3 feet high. Its braided foliage adds texture and interest in the garden.
Whether you love or hate conifers, they are definitely here to stay, and when planted in the right spaces, are excellent statement plants.
Jobs for the November garden
• Now is the time to plant tulips. Late planting helps prevent infection by tulip fire, an incurable fungal disease.
• Lift Dahlia tubers and store dry overwinter.
• Divide rhubarb, replanting the healthiest parts in fresh soil.
• Plant garlic a couple of inches deep about 10-15 cm apart. The winter cold helps the bulb split into separate cloves.
• Clear fallen leaves save them in a heap to make leaf-mould, which is an excellent soil improver.
• Clean out your greenhouse with a proprietary greenhouse cleaner, allow to dry then insulate the inside with sheets of bubble wrap to reduce heat loss.
• If the weather isn’t too cold, plants can be moved, especially dormant ones like trees and roses.
• Enjoy looking through next year’s seed and plant catalogues for inspiration!
• Precious tender plants should be moved somewhere frost free or protected with mulch or fleece. Fleece should be removed on warm days and replaced at night.
