THE WEATHER -

Very little to say about the weather this month. It can be summed up in one word - WET! It has rained heavily almost every day this month, and the ground is extremely soggy. Although there has been the odd day here and there when the sun shone, the overall feel to the month has been grey and dismal. Quite mild, though for the time of year, with no frost, which is very unusual for November! Maximum temperature this month, 13°C (56°F), and minimum temperature 0°C (32°F).

Although it's November, there is still a lot of colour in the garden, not just from the flowers, but from foliage as well, as this picture shows. I'm very fond of foliage, as it is such a valuable thing, lasting so much longer than the more ephemereal flowers. In this picture, there are the deep red leaves of Vitis vinifera purpurea, with glossy green Clematis armandii weaving its way through. Then there is the feathery green foliage of Rosmarinus officinalis and the spiky grey-green spears of Phormium tenax. All these plants are growing on the patio, near or against the south-facing wall.

The days are really getting shorter now, and it's only a matter of weeks before the shortest day! This is a photo of the beautiful sunset which we had on November 10th. I took this picture from the window of my office, which is on the first floor of the house. This view looks westward beyond the garden to a group of Poplar and Pine trees growing on a bank near to the garden. The rounded tree on the right of the picture is actually the top of the Eucalyptus tree which grows at the bottom of my garden!

When flowers are in short supply, berries really come into their own. These berries belong to a shrub called Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion' (what a mouthful!), and they are the most heavenly violet colour. The flowers aren't much to write home about, in fact, they are quite hard to spot - but it's the berries which are the attraction. The birds seem to leave them alone as well, which is good, and they last for weeks in little clusters all the way up the stems of the plant. I just love this!

What a surprise! I was wandering around the garden about mid-way through the month, when I noticed that my Hamamelis mollis was in flower! This is very early, as it usually doesn't flower until January, unless the weather is mild, when it will begin to flower in mid-December (as it did in 2000 and 2001). I can't ever recall it being in flower this early before - although I can't ever remember such a mild November either, with no frost. Global warming strikes again (but I'm not complaining!!).

This Carex is still in flower, as it has been for the last month or two. It is Carex 'Sparkler', and has beautifully variegated foliage. It doesn't mind a sunny or half-shady position, as long as it is damp. It's one of my favourite foliage plants, although I have plenty of other Carex varieties, which are all splendid!

My Fatsia japonica is getting very big now. This is great, as I use the leaves a lot in my flower arranging. It is in full flower at the moment. I've noticed that for the last few years, it has flowered earlier and earlier. It didn't used to flower until mid-January, and the flowers were always killed off by frost, so I never got to see them in all their glory. The only disappointing thing is that none of my Fatsias or Fatshederas ever produce the wonderful black berries which other people's plants seem to do. Why this is, I don't know. I don't think that male and female flowers are borne on separate plants in this genus, and even if it were so, of the three Fatsias and four Fatshederas growing and flowering in the garden at the same time, the odds of them all being male are very unlikely. Anyone got any ideas?

That's all for this month...... Happy Gardening!!

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Jay, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.