THE WEATHER -

A very warm start to the month, with a southerly wind bringing warm air up from Europe. Quite a lot of showers though, some of them torrential! Gales on the 3rd knocked over a lot of my pots, some of them with quite big plants in as well! Remaining relatively mild, with a mixture of days of heavy showers or glorious sunshine, until the 13th when it became very cold (although sunny) with the first overnight frost of the winter. A very sunny day on the 16th, with clear blue sky, but very cold with a north wind. Becoming very cold indeed with successive night-time temperatures plummeting below zero every night, and day-time temperatures struggling to reach zero. However, beautiful sunny days provided some compensation. Becoming dull and still very cold by the 23rd, with freezing fog for most of the day. First snow flurries of the winter on the 28th, with heavier snow and icy conditions on the 29th. Dull, but much milder on the 20th. The forecasters predict a very bad winter for us this year, and we certainly haven't had such cold conditions for so long in November for at least the last five years, so perhaps they are right - I really hope not! Maximum temperature 15°C (60°F). Minimum temperature minus 5°C (24°F).

Saxifraga fortunei "Black Ruby" is a wonderful plant for late colour in the garden. It is a herbaceous perennial with fleshy, almost black leaves, and in late October and into November it flowers with beautiful bright pink starry flowers. Actually, the "flowers" are bracts, which are modified leaves, and the true flowers are the bit right in the centre which are almost invisible. The coloured bracts are there to attract insects. The plant is excellent for the front of the border, growing only about 4 - 6 inches high, plus the flowers when these are present. It disappears in the winter, so it's a good idea to mark where it is, or you might dig it up by mistake!

I love Liriope muscari, as it is evergreen, and has lovely spikes of purple flowers (my favourite colour!) in late autumn into early winter. These give a lovely splash of colour, and last for weeks. The linear form of the flowers is also very useful in flower arrangements, as a change from the more common rounded forms of flowers. It's another useful front-of-the-border plant, growing to about 1 foot high.

Something a bit different is this plant, called Eupatorium rugosum "Chocolate". The "Chocolate" bit refers to the leaves, which are a dark brown when grown in a sunny position. Unfortunately, mine is grown in shade, so the leaves tend to be just a dark green. I must find a better place for it next year, to take advantage of the beautiful leaf colouring. The flowers are lovely fluffy heads of creamy-white, and are very attractive. The plant grows to around 2 feet tall.

In the conservatory, my Plectranthus "Cape Angel", is a mass of flowers again this year. I cut it back hard last spring and re-potted it, so it is now a much better shape. This is a tender upright shrub from South Africa, with dark green slightly hairy leaves, and it always flowers from November right through the winter until around February. It comes in various colours - white, pink and mauve - and I have the mauve one. The flowers are borne in whorls, and are typically labiate, as it belongs to the family Labiatiae. It requires a lot of water, although it does not like wet soil, and needs plenty of light to flower well. However, it's really easy from cuttings, and these will root in water.

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

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army