THE WEATHER -

November began with a cold northerly wind, which brought the first frost of the winter (-1°C) overnight on the 2nd/3rd, but with beautiful bright sunshine. This saw off the Dahlias, although nothing else appeared to have been damaged. Warming up again though by the 4th, with sunny weather continuing. Continuing with sunshine and showers, with high winds on the 16th. Remaining very mild for the time of year for the rest of the month, with a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers. Maximum temperature 19°C (68°F). Minimum temperature minus 1°C (30°F).

The splendid little Oxalis deppei 'Iron Cross' is still putting on a show, with its bright green foliage splashed in the centre with maroon. This little tender plant grows from small corms, and has salmon pink flowers in summer and autumn. It will survive a small amount of frost, but not lower than about minus 5 degrees. I kept mine in a pot in the greenhouse over winter last year, but we had a bad winter, and the frost killed it. I threw out the pot in spring, having checked for any corms which may have survived, but there were none. Or so I thought! A few weeks later, about six little plants sprang up in the border! Obviously, I'd missed some when I threw out the soil. I left them to grow on a bit, but because they were in a silly place, I dug them up and put them in a pot, where they have done really well over the summer and autumn. This year I'm going to bring them in to the conservatory!

My little Olive Tree (Olea europaea) has produced loads of tiny fruit this year. Considering it's only about 10 inches tall, I was very surprised to see it flowering and fruiting in this way. These fruits are unlikely to ripen though, as being Mediterranean plants, Olives need lots of sun and warmth, and a long summer to ripen, none of which we have had this year! I expect the little fruits will perish in the frosts to come, but you never know, a few might survive to ripen next year.

Trochodendron aralioides is an unusual evergreen shrub which enjoys acid soil. My soil isn't acid, so my plant is a bit more yellow than it should be, but it has done well in spite of that. The flowers are lovely lime green, and they are followed by these unusual seed pods, which are quite decorative.

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, Siskin, Starling, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

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