Remember, remember, the garden looks great in November!

There are so many things that I love about visiting and working in the garden here at Leonardslee during November. The light in the early mornings and late afternoons is a joy and even the autumnal smell in the air as the fungi grow and the natural annual decay of leaves and fallen plant material catches on the wind is a highlight for me. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of the yearly display of fantastic autumn colour that will continue this month, whether it be foliage, bark or berry.

October was unseasonably mild and also quite wet at times this year so the autumnal hues of the season should continue to develop and dazzle us all throughout the garden in November, especially if Jack Frost doesn’t visit us for a while. It’s so exciting that there is still so much to take in as the drip feed of colour continues into another month. November may be synonymous with Bonfire Night but it’s the fireworks of the horticultural kind that excite me! As well as the obvious highlights of Acer Walk with its many Maple trees in full show, there are plenty of other plants I would recommend seeking out in the garden this month while you still can. The Shagbark Hickory tree (Carya ovata) down at Waterfall Pond for example is an unusual specimen with stunning butter-yellow leaves, while elsewhere in the valley you’ll spot the likes of Nyssa sylvatica (or Tupelo tree) that turn a range of yellows and oranges at this time of the year, a stunning orange-hued Parrotia persica (Persian Ironwood tree) on Daffodil Lawn and a young specimen of Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ planted below the Courtyard to name but a few.

The winter-flowering Camellia sasanqua shrubs near the Doll’s House Museum are a real sight to behold too. Plenty of people don’t expect to see Camellias blooming until the spring but this collection here at Leonardslee has been happily flowering away in autumn and winter for decades. There are even two specimens in this area that are thought to be unique to Leonardslee – ‘Sasanqua Rubra’ and ‘Kogyoku’, that we are actively propagating to protect and preserve them.

Another garden highlight

There’s another garden highlight at this time of year that you must experience though and that is the start of the winter scented shrubs display. Plants that flower in autumn and winter have to work extra hard to attract the fewer number of pollinating insects and therefore their scent is often stronger and more enticing than most of the spring or summer plants. We have plenty of Mahonia (Oregon Grape) and Sarcococca (Christmas Box) shrubs that fit the bill for example but the scented star of the show at this time of the year is a group of large Osmanthus shrubs below Leonardslee House, just as you head down the steps to the Bluebell Bank path. Commonly known as Sweet Olive, they may look like a lush green holly-like plant during most of the year, but right now they will be smothered in delicate white highly scented flowers. You’ll almost smell them before you see them!

For the garden team it’s also important that we make the most of any mild, moist weather while we can.  As well as taking time to enjoy the amazing autumnal explosion of colour and form, there’s much work to be done in the garden. Now is a perfect time to be planting spring bulbs and here in the Grade I listed Leonardslee gardens we’re no different.  Bulbs provide some of the earliest and most interesting floral displays in spring, and planting them now gives them enough time to establish and get ready to come out of dormancy once winter is over.  A good general rule of thumb is to plant a bulb at a depth of three times its height.  For example, a daffodil bulb 5cm tall should be planted 15cm deep in the soil if possible.  It’s also important to choose your site carefully.  Alliums for instance like a sunny, sheltered spot in well-drained soil while some bulbs from a woodland environment such as snowdrops and bluebells can tolerate and thrive in a shadier spot in humus-rich soil. 

Here at Leonardslee we’ll be busy planting over 17,000 more bulbs this autumn!

We’ll be adding more bulbs to the Rock Garden including gems like Fritillaria michailovskyi, Fritillaria raddeana, Muscari macrocarpum and some unusual Alliums such as A. ‘Moly’ and A. obliquum. Elsewhere we’ll be improving the appearance at one of our entrance gates with 5000 mixed Crocus tomassisianus as well as adding 6000 mixed spring bulbs including Camassia, Crocus and white daffodils to the lawn near our play area.

I often get asked by friends or visitors about a particular plant they have that is underperforming, perhaps not flowering or fruiting or maybe just looking a little sick. Now while there might be a whole number of reasons for this, whether it be a pest or disease, a wrongly chosen planting spot or just inclement conditions, my fist response is usually to recommend the application of a good mulch. By ‘mulch’ I mean an organic well-rotted material such as compost, manure or other similar material. Mulching can often be a miracle fix for a whole range of problems. Applied at the right time of year (autumn is good as the ground should be moist and warm) and to the right depth (2 inches is the minimum) mulching has many benefits. A mulch layer suppresses weed growth which might out-compete the plant for water and nutrients. It will help to retain moisture in the soil, particularly if done after rainfall. It will also improve soil structure by encouraging worm activity which in turn improves drainage, and access to soil nutrients. Mulching helps to keep plant roots cool in summer and warm in winter and helps to prevent soil compaction and erosion. And as an added bonus it also provides an attractive look to any bed or border. If you only do one job in your garden this month, give it a good mulch!

Other November jobs for the garden team here at Leonardslee include cutting back spent herbaceous perennials, protecting any delicate plants from the colder weather, putting our glasshouse and polytunnels to bed and of course setting up and preparing for the forthcoming Lights event! Plenty for us to do and plenty for our visitors to enjoy. I would also like to point you towards the tours that are on offer this month.

We have the last Fungi Walk of the year on November 6th at 11am and another autumn Walk with me on the 7th at the 10.30am. Our general garden tours also continue on Monday 4th and Wednesday 20th.  I hope to see you all here again soon.

Jamie Harris, Head Gardener