The end of Autumn beckons; stronger wilder, windier weather; shortening; darker days. The garden can appear to respond in retreat, leaves falling, bare stems folding inwards, everything slowly returning to the Earth. It can be a busy time, carpets of leaves to add to the leaf mould pile, cold mornings reminding us to bring frost-tender plants into the greenhouse such as dahlias and tender salvias. I seem to have spent most of the last month putting in 1000s of bulbs, from the lovely Leucojum (summer snowflake) drifting down a stream edge to the elegant Narcissus ‘Silver Chimes’ bringing its sweet scent to a secret seating area. It’s always worth taking time to ensure you have bulbs in the right location and at the right depth and you’ll be rewarded with years of enjoyment, pulling us from the slumber of the colder months to the joys of Spring.
It hard to not be in awe at the Kingdom of fungi at this time of year. These wizards of the natural world are essential parts of our eco-systems, breaking down, decomposing matter, building plants immune systems, and increasing the availability of nutrients to the soil and our plants. The sign of them in our garden is usually a sign of a healthy, vibrant soil and I encourage people to enjoy them as they would plants. Life as we know it on earth today may not exist without them. The earliest, truly complex organisms on land were fungi, hundreds of millions of years ago turning rocks into soil, making plant life, and subsequently, animal life possible.
Although many of us feed the birds, a great way to attract more feathered friends is with a bird bath. Birds need water for both drinking and cleaning their feathers, If you don’t have a bird-bath, a saucer on the ground can provide water and may also be used by creatures at ground level. Birds don’t hibernate, so food sources such as holly, ivy, rowan; generally shrubs that bear berries/ seeds during the winter months are a real help. This and a range of feeders topped up with a range of foods can be a life-line as we enter the scarcer months of Winter.
The next few months are a great time to plant bare-rooted hedges. They are inexpensive to buy, (and post), and arrive looking like a load of long sticks. Hedges don’t have to just go round the perimeter of a garden, they can be a great design aid to split the garden into sections, create some interest, direct the view, frame a feature etc. We are spoilt in the UK with some great native hedging, hawthorn, Spindle, Dog-rose & Hazel, some lovely Autumn colours, berries, fruits & edible nuts and benefit for the wildlife – from toads hibernating in the debris at the base, to birds enjoying rose hips in the Winter. Ashridge or Thornhayes nurseries, are local suppliers with a good selection, so why not put a hedge in the middle of your garden?
Dartmoor Gardens 