Getting out

[charlie]

Of the house that is! Its not that the weather is especially bad but it does seem to be a bit unreliable for planning any garden work, and I am not talking about this winters projects just the normal autumn maintenance. Managed to get the grass cut yesterday but well behind with hacking back and shredding.

What do you do garden wise during this time of year?

[flounder]

Of the house that is! Its not that the weather is especially bad but it does seem to be a bit unreliable for planning any garden work, and I am not talking about this winters projects just the normal autumn maintenance. Managed to get the grass cut yesterday but well behind with hacking back and shredding.

What do you do garden wise during this time of year?

I read internet forums! ;)

[JohnJearrard]

I squelch quite a bit. Oh, and I planted a Mahonia and moved an Aucuba. Need to do some serious weeding but it's no fun when it's wet. Have a big bag of seed to plant once I've cleaned it up.

[charlie]

I am getting through all my legitimate indoor jobs! may have to actually do some work soon :shock:

[conrad]

Right now I'm holding off lifting the tenders, it's only a matter of time until the frosts come but apart form the larger leaved plants looking a bit shredded and bedragled things are still holding on relatively well.
At thins time of year I tend to lose interest somewhat, I still love gardening but the thought of actually being out there doesn't appeal greatly.
The grass needs cut, there's a bit of hacking back and general editing to do, but most of these jobs can be carried out at my leisure over the next few months.

Right now I'm keeping one eye on the weather, maybe I'll make a start this weekend, lifting plants like Begonia Luxurians that will melt if we get a proper frost.

[LONGK]

I'm spending half an hour or so in the mornings collecting the fallen Taxodium leaves (or are they needles?) and mounding them up around the borderline hardy stuff. Worked well on the Lobelia tupa and a couple of other things last year, so more stuff is staying out with a good mulch of these leaves.

The recent wet weather has been useful in siting some Fritilaria persica bulbs - I dug seven holes 25cm deep for five bulbs, two of which were too damp (IMO) but the rest I'm fairly confident about.
The same goes for my Dracunculus bulbs.

I tend not to cut a lot of things back until the spring (preferring not to have hollow stems exposing the root stock to the cold and damp of an Oxfordshire winter) so it's looking a bit messy, but as I'm unlikely to be sat out there relaxing for a few months that's no great shakes.

I planted a few spare D.ferruguinea seedlings out in a new border area under a temporary cold frame at the weekend. It's not strictly a new border, just one that I have not got to since I moved in, and further along it there was the dreaded Japanese anenomes. This patch I fully intend to try to keep turning over right through the worst of the weather in an effort to kill any remnant of root stock.

[charlie]

Be careful what you wish for, Two dry days and I now have a sore back!

[simon]

I have been tidying up the spent perennials like Hostas, Haemerocalis, and Zingiber mioga. Collecting the Paulownia leaves and bagging them up for leaf mould and digging up and potting the cannas and a few other tender bits for winter storage.

This week is the last green bin collection before March so I made sure it was full.

[tony]

Insulating the greenhouse for me, as we have had two -2s already. Why oh why do I always leave it so late :lol: have had to empty and reload the greenhouse twice as I ran out of bubblewrap!

[SteveP]

Why oh why do I always leave it so late

Because it's your least favourite gardening job.........and why I don't bother :)

Steve