November is the month when the cottage garden looks finished and quietly isn’t. The borders are brown, the light is thin, and yet this is when the jobs you do decide how good next spring will be. Here are the November garden jobs I do every year in a UK cottage garden, in the order I tackle them, with the ones that matter most first.
1. Plant the last spring bulbs
Tulips go in best in November, once the soil has cooled, and daffodils and alliums can still go in if you have not got to them. Plant two to three times the bulb’s height deep. My guide to planting spring bulbs covers depth and spacing.
2. Make leaf mould
Rake leaves off the lawn and paths, stuff them into a wire cage or black bags with a few holes, and forget about them for two years. See how to make leaf mould.
3. Lift and store tender dahlias
After the first hard frost blackens the foliage, cut stems to a few inches, lift the tubers, dry them and store them somewhere cool and frost free. Full steps: lifting and storing dahlia tubers.
4. Take hardwood cuttings
November is perfect for roses, currants and willow. Push pencil-thick cuttings into a trench of gritty soil and leave them until next autumn. Read hardwood cuttings in autumn.
5. Protect pots from frost
Lift terracotta onto pot feet, empty and stack what you are not using, and wrap precious pots. My notes on terracotta pot care in winter explain why.
6. Clean and oil your tools
Wipe off soil, sharpen blades and rub a little oil over metal. Tools put away clean in November are ready in March. See looking after your garden tools.
7. Cut back and mulch
Cut back the herbaceous perennials that have collapsed, leave seed heads for the birds, and spread a thick layer of compost or leaf mould over bare soil.
8. Leave a corner for wildlife
A pile of logs and leaves is a hedgehog hotel. See making room for hedgehogs.
9. Order seeds and plan next year
Seed companies are quiet now and catalogues are full of ideas. Walk the garden with a notebook and write down what worked. A simple monthly structure is in my post on keeping a cottage garden journal.
10. Check the greenhouse
Clean the glass to let in every scrap of winter light, and see preparing your greenhouse for winter.
A short November plan
If time is short, do three things: plant the bulbs, lift the dahlias and tidy the tools. Everything else can wait for a dry afternoon in December. The garden will thank you in April.
