Garden Notes - November

When we bought our house 17 years ago the back garden had no interesting features, there were no fences to mark the boundaries with our neighbours and the whole area was mostly rough grass. 

Added to this, having resigned ourselves to not being able to have children, The day after we picked up the keys to our forever home, I had also discovered I was pregnant.  This was a fantastic surprise but also added a new challenge.  Our new home needed a major refurbishment and we suddenly had a tight time frame in which to make the place habitable. 

In those first few months our time and budget were entirely spent on the house with Mr G dedicating all his spare time making it fit to live in. As Winter turned to Spring and with a few weeks to spare, we moved in.  

In all our previous garden renovations we've started with a clear plan of what we wanted from our outside space and we’ve worked together to achieve it. This time it was different. We had a brand new baby to care for and no idea what our family garden would look like so we kept the grass and over the years my menagerie of plants has been crammed haphazardly around the edge. 

Over a decade later and with two teenagers in the house we've realised we need more space. Our lifestyle has changed too. Instead of going to work everyday we now work from home. There needs to be a space for homework, a space for friends to visit and hang out away from the parental ears and room for hobbies and interests. We really don't want to move as we love the village location and we're lucky to have fantastic neighbours. Instead we're investing in adding an extension where a dilapidated and leaking garage once stood to give us the spaces we crave.

are partially obscured making the future relationships hard to understand. 

Like those early days when, heavily pregnant and unable to do much outside, I would come up with a hundred ideas before breakfast only to have discounted them all by tea time. I can't yet see the future garden and this frustrates me. I have to remind myself that creating a garden needs trial and error and above all patience.Over the next few months I'm going to be sharing the re-birth of the garden as it emerges from it's winter slumber I'll be exploring how we use the space and designing a layout that balances family life, wildlife and plants.

Over the coming months, I’m going to share this journey. From DIY tasks to wildlife-friendly designs, I hope my story inspires you to create a garden that grows with your family and your dreams.

In Your Garden

Reflect and Plan Ahead

With the days approaching their shortest and the Yorkshire weather often cold and damp the time available in the garden can be limited at this time of year.  It's a really good time to sit back (ideally with a steaming cup of Yorkshire tea) and study the bones of the garden.  Work out what you like and don't like and decide how you can make small changes with a big impact

End of Season Tidying

There are lots of Autumn leaves still to gather this month.  Fallen leaves are nature's fertiliser, but they can damage lawns if left to rot so make time to sweep them off lawns and paved areas and pile them up to rot down on the compost heap or in a forgotten corner.  Your garden will thank you when you reward it with a dose of leaf mold next year.  If you need inspiration check out the work of land artist Nikola Feller in this post from 2023. 

Preparing for Winter

The temperature can drop rapidly overnight at this time of year and can stay low during the day from time to time.  Some plants can't cope with these lower temperatures and will need a little extra help to survive the winter. Smaller pots can be moved into a greenhouse or porch area while larger pots can be wrapped in hessian or horticultural fleece to protect them.

Wildlife in the Garden

At this time of year there is less wildlife to see in the garden as food sources are diminished and animals retreat into the most sheltered areas, enter hibernation or migrate to warmer climates.  You can help by topping up bird feeders regularly and making a source of drinking water available.  A shallow bowl with a tennis ball floating in it shouldn't freeze.  Leaving an area of the garden looking a little untidy until Spring will also benefit hibernating invertebrates.  If you have time you could also making this simple insect hotel to hang on a fence post or tuck into a quiet corner.