Today I cracked. The heating finally went on. We’ve been holding out for a while, which has been particularly easy this autumn due to the unseasonably warm weather. But there is something unsettling about seeing the crocuses and narcissus poking up through the ground in November. It’s a timely reminder to try and plant flowers & shrubs which will be in bloom through all the seasons, in order to sustain our pollinators. If the crocuses are too early this year, then an alternative plant must be found to flower in the February/ March gap. I guess it would be called a ‘Plan Bee’. Winter Violas are always reliable. They’re a good source of emergency colour and nectar for the garden and flower all the way through from September into late Spring. There are 2 troughs full of them in our garden, and cultivars such as ‘Bunny Ears’ (pictured) bring a burst of cheerful colour when planted in pots around roses and shrubs, which can look otherwise bare in winter. 

The exceptional autumn warmth has meant that some flowers have bloomed for well over a month longer than normal. The Purple Bells (Rhodochiton astrosanguineus) are looking resplendent in the morning dew, normally having been seen off by the first frosts in October. The native honeysuckle is covered in scented flowers (and provides a great foodplant for insects such as the Autumnal Moth) and the hydrangea is still in bloom. The best hydrangea for pollinators is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Confetti’ and lacecap hydrangeas such as Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blue Wave’ (pictured) are also great for attracting bumble bees and hoverflies. A lot of hydrangeas are sterile, so it pays to do some research before buying one. 

Autumn is without a doubt my favourite time of year. The leaves are turning gold and falling from our cherry trees and the field maple. The deep gold and red colour in the maple leaves is actually a pigment called anthocyanin. The trees generate this pigment in order to protect their leaves from sun damage whilst they draw the chlorophyll molecules from the leaves back into their branches, thus saving them for safekeeping, ready for the next year. It’s pretty amazing to think that the colours are actually a tree’s own form of suntan lotion! 

For our wildlife, the leaf litter is a vital part of the nutrients cycle. The leaf litter provides winter shelter for insects and cover for chrysalis. The leaves are broken down and pulled back into the soil by earthworms, themselves a vital part of the food-chain. The leaves here go unraked and that’s a win-win in my book!

Finally, November is the time of year I normally prepare the dahlia tubers for next spring. In defence of Dahlias, they do sometimes get a bad rap from the wildlife gardening community. Dahlias are often sterile and inaccessible for pollinators, in particular the pom-pom and double-flowered varieties. However, the dahlias can also be excellent pollinator flowers. Here are some varieties which are recommended for a wildlife garden:

• Star Wars

• Annika

• Bishop of York

• Twynings Candy

• Joe Swift

• Chocolate Sundae

There’s something very centring about prepping the dahlias for next year. Cut the stem to around an inch from the top of the tuber. Then carefully dig out the tuber mass, making sure to snip off any tubers that have gone ‘mushy’ or are soft. Using the jet setting on the hose, wash as much soil off as possible, and leave the tubers to dry on kitchen towel somewhere out of the elements such as a shed for 48 hours. Once the tubers are completely dry, pack them into a box lined with newspaper and surround them entirely with desiccated compost. If there is any moisture in the box, the tubers could rot. Seal the box up and store somewhere with a cool, stable temperature such as a garage.

The following Spring, after the last frost, there’s much pleasure to be taken from having nurtured the tubers through the winter. This method gives bigger and better blooms each consecutive year and the best part is all the money saved from not buying new tubers. That definitely comes in handy now the heating’s been switched on!

Helen Bosher, Marden Wildlife