Pushing the envelope

November continues with a mix of rain, wind and occasional sunny days; the wet keeps it feeling damp and cool, but we’ve only had two light frosts so far this autumn, and when the sun is out it still has traces of warmth in it.  Enough to encourage me to push the envelope a bit.

More seeds

The tray of mustard leaves sown last week is starting to show signs of germination, which is encouraging; it’s a crop that will grow, albeit slowly, over winter if kept under cover.  I was browsing through some old gardening magazines the other day and came across an article about autumn sowing of hardy annuals; it said that this could be done, in a greenhouse or cold frame, as late as mid-November, which prompted me to take a look through my seed box for suitable candidates.  I’ve now sown a few more ornamentals: nigella (home-saved seed), calendula (from a rather old seed packet) and cornflower (a more recent packet).  These are all good-natured plants that germinate readily (unless the seed is too old!), so I’m waiting to see what happens.  The plan is to prick them out into cells and put them in the cold frame for the winter, for planting out in spring.  If they don’t come up, I have more seed of all of them to sow when the weather is a bit warmer next year; and it's all part of learning about gardening.

I've also been getting on with the November jobs.  I'm pushing the envelope here too; it's a little late in the year to be finishing clipping the hedge, but I'm hoping that the relatively mild weather will let me get away with it.  The ivy poking out of the top has finished flowering, and cutting it now will deprive the birds of the berries, but it's getting in the way of maintaining the hedge and there are more berrying ivy plants elsewhere in the garden.  I've also started clearing the weeds round and next to the rhubarb to allow me to divide it - a very satisfying job!

It's not just the seed-sowing and hedge-trimming that is pushing the envelope.  While I was in the greenhouse, I noticed a small cluster of raspberries ripening on one of the canes in the fruit patch.  Not the sweetest berries I’ve ever tasted, but hey, it’s November, so let’s not complain!

November raspberries!

There’s no real cold in the forecast yet.  I wonder if we’re in for a mild month – or will winter come and surprise us?