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Frog Blog...

November 2011

Summer's brief candle has been extinguished, and November brings next winter's frosts and snow to our garden gate. But will it be as frosty and snowy as the last two winters, which broke records for their severity?
Unfortunately even the excellent met office can't see that far into the future, so I suggest that this year it is safest to prepare for the worst, then wait and see.
By this I mean, have fleece or bubble wrap ready for use, and a bag of rock salt ready for the paths and drive, but wait for the 5-day forecast (which these days is usually pretty accurate) before actually deploying these defences.
The plants at risk are: Cordylines, Yuccas, palms, Fuchsias, Hebes, Acacias, most Eucalyptus and other Australian or South American/South African plants.
Also many very popular and much used climbers such as Solanum jasminoides, Campsis, Passiflora and Jasminum polyanthum are at risk from low temperatures.
The recent decade or so of mild winters encouraged us to fill many garden spaces with these excellent evergreen plants, so they left unsightly gaps when killed off by the hard frosts of the last two winters.
A ground cover we use extensively is Soleria solerii, and this too is vulnerable to ground frost in an exposed site.
All the plants mentioned are well protected with bubble-wrap or fleece, so we will have plenty ready and will go around wrapping up or covering vulnerable plants when we have warning of hard weather.
Another problem which looms at this time of year is irrigation timers. These are always damaged by freezing, so must be taken off and stored before a hard frost, but this year the unusual dry weather still persists at the end of October, making it risky to remove the timers too early in many cases. Pots and troughs especially will need careful checking and hand- watering where necessary if the irrigation timers have been removed.

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December 2011/January 2012
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
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June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
Small Birds vs Bigger Bird
Fruit and Veg
Obsessive Tidiness
Irrigation
Foxes and Pets
Knotweed Control
Tree Surgery Advise
Horse Chestnut
Mycorrhizal Root Treatment
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The Vine Weevil
Water - The Garden Lifeblood
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