Notes for November on planning a naturally festive garden
November is the perfect time for planning and looking forward after the busy summer months.
With Christmas on the horizon you may be ticking off your ‘to do’ list inside the house; in this issue, we’ve got an easy way to make the outside look visitor-ready too using nature’s cheat sheet!
And we’ve got some ideas for tasty treats to enjoy inside and out this month too.
Have fun!
Chris & all the Bushy team
Cyclamen colour
Cyclamen is easy to grow in pots or borders and will provide both a pop of colour and food for insects in the colder season. Cyclamen coum is popular as it blooms in the winter.
Contain yourself this Christmas
The guests are invited, the party food is being planned and you want your home to be as festive as possible – but what about your garden? Fret not! Fairy lights and Christmas illuminations will do wonders to make it magical outside but adding containers full of colourful blooms will really cheer things up during the day too.
Look for violas, pansies, skimmia, cyclamen, Christmas rose (helleborus niger), muscari Christmas pearl, and trailing ivy. Skimmia japonica reevesiana is great and has bright red berries in autumn, often remaining until spring.
Create your own garden bird fest
Your garden can be a delightful focus in the quieter winter months, especially if it has plenty of birds visiting. The RSPB has ten top tips on how to attract our feathery friends. At Christmas it’s particularly lovely to watch a festive icon – the robin. They are ground feeders, so put out feeding trays of mealworms, bird seed and sunflower hearts. And don’t forget to provide some fresh water to accompany their feast.
Taste of Italy
If you’ve enjoyed sampling some of the great wines from all the local vineyards in Surrey this year, go one step further and also enjoy delicious home-grown food, courtesy of the Albury Vineyard’s Italian Supper Club. Tickets for 23 November are available here.
Bushy Beverage
Above we’ve got the taste of Italy, so now, how about savouring the flavour of France? This year, Beaujolais Nouveau Day is 16 November – don’t worry if you haven’t got any ordered yet, there are still places to get some online – and, if you want to go out and celebrate, Cote Brasserie in Guildford is offering a bottle of limited-edition Beaujolais Nouveau wine and a charcuterie sharing board for £48.95 for two people between 16 November – 19 November – ooh la la!
Until next time!
If you don’t know where to start with planning your garden for 2024, we at Bushy would love to have a chat with you to see how we can help. Take a look at our website for more information – we even have a Bushy ‘good people to work with’ guarantee!
