The Garden Minute ⏰: Monday 6 November 2023

☀️Good morning Gardeners. Despite the weather it has been a busy weekend across the UK gardening scene. Here is today's gardening round up :)

➗ Dividing your plants is a great way to garden more frugally. Once they are large enough to cut into chunks, you can get new plants for free, ones that you know will thrive in your garden. The Guardian.

🍂 Autumn – the start of the gardening year? There is a general consensus among the gardening fraternity that Autumn is the time for packing up the garden and putting it to bed until next Spring. But I’m sure I’m not alone in begging to disagree. The Moorlander.

🪰 Recent Research: Contours that kill: Geometry influences prey capture in carnivorous pitcher plants. Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Botanic Garden and the Mathematical Institute have shown that the shape, size, and geometry of carnivorous pitcher plants determines the type of prey they trap. Unversity of Oxford.

🏡Composting in the Community Network is starting a series of webinars. The network, which Garden Organic are part of, helps support those building composting sites and schemes in their neighbourhood.

The first webinar will take place on Wednesday, 22nd November, at 7pm with speaker Rod Weston. Garden Organic UK.

gardenorganicuk

A post shared by @gardenorganicuk

Peat Free Gardening Tricks: Garden Expert Nick Hamilton Explains. Peat free gardening is now accepted as the way forward to move away from damaging our wildlife by harvesting peat for compost. Garden Ninja.

Alan Titchmarsh: The plants that I simply can’t ever grow. Unless you're lucky enough to have a garden with medium loam soil, chances are that there are plants which you'll always struggle — but you're not alone, says Alan Titchmarsh, whose rhododendrons invariably have to be given up for adoption. Country Life.

🍄 Why saving fungi matters. There’s an amazing fungi-world out there, but do we care for it enough? Fungi have got our back, now it’s time to return the favour. Kew Gardens.

Sis on Saturday: Not Just a Gift Horse. A blog post by Cathy @ Rambling in the Garden.

Thousands demand Botanic Gardens glasshouse entry charge plan is scrapped. Councillors are due to consider the petition next week and decide whether to take action. It is understood that adults will be charged £3 and children £1.50 to visit Kibble Palace if the move goes ahead. Glasgow Live.

In other local news:

• Powys flower club donates £2,000 to hospital neurosurgeons.

• Green-fingered Wye Valley children help plant wildflower meadow.

• Meet the Birmingham grave gardeners creating life amid treasured resting places.

Cordelia de Castellane's French garden is an abundant haven of beautiful flowers. Working with designer Milan Hajsinek, Cordelia de Castellane has created a glorious garden at her country house in northern France, where the abundant borders provide beautiful flowers for her home as well as inspiration for her role as a creative director at Dior. House & Garden.

Its Not Over Yet We Still Have Lots To Sow & Grow In November. Gardening Allotment UK. YouTube.

🐦 A bird’s banquet: top tips for feeding birds in your garden. It’s that time of year: the days have become short, the nights long, and a cold and grey winter is settling across the UK. Most plants, smaller mammals and many insects have gone to sleep until the spring and the migratory birds have, perhaps sensibly, departed to warmer climes. Geographical.

Thousands of you voted for your favourite gardens that open for the National Garden Scheme. Discover the winners of 2023’s Nation’s Favourite Gardens competition. The English Garden.

Gardener claims ‘fantastic’ step gets orchids ‘flowering like crazy’ with ‘new colours’. Orchids are colourful, flowering perennials that make for stunning houseplants. It's easy to under or overwater these temperamental plants, but one gardening enthusiast has shared a tip that got their orchid "flowering like crazy". Daily Express.

Interview: ‘I’m a sex symbol? That makes me embarrassed’: Monty Don on love, class and his future on Gardeners’ World.

He has presented the same show for 20 years, been married to the same woman for 40, yet his life refuses to stand still. Don talks about his unhappy childhood, his failed first career – and his war on fake grass. The Guardian.

Help needed, newly bought & already damaged. A UK gardener is asking for advice on Reddit.

🌧️ Work with the weather to save your plants from water-logging. UK expert shares practical measures to help gardens be more flood proof. Daily Mail.

Isle of Man sheltered housing garden transformed by resident. The garden of a sheltered housing complex has been transformed by a resident to give his neighbours an outdoor space to enjoy. BBC.

Garden path ideas: 28 pretty and practical walkways for your yard. Whether you're looking for a cheap DIY solution or something more luxe, these garden path ideas will help you explore your plot in style. Yahoo News.

📈 The most-clicked/tapped links from the last free newsletter:

1. Encourage an orchid to ‘repeat bloom’ with one easy task before winter.

2. 7 plants to prune in November – cut back these ornamentals and edibles this month.

3. 7 lessons from Great Dixter, a garden that supports wildlife and looks gorgeous.

⏰ Thank you for reading my gardening round up :) Do you have a local gardening story you would like to share? Leave a comment and I will get back to you right away.

The ‘Garden Minute’ is FREE for everyone on a Monday but I also send out two more editions on a Wedneday and Friday plus a ‘Garden Savings’ edition on a Thursday where paid members can discover offers from garden & plant suppliers across the UK saving hundreds of pounds across the year.