Gardening jobs this month: November

From House Beautiful's gardening expert, Denise Brock

■ Plant trees and shrubs now until Christmas so that their roots settle in.
■ Wash greenhouse windows and cover them with bubble wrap plastic to insulate.
■ Set up a bird feeder in an open place away from fences or buildings. Refill regularly and remember to wash it from time to time to remove harmful bacteria.
■ Cover an empty vegetable patch with a layer of mulch such as composted bark, leaf mould or well-rotted manure.
■ Clear fallen leaves from lawns, ponds and beds – keep them separate for composting.
■ Plant tulips outdoors and narcissus, crocus and spring bulbs in pots to enjoy inside.
■ Early November is a good time to plant wallflowers, pansies and forget-me-nots for spring colour alongside tulip bulbs. There’s also still time to plant shrubs, perennials, roses and deciduous trees.
■ Bring tender plants, such as fuchsia, argyranthemums and geraniums, into a porch, greenhouse or conservatory before the first frost falls and causes them damage.
■ With high winds a possible danger at this time of year, check that an ties and stacks on climbers and trees are secure – though be sure they don’t cut into the stems. Also check that fences and other garden structures are secure.
■ Sweep up leaves and put them on the compost or bag up to make leaf mould. However, if the leaves are diseased – roses with blackspot, for example – they should be thrown away or burnt.
■ Spike the lawn with a fork or hollow tine aerator to stop the soil becoming compacted, and brush grit into the holes to improve drainage.
■ Wash out pots and seed trays then sort by size so you’re ready and organised for spring sowing.
■ Gather up leaves and store them for next year's compost. Make holes in a plastic sack and fill with leaves, adding a little water if very dry. Tuck away out of sight until next autumn when the leaf mould will have broken down.
■ Fill gaps in flower borders. Plant wallflowers for bright shades and to fill the garden with fragrance, as well as tulip bulbs for contrasting colour and height.
■ Tidy up your blackberry bushes. Branches that have borne fruit should be pruned to soil level. Tie new stems into place and encourage new roots by burying cane tips in the soil.
■ Start a compost trench for next year's runner beans. Organic gardening charity, Garden Organic, recommends burying kitchen waste at a spade's depth. Cover with soil every time you add to it to protect it from foxes. For more organic info visit www.gardenorganic.org.uk. Click here for how to build your own compost bin

From Prima gardening expert Ann-Marie Powell:

■ Plant tulip bulbs.
■ Apply a thick mulch to your borders, especially over less hardy plants, such as agapanthus and kniphofia.
■ Plant garlic cloves if you're in an area with a mild climate. How to plant garlic
■ Dig over empty borders, particularly in the vegetable plot, so frost can help break down large clods of earth.
■ Bring some herbs into the kitchen to use over winter.
■ Plant winter bedding plants such as wallflowers, winter pansies and forget-me-nots.
■ Continue lifting, splitting and replanting overgrown clumps of herbaceous perennials.
■ Cut back pelargoniums and keep them in the greenhouse over winter ready for planting out next spring.
■ Keep clearing up fallen autumn leaves from the lawn and flowerbeds.
■ Prune back shrub roses to prevent their shallow roots from being lifted in strong winter winds.
■ Plant roses.

From Country Living gardening editor Stephanie Donaldson:

Garden care
■ Bring forced bulbs inside once the buds are 5cm high. Stand the bowls in a cool place and turn by a quarter each day to ensure even growth.
■ Dig compost or manure into your kitchen garden or sow green manures such as field beans.
■ Protect clay pots from another hard winter by removing saucers and standing on feet or bricks
■ Net brassicas to defend them from pigeons
■ Clean greenhouses and cold-frame glass
■ On fine days, ventilate the greenhouse to help prevent a build-up of pests or diseases.

Tidying
■ Remove decaying plants and leaves from ponds.
■ Tidy messy areas of the garden now that everything has died back and revealed where attention is needed.
■ Clean cold frame glass and greenhouse windows; light levels are low enough without added grime.
■ Collect and burn all the leaves from beneath your roses to control disease.
■ Rake up all the other leaves and stack in a wire netting bin or in black plastic bags.
■ If the weather allows, hoe weeds before they take hold.
■ Remove bindweed by digging up plants to untangle its roots.
■ Clean out birds' nesting boxes - wear gloves to avoid any parasites.
■ Check stored vegetables and fruit. Remove bad ones.

Pruning
■ After stormy weather, check for broken branches and stems, and prune back to healthy wood to prevent further damage.
■ Lightly prune roses to prevent wind rock,
■ Resist pruning hydrangeas - the dead flowers will protect bulbs from the frost.
■ Cut back flowering shrubs and tall roses by half to reduce wind damage over winter.

Planting and sowing
■ Plant garlic now so over-winter chilling encourages bulb formation.
■ Dig over next year’s runner-bean trench.
■ Net brassicas before the pigeons find them.
■ November is the best month to plant tulip bulbs. Plant them as deep as possible for a better chance of them flowering again in future years, but if the ground is too wet, plant in black plastic pots for transplanting in the new year. Bury holly leaves with bulbs if squirrels are a problem
■ Plant new hedges. Work compost and bonemeal or a similar slow-release fertiliser into the soil to ensure they establish well.
■ Plant bare-root and container-grown trees and bare-root roses.
■ Plant wallflowers without delay.
■ This is the best month to plant soft-fruit bushes. Check they are certified virus-free before buying.
■ Sow broad beans and peas. Soak seeds in liquid seaweed to deter mice.
■ Sow sweet peas in a cold greenhouse