THE REMINDER OF COLD WEATHER (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

THE REMINDER OF COLD WEATHER

5:14pm Monday 15th November 2010

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November often brings us the first real taste of bad weather, a sure reminder that winter isn’t too far away. We look out warmer clothes to wear cheering ourselves up with thoughts of the spring and summer yet to come. Cold winds and the first frosts are all too often sharp reminders that there is a general lowering of temperature – having to scrape the windows of my car this morning for the first time this season was a taste of things to come.

I know that some people really suffer through the shorter dark days and long cold nights so try to think of the garden pleasures to come in a just a few months. For me looking through brightly coloured catalogues full of pictures of gorgeous plants does it every time.

Tulips are high on the list of the joys of spring and now is the time to be planting for a good show next year. It seems that every year bulb suppliers give us more and more varieties to choose from, offering different shapes and colours. To keep your plants viable from one year to another it is best to lift the bulbs as soon as they have died down and finished flowering. To help the development of the flowers store the bulbs in a dry place during the summer at a minimum temperature of 18C. If you just don’t have time to do this there are some types that can be left in the ground, you could try T.praestans, the late May-flowering T.sprengeri (scarlet) or T.sylvestris (yellow). The latter will soon naturalise in grass or shrub borders. If you have a sunny, well-drained site plant the yellow T.tarda and mauve T.humilis. The more bulbs you manage to plant the more you will have to look forward to!

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