Getting Ready For Winter

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There are always lots of garden jobs to do in autumn but here are a couple that go hand-in-hand for me at this time of year.

I grow moisture-loving plants in containers around the edge of my pond. But while some of them are happy to sit in the water all year round, others prefer not to be waterlogged during winter. I’ve found candelabra primulas are quite happy just left on the side of the pond.

Others, such as lobelia cardinalis and primula viallii, although they can take the cold, much prefer a drier spot. So these are put in a cold greenhouse, along with hostas, whose young shoots are vulnerable to slugs and snails in spring.

Meanwhile, the bricks keeping the pots at the right depth in the pond have another use now.
Many alpines are covered with snow in winter or come from parts of the world with cold but dry winter months. They do not cope very well with our damper climate with alternate periods of freezing and thawing. But a pane of glass over them keeps the rain off but still allows air to circulate, keeping them happy through the colder months.