November

Garden Calender for the Brisbane region

Other Months

NB: These notes are under development. At present, the following applies to the greater Brisbane region only. It's hoped to develop these notes further in future updates, adding more details and eventually, more regions.

Naturally, this is a general guide only and will vary depending on local conditions, weather, plant variety etc. Ongoing water availability is also a big concern these days, so take this into consideration too, especially if planning new gardens.

Remove dead flowers off Hippeastrums (unless you want to try propagating from seed). If you feel the clump is overcrowded or you'd like to spread them around the garden, they can be lifted and divided after flowering.

Prune spring-flowering shrubs such as grevilleas and callistemons after they finish flowering. This not only removes the unattractive dead flowers, prevents them wasting energy on seed production, it is a good time to prune to keep them dense and witnin bounds.

Daylilies are a useful addition to the flower garden as they provide colour after many spring-flowering plants are finishing. November is a big month for Daylilies but the exact time of flowering will depend on whether you have an early, medium or late cultivar. To spread interest over a longest possible period, plant a few of each. If you can, visit a a daylily nursery in the next couple of months. Seeing the plants actually in flower may help you make a selection, rather than simply relying on photographs or written descriptions.

The Vegetable Garden

As you harvest vegetables planted in late winter and early spring, you'll be thinking about what to plant for summer. This is the time for heat lovers like okra, rosella, snake beans and eggplant plus the more familiar sweetcorn, capsicums, chillies, pumpkins and melons. Be sure to select heat-tolerant varieties of other vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes if you decide to keep growing these (check your seed packet or catalogue). Some shade cloth to protect more sensitive veggies in the sunniest parts of the day may also be helpful. Alternatively, large containers in a suitable position may be a way of keeping some salad ingredients going over the summer.

Before you get carried away, however, consider the months ahead and whether you'll have time over the holiday season to attend to the garden, and whether you're willing and able to battle the heat and pests. Availability of water will also be a major consideration, although that might not be as big a worry for us this year as it has been in the past. On the other hand, if we get lots more rain, soil saturation and nutrient depletion could be a problem. It makes it difficult to physically get out into the garden and work, too.

Unused parts of the vegetable garden can simply be be mulched for the summer. Pop in a few seedlings of melons, cucumbers or pumpkins to ramble over these areas for some greenery and, hopefully, some production without too much effort.

If you're having guests over the Christmas or New Year period, or just want to enjoy a relaxing "staycation", be sure to get as many of those necessary garden tidy and repair jobs as you can done now to avoid stress (and even more heat) later.

See also: Vegetables, Seed raising.

Fruit Trees

Sorry, I haven't prepared any monthly notes for fruit trees yet. In the meantime, you can try the main page dealing with this subject and check the links for the type of fruit tree you're interested in, here: Fruit Trees

The Flower Garden

Garden shows, open gardens

See what's in the Events Diary for November.

Looking ahead

If you're wondering what to buy friends and family for Christmas, why not something for garden-related? Whether beginner or expert, old or young, acreage owner or apartment dweller, flower gardener or dedicated veggie grower, there's something for everyone. Get more ideas here: Garden Gift Ideas.

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