Winter-ready: planting ahead for spring

If we have to trust advertising the best time to start planting bulbs for spring is in September. This couldn’t be more wrong for spring-flowering plants; the autumn-flowering bulbs are an exception! The end of November up to half December are actually much better, providing you don’t live in a frost pocket where the ground is too hard by that time to get anything into the ground. So recently my closing ceremony for autumn was performed: I’ve planted my containers with bulbs and pansies to have something to look at through the winter months and into spring.

I cleared my pots of the summer plants, that had completely gone over (middle) and removed the uppermost 10 centimetres of soil in the process. I had already bought new tulips and daffodils (right) and trays of pansies (left). Sadly no orange pansies were available.

I plant my pots with bulbs in the “lasagne style”: first I remove 10 centimetres more of the potting compost and add in some dried cow poop pellets. At the bottom I plant the late Parrot tulips (left). These are covered by old compost into which I plant the early Triumph tulips. These are covered with a mix of old and new compost. Into this the daffodils are planted. As I found some crocuses had survived and were sprouting, I replanted these corms amongst the daffodil bulbs (middle). I then planted the pansies above the last layer of bulbs, making sure to fill the gaps with fresh compost. Only days in the ground, the first signs of winter have come down resulting in a light dusting of snow covering my pots (right). The pansies will brave even that weather with the buds not opening until it warms up.

Autumnal: flurry of fungi

Autumn is associated with mushrooms and toadstools of all kinds. In fact these can be found throughout the year. Both are manifestations of fungi that are otherwise invisible growing underground or in wood or other decaying material. Most fungi are beneficial however and provide plants with vital nutrients and water as mycorrhiza. Some of these also show themselves as toadstools, as these are the reproductive bodies of these organisms. Fungi should not be called plants, as they are a separate branch of the tree of life more closely related to animals than plants!

Mushrooms can be found everywhere, not merely in woodlands. Some grow on the woodland edge and in parks (left) others pop up in a carpet of moss in the heart of the forest with little light (middle). The name mushroom is said to be derived from the French word for moss. Toadstools also grow in meadows and grassland, even in lawns.

These tiny toadstools grow from a mossy stump of a dead tree (left). These are from a type that lives of dead wood. Other mushrooms grow amongst the grass. Here (middle) some emerging ones, that look almost hairy. Another cluster mushroom is this yellow-capped saprophyte that grows amongst the leaf litter of oaks on the woodland floor. These types are important for recycling nutrients.

Colourful city: autumn has arrived!

Some people think I favour autumn over all other seasons. That isn't true as I like all seasons except winter... The magic of autumn is when all the leaves start turning and reveal their often bright goodbye-colouration. Streets, parks and gardens are suddenly, and only fleetingly, ablaze with colour. And then the leaves drop and litter the streets and lawns for a while before becoming worm food.

The colour spectacle of the autumn leaves draw people to the parks. Here they can see the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quincefolia) with its big leaves turning pink hugging a tree trunk. The grass is littered with leaves in various shades. Some trees like the Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) have leaves that turn both red and yellow (middle).The crab-apples mostly hold on to their fruit, but underneath some trees the ground is littered with these small yellow apples.

A few gusts of wind are enough to send the leaves down from the canopy. These leaves on the pavement were shades of red whilst on the tree (Zelkova serrata) but quickly take on rusty tones when on the ground. A garden path is sprinkled with these deep red maple leaves (middle). The Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) was named for its autumn leaves in shades of red. Here they have fallen on some steps in a park.

Maples are one of those trees that provide maximum interest this time of year. Especially the types from the far east combine interesting finely cut leaves with splendid autumn colours. The Japanese Maples have small leaves with many lobes. The leaves of Acer palmatum with their bright red tones litter the undergrowth. Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' has deeply cut lobes on leaves that are just turning a deep burgundy colour. Another Acer palmatum is almost on fire in the afternoon sun with leaves in yellow, and orange.

Although nature is winding down for winter some plant still produce flowers. Many late insect are very thankful for this late nectar as this group of Michaelmas Daisies is providing. Slower as a result of the lower ambient temperature this is the moment to photograph some butterflies feeding on these purple blooms. All species of butterfly are common in parks and gardens where I live: the Cabbage White (left), the Little Map (middle) in its summer colours (the autumn brood is typically black with white and brown markings) and Red Admiral (right).

Going nuts

Most tree seeds are small, some however are very large and very heavy. We know these seeds as nuts. These heavy tree seeds often rely on animals for dispersal, only a handful are buoyant and can be carried away by water. Most of the nuts also need to be buried for optimal germination. The Jay burying acorns in winter caches is a well known example. Recent strong winds blew most of the nuts down from the trees. These now litter the pavements and roads. In some places Jackdaws gather by the roadside to feast on the nuts cracked by passing traffic. They are truly crafty little corvids!

Corylus colurna, the Turkish hazel (left) produces clusters of bristly husks with small very hard nuts. Acorns are easily recognisable for most people. In the middle some acorns of one of the American Red Oaks (Quercus rubra or Q. coccinea) with their little flat caps. The Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) produces large conkers with highly toxic seeds. Only deer can safely eat these nuts; despite the name they are poisonous to horses. The name Horse chestnut actually refers to the leaf marks that resemble a horseshoe.