November brings us the interminable rains accompanied by mild weather.
Nasturtiums and late roses still give colour to the garden. Now is the time to protect your dahlias for next year. You can leave the dahlias in the ground, but I would not take that risk. I lift the tubers out and place them in an old compost bag and store them somewhere frost free.
As winter approaches, one does not have to live with bare stems and dark days. There are lots of bright and beautiful plants that love the winter. Introduce them into your garden. Viburnums have attractive foliage and fragrant flowers. The best one to get is V bodnantense Dawn. It has sugar pink flowers that smell divine. I would never go without Hamammells or witch hazel. This has fabulous spidery blooms. It can be grown in the ground as well as a container and has a lovely citrus scent close up.
Your perpetual spinach, chard and kale should be at their most productive now. Prepare your beds to plant broad beans and garlic which will grow over winter. I try to use all the seasonal vegetables for cooking. Celeriac is a bulbous root. What is good about this vegetable is that it is in season from October throughout the winter until March.
Recipe: Celeriac and blue-cheese muffin
These are delicious and healthy
Ingredients:
200g spelt flour,
2 tsp baking powder,
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda,
2 eggs beaten,
250ml live yogurt,
200g celeriac matchsticks
60g blue cheese.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F.
Mix all the ingredients together except the blue cheese.
Stir in blue cheese and spoon into butter muffin tray.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden.
Celeriac matchsticks
Clean celeriac and wash thoroughly.
Cut thinly and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
