With colder, wetter weather, wildlife changes its habits. Our plots can provide food, water and shelter, even in busy towns and small spaces, and you don’t need acres to make a difference. A few thoughtful tweaks will turn your garden into a welcoming haven.
Let parts of your garden go wild
Allowing selected corners to grow wild is brilliant for biodiversity and keeps the garden enjoyable. Mark out a section and let the grass rise, or sow a pocket meadow. Choose a sunny, open spot with moist, well-draining soil. Clear the area of weeds and rake it to a fine tilth. Then, scatter a native wildflower mix. Lightly rake it in and water.
Autumn sowings germinate within weeks, then sit over winter to root, ready to burst into life in spring. Pollinators will thank you with more bees and butterflies next year.
Plant for birds and structure
Shrubs feed and shelter birds when days are short. Holly is a classic, with glossy leaves and winter berries loved by thrushes and blackbirds. Dense evergreens and thorny species like pyracantha give protective cover from predators and harsh winds. Resist the urge to tidy. Leave seed heads, hollow stems, and a little leaf litter. They offer food, roosting nooks, and insulation for insects fuelling the food chain.
Build a simple log pile
Recycling woody pruned material creates a five-star hotel for minibeasts, which support birds and amphibians. It also offers shelter and natural feeding opportunities for hedgehogs.
Stack mixed log sizes loosely in partial shade to keep them cool and damp. Bury the bottom layer a few centimetres to anchor and hold moisture, and add twiggy material between layers. Avoid placing it right beside prized shrubs or trees to reduce any disease risk. Near a pond is perfect.
Support winter visitors
Short November days are hard on wildlife, so prioritise hedgehogs and birds. Put out a shallow dish of white meat (chicken and turkey) cat or dog food in jelly rather than gravy, or a quality hedgehog food to supplement their natural diet, plus fresh water. For birds, offer seed, suet, and sunflower hearts, and keep a bird bath free of ice.
Place feeders near cover for quick getaways, clean them weekly, and rotate positions to protect the ground and reduce disease. In all cases, keep feeders and bowls clean.
Bonfire Night safety for hedgehogs
Prepared bonfires are irresistible shelters for hedgehogs. Aim to build your bonfire on the day you plan to light it or protect pre-built stacks with chicken wire around the base. Before lighting, use a torch and a broom handle to check thoroughly, especially the bottom two feet. Light from one side, not the centre, to allow any animals your checks might have missed a final chance to escape. Learn more about protecting hedgehogs on Bonfire Night at my YouTube channel @daviddomoney.
Small steps, big impact
Blend your style with wildlife needs. Keep your favourite borders immaculate if you like, but balance them alongside a wilder patch, a log pile, and berrying shrubs.
Offer clean water, steady food, and safe shelter, and your garden will hum with life all winter. The rewards are real – fewer pests, more pollinators, and the joy of seeing nature thrive on your doorstep.
Focus Plant: Nerines
As the month turns cold and clear, nerines lift the garden with spidery, satin blooms which sparkle when most colour has faded. They’re superb in sunny, sheltered spots and patio pots.
November is for enjoying the display and planning ahead. In very mild areas, you can still pot a few dry bulbs, but routine planting is best at spring. For borders, choose hardy Nerine bowdenii forms such as “Zeal Giant”, “Pink Triumph” and “Stephanie”.
For frost-free porches, Nerine sarniensis brings vivid jewel tones. Give them sharply drained, gritty soil in full sun. Set bulbs with the neck at, or slightly above, the surface. In containers, use a loam-based compost with added grit. Under-pot slightly as nerines flower best with firm, crowded roots. South-facing walls, steps and raised beds boost warmth and drainage. Deadhead fading blooms but keep any foliage to feed the bulbs. Water sparingly now as cold, wet compost is the main winter risk.
Improve heavy ground with grit, raise pots on feet and check for vine weevil larvae. Avoid disturbing clumps unnecessarily. Hardy bowdenii types cope well once established, though a dry gravel mulch helps in colder regions. Move containers to a bright, frost-free spot during severe cold. Divide congested clumps in spring or increase stock from offsets.
Fun fact: Nerine petals can appear “sparkly” because their surface structure (epidermal cell shape and the waxy cuticle) reflects light in a glittering way, without dew or actual glitter.
Top 5 Jobs:
1 Take hardwood cuttings from currants, dogwood, and viburnum while plants are dormant. Select pencil-thick, one-year shoots about 20-30cm long. Make a clean cut above a bud at the top and below a bud at the base. Heel in two-thirds deep in a sheltered trench of sharp sand and soil, label, and keep weed-free.
2 Plant tulip bulbs next month to help avoid tulip fire, a fungal disease, and achieve sturdy stems. Choose firm bulbs for sunny, free-draining spots or containers. Set them two to three times their depth, a bulb’s width apart, with grit in heavy soil. Water once to settle, then keep cool.A light autumn potash feed supports spring bloom.
3 Create lasagne bulb containers forlong-running spring colour by layering sizes. Use a pot with drainage holes and crocks, then place the largest bulbs deepest, medium bulbs in the mid layer, and small bulbs near the surface, offset for spacing. Cover each layer with compost, finish with winter violas or ivy, raise on pot feet, and position by a warm wall. Learn more about this in episode four of Step by Step Gardening at my YouTube channel,@daviddomoney.
4 Sow spring onions under cloches for winter and early spring pickings. Choose hardy types such as ‘White Lisbon Winter Hardy’. Sow thinly in a free-draining bed, cold frame or unheated greenhouse, then keep just moist. Ventilate on mild days to reduce disease, protect during sharp frosts with fleece and harvest once stems pencil thin.
5 Store apples in single layers to extend keeping quality. Use clean trays in a cool, dark, slightly humid place such as a shed or garage. Handle fruit gently, keep stalks on, separate varieties, and avoid stacking. Wrap choice fruits in paper if space allows. Inspect weekly and remove any showing bruises or rot to protect the rest.
Did you know?
• The pomegranate’s genus name, Punica, echoes Rome’s link to Carthage, hence “Carthaginian apple”. The plant’s wild origins lie to the east, from Iran towards north-west India and neighbouring regions, not North Africa.
• Parsnips taste sweeter after cold snaps. Frost prompts enzymes to convert stored starch into sugars, so winter-lifted roots have a richer flavour and a softer, caramel edge in the pan.
• The famed “Rembrandt” tulips, the streaked blooms familiar from Dutch Golden Age paintings, were caused by tulip-breaking viruses. However, today’s striped varieties are bred that way, rather than being diseased.
• Female ginkgo treescarry fleshy fruits that smell strongly as theyripen, thanks to butyric acid in the outer coat. For small gardens, male selections are widely used to avoidthe mess and odour.