With November’s colder weather, many gardeners will be wondering what they can plant now to help their plots thrive.

It can even be an “overwhelming” experience to go through all the information to find out what will last all winter. Well, expert Niall Gardens says now is a good time to grow a variety of plants, including edibles and flowers.

Niall’s goal is to provide “amazing” and “easy to grow” plants that offer a mix of colors, scents and food. And, with November well and truly here, its first plant to put in your garden now is garlic.

He said: “Garlic is easy because rather than having to start something from seeds, you can buy the cloves, plant them straight into the ground and early next summer you will have a great harvest of something shiny.

“Garlic thrives when planted in late fall as it allows the bulbs to become established before winter. They will remain mostly dormant and will start in the spring. »

Niall says garlic should be planted in a sunny, well-drained location, with each clove broken. They should then be planted “pointed side up”, with larger bulbs spread out and planted deeper in the soil.

For those who want to add a more aesthetically pleasing plant to their garden now, Niall recommends Allium Nectaroscordum. He says it’s a unique flower that’s great for pollinators and fills gaps in your flower beds.

And because it grows from bulbs, Niall says there’s less uncertainty than growing it from seeds or cuttings. Another edible suggestion for November planting is fava beans.

Niall explains: “I really think growing fava beans is one of the easiest, most potent, most abundant and tastiest things you can grow at home. Since broad beans are hardy plants, you can start them now, in the fall.

“They will grow slowly over the winter, but will come back to life properly in the spring. And because you have a little head start, you get a nice early harvest in late spring.

For anyone looking to spend a little more money, Niall suggested a mahonia as an “investment piece”. He says he likes his standout shrubs to “look good from a distance,” “look great up close,” and be “interesting all year round.”

He says the waxy, thorny leaves look like holly but have a different pattern. While the rough bark has more interest and the evergreen plant flowers mainly in autumn/winter with distinctive yellow flowers and berries.

His final choice is perpetual spinach, which Niall says is a “great choice” for gardeners wanting to grow green leaves from seed. He added: “Despite its name, it’s not actually a true spinach, it’s actually a chard, also known as a leaf beater. »

Niall says the plant is perfect in salads, stir-fries or stir-fries. It’s another plant that he says can establish now and be harvested every six weeks, with its “cut and temper” system providing continued growth.