Now that the summer has officially arrived, it is more important than ever to keep your plants hydrated or expect your garden to turn dull and lifeless. If you don’t take care of your greens, the sun will come out and frazzle your hard work and your lush lawn will soon turn to straw.
Try and water your plants in the early morning so that their rot-prone foliage can quickly dry in the sun. Experts suggest to not water foliage at all due to risk of fungal infections, and it is recommended to use a ‘leaky hose’.
You can use a sprinkler on your lawn in the evening, and avoid walking on the lawn is possible.
Even if you don’t have any neighbours or friends to help you while you are away, it doesn’t mean that you have to come back to wilted plants and straggly grass. There are a few tricks we can help you with to keep your plants nourished during your absence.
Hanging baskets can be dipped in a bucket of water before you go, to keep your thirstiest plants happy during your absence. If this still isn’t enough, place a water globe or a plastic bottle with the end cut off upside down into the basket and fill it will water so that the plants get a gradual top-up.
Place all your patio pots together, give them a thorough soaking in a shady place to slow down the evaporation process and place them on a try of large soaked capillary matting. Do this and cut stripes of matting and put one end in a bucket of water, running the other end down to the tray. This will keep your plants hydrated until you return.
Otherwise, why not check out our automatic irrigation system which work on an automatic timer system attached to your outside tap, supplying water via drip feeders or soaker hoses to release water.
Mow you grass before you go and leave the clippings on the lawn, which will attract mulch and conserve moisture.
Savvy gardeners would have already thought of this, but if you have just started on your gardening venture, consider planting geraniums, which love Mediterranean clients and survive for sometime without water. Other plants such as escholzia, cosmos, gazania, helichrysum and morning glory are all pretty drought tolerant.