How to save your plants as heatwave plays havoc with Scottish gardens
As we gardeners know all too well, this is having a dire effect as the arid soil cracks and shrinks before our eyes.
It's well nigh impossible to make a planting hole in the ground without the help of a pick, and even well-established shrubs are struggling.
Read more
Don't be a wallflower - get nibbling your garden plants
Gardening: When is it safe to plant out tender veg?
It seems the high pressure will very shortly weaken, allowing westerly rain to fall here. But that doesn't let us off the hook, even if it's actually raining as you read this.
Light, drizzly stuff only dampens the leaves; only a long spell of steady rain will gradually build up water supplies again in the country, and it will take some time for our garden soil to recover.
In winter and early spring, water readily soaks into the relatively bare and empty ground, but growing plants provide ground cover, acting as umbrellas, soaking up moisture and preventing it from reaching the soil to nourish their roots.
And this, incidentally, makes mulches problematic.
They retain water that's already in the ground, but make it harder for fresh water to get in: dry soil underneath a mulch will remain dry.
So what can we do?
During the long dry spell we've been enjoying, we've been struggling to provide enough water for our plants, so we've concentrated on new ones, seedlings, and of course those in pots.
Clearly, veg and soft fruit need to be kept watered to get any chance of a crop.
Long-established trees and shrubs obviously have better root systems and will have to look after themselves.
It's a criminal waste of water to have sprinklers on the lawn.
Although grass yellows and looks dead, be in no doubt it will recover when the rains come.
When watering essential plants you must be generous to be effective.
A sprinkle, even administered every day, dampens the surface before quickly evaporating, and it will never reach the roots.
Water will only soak in when you apply on a targeted area several times.
When going round pots, I do several in succession and then repeat the tour.
The second and third applications soak into a moistened surface more easily.
You need only do this watering every 2 or 3 days.
Using a watering can to target specific plants is the most efficient use of water, but a hose, equally targeted by switching the supply off between plants, is fine.
Sprinklers are too indiscriminate, so should not be used.
If we are moving into a wetter spell, a water butt will become useful again.
There's a maddening irony that the butt will run dry exactly when you need it most, but it does provide a small amount of water storage.
And finally, targeted leaky hose is an excellent way to keep critical beds moist, especially when laid beneath a mulch that prevents evaporation.
Aquilegia vulgaris (Image: Supplied) Plant of the week
Aquilegia vulgaris 'Hensol Harebell' has elegant flowers of clear blue that are the classic Columbine shape.
Each plant is quite short-lived, lasting perhaps 4 seasons, but Aquilegia vulgaris readily self-seeds, though subsequent generations tend to revert to a more purplish blue.
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How to save your plants as heatwave plays havoc with Scottish gardens
As we gardeners know all too well, this is having a dire effect as the arid soil cracks and shrinks before our eyes. It's well nigh impossible to make a planting hole in the ground without the help of a pick, and even well-established shrubs are struggling. Read more Don't be a wallflower - get nibbling your garden plants Gardening: When is it safe to plant out tender veg? It seems the high pressure will very shortly weaken, allowing westerly rain to fall here. But that doesn't let us off the hook, even if it's actually raining as you read this. Light, drizzly stuff only dampens the leaves; only a long spell of steady rain will gradually build up water supplies again in the country, and it will take some time for our garden soil to recover. In winter and early spring, water readily soaks into the relatively bare and empty ground, but growing plants provide ground cover, acting as umbrellas, soaking up moisture and preventing it from reaching the soil to nourish their roots. And this, incidentally, makes mulches problematic. They retain water that's already in the ground, but make it harder for fresh water to get in: dry soil underneath a mulch will remain dry. So what can we do? During the long dry spell we've been enjoying, we've been struggling to provide enough water for our plants, so we've concentrated on new ones, seedlings, and of course those in pots. Clearly, veg and soft fruit need to be kept watered to get any chance of a crop. Long-established trees and shrubs obviously have better root systems and will have to look after themselves. It's a criminal waste of water to have sprinklers on the lawn. Although grass yellows and looks dead, be in no doubt it will recover when the rains come. When watering essential plants you must be generous to be effective. A sprinkle, even administered every day, dampens the surface before quickly evaporating, and it will never reach the roots. Water will only soak in when you apply on a targeted area several times. When going round pots, I do several in succession and then repeat the tour. The second and third applications soak into a moistened surface more easily. You need only do this watering every 2 or 3 days. Using a watering can to target specific plants is the most efficient use of water, but a hose, equally targeted by switching the supply off between plants, is fine. Sprinklers are too indiscriminate, so should not be used. If we are moving into a wetter spell, a water butt will become useful again. There's a maddening irony that the butt will run dry exactly when you need it most, but it does provide a small amount of water storage. And finally, targeted leaky hose is an excellent way to keep critical beds moist, especially when laid beneath a mulch that prevents evaporation. Aquilegia vulgaris (Image: Supplied) Plant of the week Aquilegia vulgaris 'Hensol Harebell' has elegant flowers of clear blue that are the classic Columbine shape. Each plant is quite short-lived, lasting perhaps 4 seasons, but Aquilegia vulgaris readily self-seeds, though subsequent generations tend to revert to a more purplish blue.
