Too much sun/ not enough water

[hlr1987]

Advice please! I'm six months into our new garden and the heat has destroyed half of this year's planting. Its my first time in a larger garden and while I'm on maternity leave I was hoping to set up a perennial border and start a veg patch for next year. There's no way I'll have time to water this much next year so I'm assuming anything that hasn't coped I should accept will be too much effort when I'm back in work. Plants working well are Lavender, mint, lemon balm, catmint, Dahlias. Any suggestions for things that will cope without constant supervision next year? There is minimal shade in my south facing garden, so full sun is a must I think.

How about setting out a self watering system linked to a timer on your outside tap? We have one for the greenhouse and raised beds and it works well.

A really thick mulch is the answer. Either composted bark or gravel. My Essex garden is rarely watered as I have covered my beds with deep gravel

When watering you need to do a thorough job. My DH would stand with the hose for ages and would not believe me when I told him the water Was not penetrating deep enough. It is a waste of time if the water does not get right down to the roots. So I water once every 10: days at night time when it is cooler.

My roses and fuchsias havent been watered much and looking really good in this heat , i also have some perennial creeping lobelia that hasnt been watered at all and is totally fine my lavender is the best its ever looked and i havent watered it at all

Sometimes I think that the more I water, the more I then need to water. I am spending almost an hour every night (at 8ish) watering the garden at the moment.

I am looking into the kind of timer system that JT mentioned - I worked out that I am spending the equivalent of a working day each week just watering at the moment!

Geraniums a quite drought tolerant. My fushias and hydrangea are doing ok. Jasmine and climbing rose is fine..If you water s little and often apparently their roots don't develop deep enough and you have to keep on watering often. Concentrate on new plants (established 2 yrs or less).

Thanks :) I'm definitely going to have to set up a watering system of some sort of the weather carries on! I love hydrangeas but the two I planted lasted a couple of weeks before they shriveled to nothing, maybe the water wasn't going deep enough. I hadn't planned for this much sunshine...

If you have grass that, hopefully, someone else will mow for you - save the cuttings for mulch. It will dry out really quickly and should give you a thick layer to put around your plants.

just to say, new plants need watering, but well established plants not so much.

So anything you have planted this year, in this long very hot and very dry spell is really at risk. But the same plants next year won't be.

Larger shrubs/plants have deep deep roots.

I also agree with not watering every day. but 'flooding' - not literally obvioulsy - less often.

When you plant something new, dig a huge hole. Put 1-2 full watering cans in the bottom of the hole, so there is a long deep wet patch under the new plant. Add well rotted compost to the hole, then fill in round the plant. This encourages it to grow down deep.

Your hydrangeas - plant new ones in the autumn, and water in well.
I bush like that needs a LOT if water, put the hose on one plant, and set a timer for 20-30 minutes, come back and move hose.

I haven't watered anything, (except pots) and my garden is dry anyway
way. I have roses, buddlia, fuchsias (hardy, not annual) lavender, and loads of other things.