If you have now had rain, what are you doing in your garden?

[OranginacanonlybedrunkinFrance]

3 fairly decent days of rain here after 8 weeks of nothing.
The established shrubs were generally hanging in there and are looking perkier already so I’m going to continue to ignore them. Or should I feed them?
What about the borders? I haven’t dug they over since about May. Should I do so now? Would that help the rain penetrate further down?
What about perennials? Some of them have, I think, had it but I will leave them as they are for a few weeks just in case. Again, should I feed them? Chop them back?
Nothing I know about gardening seems to apply in these conditions!
Thanks

I've re-seeded some bare patches of lawn in the front garden this afternoon.

Maybe don't bother digging over borders, just remove weeds now the ground is soft enough to pull them up. I will be dead-heading the roses and cutting off finished flowers elsewhere, but leaving things that look like they are dead, in case they aren't.

I wouldn't be feeding anything now. It's too late in the season, you don't really want to promote excess growth at this point in the year. I'm going to take the leaves off my lawn tomorrow and lightly scarify to remove thatch, so rain can soak in. I intend to edge the lawn as well. Deadheading roses and tying in climbing roses as well.

Weeding mainly, because the ground is softer now. But they too have suffered this year so not all that many. The main thing I'm tackling is weeds between the patio slabs as they seem to have survived better than those in the borders, I guess moisture gets retained under the slabs. I've been deadheading throughout.

Prepping for next year, forking over bare patches of the lawn that aren't going to grow back because there is now just bare soil and sowing grass seed. Taking out stuff I don't want, taking up old bed edges and stashing them to use as kindling/wood for the burner. Chopping back anything dead. Taking the compost heap and using any finished compost to put on top of veg beds. Harvesting veg and taking out plants that have stopped producing. Raking up leaves,

As a PP said, a day or two after rain is the best time to pull out weeds as the ground is soft. I pulled some thistles and nettles today and an assortment of weeds from the shingle driveway.

Check that water butts are refilling - mine were empty a few weeks ago so I cleared out any debris and reinstalled. Good time to check gutters for leaks too if it’s actually raining.

Also, I have been cutting back anything that’s dead or finished flowering. I still have a few hollyhocks flowering but most are finished. Even the flowering ones benefit from having any rusty leaves removed.

Some general tidying now that I don’t get hot and sweaty the minute I go outside.

I dug up about 5,084 dandelions this evening and now I have hardly anything green left on my lawn.

Is it too late for grass seed? Should I get a winter grass seed? I think I need a very hardy one as the garden is shady in winter (some of it gets zero sun in winter) and I have clay soil. Lawn I put in a few years ago quickly turned to moss and dandelion.

Slug defence.

Thinking about bringing my succulents in before they drown.

Keeping an eye out for blight on the tomatoes.

I harvested all my squash just before it started really raining.

Largely clearing leaves from about 10 trees and a few apples. Tidying up plants.

We have still have very little rain, it keeps being forecast but just doesn't arrive.
What rain we have had (a few, short sharp showers) fills a couple of water butts very quickly but leaves the others virtually untouched so my OH has been transferring water so all are now almost full as are all the watering cans. With temperatures rising next week and little rain forecast (even if it arrives) we will still be watering.☹️

As for work in the garden, pruned the roses today as they are the best they have ever been plus the Beech hedge had a last trim.

We still haven't had much rain; the surface is damp but if you dig down just 5cm, you find the earth is still like a brick

I'm planning to dig up my weed-ridden lawn and lay turf, but I'll need a lot more rain before that's feasible

We had steady rain (reasonably heavy) all day on Saturday which has hopefully soaked in quite well, the grass is starting to show tinges of green again. I only have one water butt which hasn't totally refilled but I left my wheelbarrow out and some big plastic tubs to collect rainwater (can tip the wheelbarrow into a tub).

I moved house this summer and in this area we had no rain from 9th June, so the garden of our new house is pretty apocalyptic. Like others on this thread we have had a few showers but the earth is still hard as a rock, mostly, and the plants are still hanging on by a thread and my watering.

What are people doing in terms of rescuing mature shrubs that got scorched? Chop off the dry crispy stuff at the ends? What if new growth is showing at the ends of branches but everything underneath is crispy and brown?

eg. hydrangeas - some are putting out new leaves, some not. Do I chop back? Rhodies - no idea what to do with them, brown shriveled leaves but I don't think the whole plant is dead? I've got two big philadelphus and peonies which look super scorched on top but are ok down under - chop back now?

I feel like the lawn is the least of my worries, I know it will come back eventually but I have no idea what to do about everything else and when to make a decision.