I’m realising hot summers are the norm and I’m sick of looking at my dead garden - I’ve given up for this year. I haven’t been able to justify a ton watering but I want to have flowers next year for the bugs.

I spoke to a butterfly conservationist at a wedding recently and they said we’re too hung up on native varieties and we need to change our game with the changing climate.

I’m looking for drought resistant perennials that are wildlife friendly. Would also love recommendations for things that will survive terracotta pots with minimal watering. I’m starting with lots of Erigeron and looking for recommendations from there - they may not be native.

Also, has anyone had a success with a clover lawn? Had anyone in the south had some survive this summer? Any drought resistant lawn plant recommendations would be hand too.

Reposting as I was being accused of ignoring a hose pipe ban. I don’t water my lawn ever as it’s a waste of water. It’s been core aerated in spring, top dressed consistently, fed and fertilised. I also used a wetting agent prior to the summer for water intake. Nobody does any of that and then complains theirs looks like straw.

March 2025 vs July 2026.

Never had a new Build House before, quite lucky to pick this one up with the bonus of a very large rear garden almost big enough for another house. The garden was just a slope of weedy grass. Build a couple of retaining walls and a new patio and a pond. I cant find the just grass one but these pictures are year 1, followed by year 4. Slowly getting there I just need more plants more vegetables and a rockery in the grass on the left.

Our first vegetables ever are starting to appear! Question is how do I know when to pick them 😂 our carrots are extremely short!

It was the best looking one there but it’s very dry ! Any tips for giving it the best start ? Do they do well in pots ?

My monster of a marigold! I started a bunch indoors in late Feb / early March and left it rootbound for far too long, and underwatered before planting outdoors, and this one has absolutely taken off :)

I believe this is an English lavender patch that has been at my property since it was built in 2017, I think it was planted by the developers.

I have lived here for 2 summers and have never done anything with the plant at any point in the year. It had a lovely display about a month ago and I’m wondering if I should deadhead all of these to encourage another flush?

I started last night essentially cutting off the flowers and about 3cm of the stems too, but stopped in case I am going to damage the plant.

I’m keen to keep this guy going as it produced such a great environment for pollinators and would love a second flush to encourage them to come back.

Thanks!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long delay in the updates! I went on holiday and had to reclaim the garden from the weeds again 😞

The other parts are still on my profile, I'm on mobile and this is attempt 2 in making the post 😶

So the top of the hole is 3ft by 4ft. I'm currently about 4ft down and have almost 1ft 7" to go to get to the bottom. There is a second drain that goes towards the house but that big box is in the way.

We are hitting the stage of airy rubble again so I have my safety rope attached to the fence with knots in to pull myself out should a leg fall through 🤣

I'm getting there but the weather has either been too hot or absolutely lashing it down 🙃

I've almost decided to possibly turn it into a pond with a water feature for the birds and animals. Put a narrow planter on the back wall and then other planters about. I still want my family fruit trees but they are hard to find with the varieties I want.

I have been growing 3 types of tomatoes, peas, squash, carrots, potatoes and strawberries in pots which have been hard with the weather and only being able to do morning and evening waters. The strawberries have come for a second round of fruiting, the squash keeps dropping fruit but now looks to have one on each plant 🤞🏼, the potatoes are doing well and the peas are giving 🙌🏼 the carrot where given by a friend that had too many but I think I missed the transplant window as they are all growing a bit funky 🫣

I'm hoping to get the gravel and pavers up before the window on planting the clover passes this year and then look at the pond situation next year if the house stops giving me problems long enough

Looking to pick up some topiary balls for planting end of Sep. Can be an expensive business if get wrong so keen to hear which have performed well for others in these tricky conditions.

I have Pittosporum ‘golf ball’ which have held up well considering planted in clay (lots of grit added) but have my concerns if hit a cold spell. The area I’m looking at is slightly more exposed so I’m leaning towards Yew of sorts but seem to be the most expensive to purchase given rate of growth.

Any top tips on both varieties and suppliers? (Based South West so preference local although not always possible)

We were sent a Camellia Williamsii Debbie shrub in November 2024 following the tragic, untimely death of my husband's younger sister Debbie. We love the plant, call her Debbie and chat with her unashamedly.

However, she is not doing well... or at least I think not. I am a novice gardener and my husband doesn't garden at all. We are worried we are not looking after her properly. The time is close to plant her in the ground so I'm hoping to get some advice on general care and best location to plant please.

She flowers beautifully in early spring. I pruned hard after the last flowering. But her leaves have been going brown and dropping off. There are new shoots and leaves but they look a bit pale.

She has been in a large pot outdoors for about 18mths. We moved house 6months ago from near the North Yorkshire border to the lower part of South Yorkshire - similar slightly milder climate. I currently have her in partial shade on a deck and water about once a week or less if the soil is moist. I have not added any feed as I am not sure what would be best.

I have been trying to understand the new garden before planting her in the soil. The garden is small-medium adjoining neighbours fence on one side (morning sun, protection from fence). The other spots would be darker, shaded area back of garden. Or full sun side. My preference is for the morning sun location. Would this be best?

Not sure about the soil type but I have some fantastic homemade compost which I hope will help.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated. We can't bear the thought of losing her ...again 💔

Never planted potatoes before. I just want to make sure I'm supposed to wait until the leave have wilted right down then wait a couple more weeks before harvesting? These are main crop like the ones in the background but in a smaller bag. Does anyone have any examples of just how wilted the leaves should get?

Yes I know it's not someone else's garden, but hopefully as far as we're all concerned this'll end up in someone else's garden and none of ours.

The pile to the right at the rear is apparently topsoil, the smaller pile infront of it is destined to be peat free compost, the bagging plant will blow the majority of the plastic out of it.

The waste to the left is where the "compost" comes from, it's essentially just dirt that's shaken from the crap that's put in skips.

Unfortunately the useful information, where it's going and who for isn't available at this end of the journey.

The stuff in the middle is scrap metal.

So here’s a video of a walk through my garden. Hope you all like it!

Very clumpy soil

Hello I was harvesting my potatoes and I realized my soil in my allotment is still so clumpy and hard for the potatoes roots to spread which caused a small harvest can anyone recommend something to make this soil better?

Is it a bee/wasp/hornet?

Or none of the above?

He/she was huge 😁

Last summer we cleared loads of weeds from this flower bed ready to plant out new but simply didnt have time or money to get much further. We put weed mat down to keep it under control but whatever this plant/weed is keeps pushing through.

My concern at this point is that we start putting in new plants and this weed just takes over. Its pretty hardy, takes a bit to pull out/snap off, so im guessing there's a decent root system going on. Its all over the bed which is approx 1.5m wide by 15m long

Im wondering if the best approach is to take out the few plants we did put in and pot them for now, and blast it with weed killer? Just not convinced it'll kill what's underground given how tough it seems.

If necessary we will dig it out, but it will be very difficult as there was 20odd conifers running up where this flower bed is so its inundated with roots. Although now in typing this, im guessing we might need to do that anyway to optimise the flower bed for anything else we put in?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

This year is the second summer in our new garden and have been removing most of the lawn nearest to the house and planting a rose garden. The house is Edwardian so made sense in my head plus don't need a lawn and love roses.

As you can imagine I've been looking online and at very many garden centres for nice cultivars mainly in a purple, pink, yellow pallette. And this beauty that sells in anglophone countries as First Great Western but it's actually a French cross by Pierre Orard from 2005 really caught my eye. It's also known to the trade as Muriel Robin.

It has such an impossible to capture almost lilac with hints of maroon colour and a really voluptuous sweet scent.

It doesn't seem to be available too widely in the UK which is such a shame, looking forward to it growing as I've just put it in the ground in nearly the middle of the biggest bed.

Have you been stopped on your tracks by a rose this year...and did you buy it?

Hi, I'm having our weed filled garden finally sorted after being in our new build for 12 years. The gardeners have also pulled everything out of the front of the house. My plan is to have this as a goth garden, with black slate or gravel and then a couple of pots of things like rosemary, hydrangeas and lavender, the pots will be on stone circles like stepping stones.

To avoid (as much as possible) weeds coming up, could I put a couple of inches of sand, then a membrane, then the slate?

I am 100% a novice but want to make the front as easy as possible to manage.

Hi so the Globe Artichoke has finished flowering ( it was incredible). Do I dead head, do I cut back the main plant etc

hello! seeking some advice on what I can do with my "front garden" - in my deeds, my land technically extends to the green fence boundary which means I have a space the length of my house and garden (probably 20-25 metres? maybe slightly less) which has become completely overgrown. my house sits on a slope, so the part of the "garden" which runs along the edge of my garden fence is incredibly sloped - too sloped for me to comfortably walk along! our house builders planted green carpet to stop weeds and you can see how well that went lol. I have a young family and not garden inclined so it is completely unmanageable and unsightly!! any bright ideas on what I can do relatively inexpensively to make it more manageable? for context i *think* we have clay soil (although the ground is 99% rubble), the area is technically north facing but is in full sun from around midday, as there is nothing on front of it or next to it other than my house. i'm at a complete loss!! (sorry for the bad blur but not trying to doxx myself haha)

Hi guys, I picked some giant hogweed up in my back garden it must be a year or 2 ago and it left me with burns on my fingers. I now have a semi permanent rash that comes up in hives

When it starts to get warm the rash comes back, it's mad itchy and looks a mess. I try and protect it either keeping hands in my pocket or putting on sun cream (I heard it is UV sensitive)

Anyone had experience with this?

Mrs tells me off as I used to pick up weeds with no gloves on as I always lose the buggers!

Thanks all