When the Weather Changes the Rules: Gardening Through a Heatwave

Three weeks ago, I wrote about my increasingly 'golden' lawn and how oddly reassuring it was to see our local golf courses and bowling greens struggling too. Three weeks on, and we're still waiting for rain.

We're in the midst of yet another heatwave, the ground is incredibly dry, and I'm beginning to realise that something else has changed too: the way I'm gardening. Normally, August comes with its familiar list of jobs. Deadhead this. Prune that. Feed this. Cut back that. But I'm increasingly asking myself a different question.

Just because a gardening job would normally be done now, does that mean it should be done now?

Sometimes, doing less is better

Plants under prolonged heat and drought are already under stress. They're trying to conserve water, and many have slowed their growth in response. So this probably isn't the moment for enthusiastic pruning.

Cutting plants back can stimulate fresh, soft growth — exactly what we don't necessarily want when a plant is already struggling to find enough water to support the leaves it has.

I've therefore become much more cautious about pruning during this hot spell. Unless something is damaged, diseased or really needs attention, I'm increasingly happy to leave it until conditions become kinder.

Perhaps that's one of the lessons of gardening in more extreme weather: the calendar is a guide, not a set of instructions.

What about deadheading?

This one is slightly different. I'm still deadheading plants such as dahlias and roses where they're flowering happily. Removing spent flowers can encourage them to keep blooming rather than putting their energy into producing seed. But I'm not chasing every faded flower around the garden.

If a plant is visibly struggling — wilting badly, losing leaves or simply looking exhausted — I'm inclined to leave it alone rather than encouraging it to produce another flush of flowers. And some structural seedheads (like hydrangeas) are worth leaving anyway - they can provide much needed shade for the core of the plant, they look beautiful later in the year and provide food and shelter for wildlife.

As with so many things in gardening, there isn't one rule for everything.

I'm watering differently too

The watering can has certainly had plenty of use this summer, but I'm trying to be selective. Containers, newly planted plants and anything obviously struggling get priority. Established shrubs and perennials are encouraged to fend for themselves where possible. When I do water borders, I water thoroughly rather than giving everything a quick sprinkle. A deeper soak encourages roots to reach further down into the soil rather than staying close to the surface.

And after writing recently about my own lawn, I'm practising what I preach and leaving that alone too. It's 'golden'. It's resting. And that's OK.

Some jobs can wait

I'm also learning that a heatwave isn't the time to feel guilty about everything I'm not doing. Major planting can wait. Heavy pruning can wait. Feeding drought-stressed plants can wait. Even mowing can often wait — and when the mower does come out, leaving the grass a little longer helps shade the soil and reduce moisture loss.

Instead, my gardening has become quieter. I water what genuinely needs me. I pick flowers. I deadhead selectively. I pull the occasional weed before it gets too comfortable.

And then, quite often, I sit down.

Perhaps our gardening habits need to change

The bigger question is whether summers like this are going to change the way we garden permanently. Hotter, drier summers are expected to become increasingly familiar in the UK, and perhaps our gardening habits need to adapt alongside them. That might mean choosing more drought-tolerant plants. Improving our soil so it holds moisture better. Mulching. Collecting more winter rainfall. Planting in autumn so roots have months to establish before summer arrives.

But perhaps it also means changing our expectations.

Gardening has traditionally been full of rules about what should be done and when. Yet increasingly, I think the most useful gardening skill might simply be learning to look.

Is the plant actively growing? Does it actually need water? Will deadheading or pruning help it — or am I simply doing it for the aesthetics, or because it's August and that's what the gardening calendar says?

The garden usually gives us the answer if we take the time to notice.

This summer, mine seems to be saying:

Not now. Leave me be. I'll let you know when I'm ready.

And for once, I'm quite happy to listen.

Nature. Nurtured.