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Tips for drought-Proofing your garden

The UK has seen a huge amount of sunshine this year – and we are not complaining! Our gardens, however, are starting to feel a little parched. With hose pipe bans common throughout the UK during heatwaves, we need to think of other solutions to protect our precious plants and grass from drying out and dying. Read some handy tips below to ensure your garden stays healthy and green!

Lay your Turf correctly

Your subsoil will completely determine the health of your fresh Turf rolls. We recommend adding a 30mm layer of our Wessex BS3882 10mm Soil; it contains PAS100 Green Compost, so will add a plethora of nutrients to your Turf, giving it the best chances of survival throughout exceptionally high temperatures.

Try and only lay your Turf in warm, dry weather, not hot weather. Freshly-cut Turf rolls can dry out and overheat very quickly. This will result in ‘shrinking’ of your rolled out Turf, and, in some cases can even burn if left out in the sun. So the easiest thing to do is lay it in cool weather.

Click here for more tips on laying Turf

Strategically shade and water your Turf

If you use a parasol in your garden, try to place it somewhere that will offer shade to your Grass. Even if your lawn can enjoy a few hours of shade throughout the day, it will make a huge different to whether or not it dries out.

Only water your Turf once per day, and aim for the early morning. If you water your grass too close to midday/afternoon, it will very easily evaporate. If you water it well in the early morning, it should give the turf enough water to survive the hot day ahead!

Reuse water with a Water butt

Many people utilise Water butts throughout the year to collect rainwater to then use it to water plants and lawns.

If you place your Water butt beneath your exterior drains, you’ll have a constant supply of water throughout periods of rain, to then store ready for the occasional hosepipe ban!

If you have a tumble dryer, you can also reuse this water!

Moisture-retaining Planting

When planting either raised beds or borders straight into the ground, it’s good practice to lay Weed Membrane to prevent unwanted weeds from growing and taking the moisture and nutrients away from your plants.

Once you’ve used Weed Membrane, we also recommend laying a 20mm layer of a hardcore aggregate such as Scalpings. This will actually provide adequate drainage during periods of rain, as well as retain moisture for dry spells, allowing your plants to have a good balance throughout the changing seasons.

We have a huge range of Soils and Compost to choose from, including our best-selling Wessex Beds and Borders Soil and Soil Improver Compost.

Click here to read our article on creating a plant bed

Protect your Plants with Mulch

Woodland Mulch is one of our best-sellers over Summer, and for a good reason! This natural, shredded wood is the ideal material for protecting your plants and soil from overheating and drying out.

With its natural properties, it will retain moisture well once you have watered your plants, and shield your plant roots from the severe heat of the sun.

Click here to buy Woodland Mulch

Consider Artificial Grass

If your garden enjoys a huge amount of sunshine throughout the day, and your Turf is consistently drying out and going yellow, it might be taking up too much of your time, or proving too much effort to maintain in the Summer. So, why not consider Artificial Grass?

Artificial Grass will stay luscious and green throughout all seasons – needing only a minor amount of time and effort spent on it, and that is just sweeping it or jet washing if you so wish.

To have the best of both worlds, why not lay fresh Turf in another area of your garden, or your front garden instead?

Click here to buy Artificial Grass   

Visit one of our depots throughout the Summer to get the best garden inspiration in Dorset!