With glimpses of sunnier days and the temperatures starting to increase now is the time to ensure your garden is well watered so it continues to flourish. Below are some of my top tips on keeping your garden hydrated over the warmer months.

Below are a few questions from my followers on my Instagram account @thediydads that I hope will be helpful to you as we head through Spring.

Having a regular watering routine will ensure plants, grass and wildlife all have the water they need during the driest months of the year. I water the garden first thing in the morning when the temperature is cooler and your plants aren’t in direct sun. Direct water to the base of plants.

We have installed the Hozelock Universal Easy Drip irrigation kit which has water drippers that can be angled directly at the base of the plants, helping the water get straight to the roots. We apply a generous layer of mulch (we use bark chippings) across all our borders and this also stops the water evaporating off the ground giving the plants the best chance to soak up as much water as possible! The reduction of sunlight on the soil also reduces the changes for weeds to germinate too!

On our hosepipe we use a Ultramax Spray gun. This is the best Spray gun we have ever owned and it offers seven different options to give the best performing watering and cleaning. It’s one of the most useful bits of kit we have in the garden! As well as watering the garden, I always make sure we have some shallow bowls and bird baths around the garden so there is plenty of water for birds to clean themselves and stay hydrated too!

Don’t forget to also feed your favourite plants during the summer. Diluting some tomato feed or organic feed from a composter in your water can boost the volume and quality of flowers. Dead heading many perennials, annuals and shrubs like roses will also help to promote more flowers which will give you more colour throughout Summer and even into Autumn. Just pinch off wilting flowers and you will find new buds will very quickly develop.

With many of us planning some long-awaited holidays and breaks away, making sure your garden is well looked after when you aren’t around isn’t as difficult as you may imagine.

The Hozelock cloud controller can be added to your tap and then linked to either a sprinkler or an irrigation system giving you complete control of your garden wherever in the world you are! By regularly checking the local weather you can ensure you water the garden exactly when it needs it and stops you wasting water on days where there is a summer downpour! This is the perfect addition to the garden – allowing you to sit back, relax and enjoy the space, knowing the watering is being taken care of!

James created @thediydads in December 2019 sharing home renovation, gardening and lifestyle IGTV’s (Instagram TV) from his Hampshire garden. Along with videos on his Instagram account, he will be a guest host on our blog and later in the year will be running a giveaway for his followers.