How to protect your garden in the heat

It’s summer. And with summer comes the obligatory heat wave that we all have to endure. If you have a bit of a green thumb, then you probably worked tirelessly on your garden all year in order to get it looking great for the summer months.

But with the heat of summer comes the chance of losing your beautiful garden to the brutality of the weather. Fear not however, there are a number of things you can do in order to heat proof your garden in order to keep it looking great this season.

1. Water more than once a day

Sounds obvious, but too many gardeners forget that summer increases evaporation from plants on the ground. Watering the plants once a day may be suitable for the rest of the year, but the fierce rays of the summer sun mean that a twice daily water may be necessary to keep your plants suitably hydrated.

2. Mulch your garden

Mulching the garden helps to regulate the temperature of the soil, making the roots of your plants far more comfortable and allowing natural plant processes to occur unhindered. In addition, mulching helps your plants to soak up more water, preventing them from drying out as easily.

Chunky pine mulch is less effective at trapping moisture and will sit on top of you garden for a long time. Instead, try using a finer grain mulch.

3. Plant the right grass

If your lawns are looking particularly dry, choose a drought-tolerant grass seed such as Buffalo, Kikuyu, Saltene or Couch.

Aerating your lawn, which involves poking small holes into the ground every few metres, improves water, air and nutrient filtration.

Letting your grass a little longer then normal will also prevent the sun from baking the roots of your grass.

4. Embrace native plants

Native Australian plants are excellent at dealing with harsh weather conditions. The benefit of these is that they require far less water, less maintenance are more resilient then other plants. Look for plants such as Eucalyptus ‘Summer Red,’ or perhaps the Grevillea ‘Moonlight.’

Got some handy gardening tips of your own? Let us know in the comments below