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Whether you have a few pots on a balcony or an expanse of greenery, here’s how to help everything thrive when the mercury spikes
After the two hottest May days on record in the UK last month, gardeners may be surveying the damage and dreading the summer months ahead. “Heatwaves early in the summer can result in scorched, brown leaves,” says Leigh Hunt, the principal horticultural adviser at the Royal Horticultural Society. “When temperatures climb over 35C, there are more extreme effects.” (Thermometers hit 35.1C in London on 26 May.)
But don’t put down your trowel in defeat just yet. “Plants were caught out by the sudden change in temperature,” says Hunt. “They are a bit more naturally resistant later in the summer.” Plus, there is plenty you can do to support them without wasting gallons of water or installing an inefficient sprinkler system – and the payoff is massive. “Plants provide shade and release moisture; they cool our towns and cities by 2C to 4C,” says Hunt. “Your little bit of greenery is part of a network of greenery doing its bit. It makes the places we live better and cooler.”