life - GARDENING
Alan Titchmarsh
SUMMER
HOLS
Photo by Niall McDiarmid
As if getting ready
for your holidays
isn’t stressful enough
(passports? packing?
pet-sitters? and who
forgot to collect the
foreign currency from
the bank?) there’s
the garden to worry
about.
I envy the chap who just shuts the
shed door on the whole problem
and sorts out the mess when he
gets home, but it takes weeks to
get overgrown lawns, flourishing
weeds and frizzled hanging
baskets back to rights. And it’s
all so easily avoided, with a little
forethought.
What every gardener needs, is
a ‘treasure’. A near-neighbour,
60
ideally a keen gardener
themselves, who’s prepared to
help out if you return the favour
for them when they are away, is
worth their weight in gold. Or, if
you have hired help in the garden
for a few hours each week, see
if your right-hand-man (or, in my
case, woman) can put in a few
extra hours to keep on top of
watering as well as their usual
mowing, weeding and trimming,
just to keep everything ticking
over nicely until you are home.
When you don’t have a
‘treasure’, you’ll just have to
manage without.
Houseplants are relatively easily
catered for. Just stand small pots
or real moisture-lovers such as
ferns in the sink with a damp
towel underneath, give them a
good drink, and they’ll take care
of themselves for two weeks.
Large indoor plants can be left
in their usual place as long as it’s
not in sunlight, and if you give
them a thorough soak they should
be fine for the same time. Cacti,
succulents and other low-water
users such as yuccas will be
perfectly happy for even longer
than that.
Outdoor tubs and hanging
baskets will need daily watering
in summer, and maybe more
often in really hot dry spells, so if
you normally rely on an irrigation
system run from a timer on the
outdoor tap for ‘holiday cover’,
be aware that you can’t use it if
there’s a hose-pipe ban in your
area. (If you aren’t sure, check
the situation with your water
supply company before setting
it all up). Otherwise shift tubs
and hanging baskets into the
shade and cobble together your
own basic self-watering system.
Stand several containers round a
bucket of water, raised up on a
stack of bricks so that the water
level is higher than the top of the
pots, and give each one it’s own
‘wick’ to keep it watered. An old
dishcloth is just the job; wet it
well first then tuck one end firmly
inside the edge of the pot with
the other end held safely in the
bottom of the bucket, weighted
down with a stone. Give the
plants a good soaking and top
the buckets up to the rim before
you go and they should be fine
for two weeks or so. If that’s too
much trouble, your best bet is
to sink the bottom 2-3in of all
your containers in damp garden
soil in a shady spot and again
make sure everything is good
and wet just before you leave
home. But if you’re going away
late in the season why not just
cut your losses and simply tip
out the summer flowers before
you go? Replant your containers
with winter pansies immediately
you come home, and they’ll
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