Seasonal hub · June – August
Summer garden jobs in the UK.
Summer is maintenance season. Almost everything that goes wrong in a UK summer traces back to watering — too little, too shallow, or at the wrong time of day.
The main jobs this season
1. Water deeply, early, and less often
One long soak that reaches 15–20cm beats a daily sprinkle that only wets the surface and encourages shallow roots. Water before 8am so less is lost to evaporation and leaves dry before evening.
2. Prioritise when water is short
New planting, containers, and fruiting vegetables come first. Lawns come last — brown grass recovers on its own once rain returns, so never waste water on it in a drought.
3. Feed heavy croppers weekly
Tomatoes, courgettes, beans and container flowers need a high-potash feed once a week from the first flowers onwards. Feed after watering, never onto dry compost.
4. Deadhead and keep picking
Remove faded flowers on roses, dahlias and bedding to keep new buds coming, and pick beans and courgettes small — a single oversized courgette tells the plant to stop producing.
5. Mow higher in dry weather
Raise the blade in June and leave clippings on the lawn during dry spells. Longer grass shades its own roots and stays greener for weeks longer.
6. Check irrigation weekly
Look for blocked nozzles, kinked pipe and dry patches. A dripline that has drifted a few centimetres off a plant waters bare soil all summer without anyone noticing.
What to plant in summer
- Successional salad, rocket, radish and spring onion every fortnight
- French and runner beans until early July
- Autumn and winter brassicas: kale, purple sprouting broccoli, leeks
- Overwintering onion sets and autumn salad from late August
- Container herbs: basil, coriander, parsley in light shade
Watering in a heatwave or hosepipe ban
In a heatwave, containers may need water twice a day, borders once or twice a week, and lawns not at all. Mulch and shade cloth do more than extra watering.
Drip irrigation is usually still permitted during a hosepipe ban because it delivers water directly to the root zone — check your water company's wording, and use stored rainwater where you can.
Summer checklist
- Water early morning, deeply, twice a week at most
- Feed fruiting crops weekly with high potash
- Top up mulch on bare, sun-baked soil
- Raise the mower blade and leave clippings
- Check dripline nozzles and timers weekly
Water less, grow more
A zoned dripline system waters borders, beds and containers at the root zone on a timer, so the garden keeps going whether you are at home or away.
Other seasons