If you’re like me then your fingers should be itching to get into the garden after the rain. It is amazing what rain does to our mood after the dry weather, it inspires, invigorates and encourages us. Our gardens are filled with fresh promise after the rain and the work we do now will save us a lot of time in the garden going forward. The respite we are getting from the heat saves us a lot of time and money usually spent on watering.
Your garden will be showing its appreciation of the rain by giving you masses of fresh shoots and new growth, unfortunately the same applies for those pesky weeds. Luckily now is the perfect time to get a head start on the weeds in your garden. When pulling weeds out in dry weather, the problem is always that a piece of the root breaks off and stays behind, leaving you with fully recovered weed after a couple of weeks. With the soil being nice and wet after the rain it makes weeding a pleasure ensuring that the whole root comes out together with the plant every time. A great tip that will help you control weeds is to spread a layer of mulch over the bare areas of soil where weeds thrive. This will suppress the weeds and prevent them from germinating. Want to find out more about mulching? Read our article on mulching.
Now is the ideal time to feed our gardens as the wet soil makes it easier for the nutrients to reach the roots. It also helps when applying chemical fertilizer as it won’t burn the plants as easily with the soil being wet. Feeding your lawn now will ensure that it recovers from the heat and the dry weather we have had thus far and ensure a lovely lush lawn for the rest of summer. Feeding your plants now will sustain them throughout summer and ensure masses of colourful blooms and effervescent foliage. Remember to feed your pots and baskets as they are often overlooked and thrive when they are fed.
Planting is also a dream when the soil is wet. That means less backbreaking digging and more planting. I find that I can easily do double the amount of planting when the soil is wet. You can also lessen the shock of transplantation by rather planting in cloudy weather than a scorcher of a day. It is really amazing how the rain can inspire us to get busy in our gardens whilst making it easier to garden. Now there is no excuse for giving your garden a well deserved bit of love and care.