Five 10-minute summer gardening jobs

I’ve got five 10-minute summer gardening jobs for busy people to help your garden look fabulous all summer long.

1. Target your watering.

   In times of drought, one of the most important things you can do to keep your plants alive is give them a good watering. When water is scarce, you can’t afford to waste a drop, so water directly where your plants need it most, at the roots.

   Drench the soil around the base of your plants in the evening, when temperatures have cooled and less water will be lost to evaporation.

2. Top up the mulch.

   Once you’ve watered your plants, reapply mulch to help hold that moisture in. By summer, the mulch you put down in spring is probably looking a little scrappy, so add a generous layer around the roots. It helps retain moisture, suppresses weeds and looks good too.

3. Snip off faded flowers.

   Once the flowers have gone over, plants can start to look scruffy and put their energy into making seeds. There’s a simple solution. Grab a pair of snips and cut off dead flowers just above a pair of leaves.

   Deadheading can encourage a fresh flush of flowers, tidy up the garden and extend the flowering season. It’s especially useful for dahlias, cosmos and roses to keep their blooms coming. Even five minutes a day can make a tremendous difference.

4. Pull weeds by hand.

   If you’ve got 10 minutes, go around the garden looking for weeds. You don’t need tools for this quick tidy. If you see a weed you can pull by hand, give it a pull. Your borders will look tidier straight away, and the plants you want to keep will have more room to grow, with less competition for water, nutrients and light.

   It’s a relaxing, satisfying job when you don’t have much time to spare.

5. Sweep patios and paths.

   Give your garden an instant boost by clearing the paths. Grass clippings, loose gravel and overenthusiastic plants can spill onto them, so grab a broom and get sweeping. Clear the debris or cut back a stem or two to reveal the path beneath.

   You’ll bring back the structure of the garden and keep the paths clear and safe, while letting the garden grow wild around them.

And that’s my five 10-minute summer gardening jobs for busy people.