Instructions for a Heatwave

As I went around the garden moving pots of young plants to spots that will survive my absence through the hottest days of the year, I thought of Maggie O’Farrell’s wonderful novel of that name. I want to make life easy for my friend who has the responsibility of keeping the plants alive – a task more onerous than usual with temperatures forecast to reach the mid 30s. A long shelf beneath the kitchen windows only gets sunshine in the early morning, so I’ve crammed them on it on trays of gravel. The close proximity of the plants and the humidity from the water in the gravel trays should produce a microclimate that will keep them happy until my return. I’ve also dotted full watering cans around the garden so that she can administer emergency watering to anything that is flagging. Fortunately I’m only away for a few days, but if you are planning to go on holiday, it’s worth moving container plants into a shady location or providing them with gravel-filled saucers.