1 HOUR to make a difference

If time is short, focus on one satisfying task – and the rest of the garden can wait

First aid may be needed for your borders as gaps appear where plants have gone over, so dash to a local nursery or garden centre to arm yourself with a few flowering-now perennials to plug them. The colour pops they inject will return each summer, so the benefits will endure. Wiry stemmed, floriferous Gaura lindheimeri ‘The Bride’ or poetically named ‘Whirling Butterflies’ will add great charm. Vibrant Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ will inject long-lasting violetblue flowers, and Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is what gardening presenter and author Nick Bailey calls “a tireless flower factory”.