PLANT OF THE WEEK

LILY OF THE VALLEY

watering can to help maintain healthy plants.

8. INSTALL A WATER BUTT

Up to 85,000 litres of rain falls on your roof each year, so install a water butt and use it to water your plants and wash your car.

9. MULCH EVERYWHERE

Adding a mulch, whether it be a biodegradable material such as compost, bark, leafmould or wood chippings, or non-biodegradable such as decorative pebbles, shingle, slate or gravel, will not only retain moisture but will also suppress weeds and generally make beds and borders look neater. Don’t leave it too late, though.

You don’t want to be mulching ground that is bone dry. I spotted this growing in the cracks between paving slabs at a friend’s house this week. It’s a plant that likes moist soil, so it seemed an unlikely spot.

However, the slate slabs were acting as shade, keeping the root run cool and damp.

Sweetly scented pretty white bell flowers make this a lovely wedding bouquet flower – it was in Meghan Markle’s bouquet and also in Kate’s when she married Wills.

Its perfume is beloved of perfumiers and soap makers, and is the key scent for Christian Dior’s classic Diorissimo.

Great as groundcover in semi-shade providing the ground retains moisture. There’s also a pretty cultivar ‘Rosea’ whose flowers have a gentle pink flush.

Don’t mow lawns during dry spells

Catch rain in a water butt