Quick tips for keeping cool in your garden

Quick tips for keeping cool in your garden (and elsewhere) does exactly what it says. For medium and longer term planning for a cooler garden check out the blog links below, which include design ideas.

Whether you’re actively gardening in hot weather or wanting to relax, higher summer temperatures – to the extent of mini heatwaves – have become an issue in British gardens.

I’ve included tips for keeping you, the gardener, your plants and your pets as cool as possible. Some will be obvious, but others less so.

Create temporary shade for sitting, lounging and entertaining

Some of these need to be bought and there may be limited choices – so I’ve included a couple of homemade options too.

garden parasol
gazebo
tent
swing seat
trees and larger hedges

Garden Parasol

Remember you’ll need to store this over winter! And that sometimes two smaller ones are a more flexible option than one large one.

Gazebo

These days there are two common definitions for a gazebo. Firstly, is that it is a permanent structure, generally octagonal with a pitched roof and open sided.

Secondly, the modern usage describes a portable tent like structure in canvass or plastic. Used at outdoor events, family garden parties and so on. And it is this latter which provides our quick fix.

Tent

I have two versions to suggest: –

If you already have a tent for camping, is it possible to set it up and have two of more side open?
Homemade tents – think kids playing in the garden, but it works just as well for adults and pets! The shepherds crook style metal posts will be easiest to get into hard ground for your uprights. Drape and fasten a sheet over the top and along the sunny side. As the sun moves round, it’s a simple untie and re-drape for shade.

Swing seat

These often come with a canopy. There are some gorgeous ones about, from the simple hammock types through to daybeds large enough for 3 children and the family cat!

Shady trees and hedges

These provide shade without you needing to do anything except put up a chair or lay down a blanket. Hedges and low branches can also provide support for a homemade tent.

herb garden at woolbeding, wall fountain, garden rooms, garden visit, woolbeding, west sussex

Quick tips for keeping cool in your garden – Water

The sound of water has a cooling affect, as we emotionally and psychologically react to the trickles and splashes.Even smaller water features will help cool your garden and there are portable, solar powered water features available.

Tip for Pets and Humans

Have you seen the cat and dog drinking fountains? You may have one indoors already. But battery operated ones can be used outside too. And if you place it near your shady seating you can all benefit for the cooling feature.

Wildlife need water too

A shallow tray or large dog water bowl with pebbles for access in and out can be a lifesaver for the creatures who live in and visit your garden. It seems only polite to essential water to pollinating insects, ladybirds who eat aphids, and the rest of your natural pest control army.

And guess what – having a selection of wildlife drinking bowls in various places around the garden also helps cool the ambient temperature!

walking barefoot on wood decking, original image by freemixer on getty images signature

Have you ever walked on hot coals?

Aka how hot is the ground beneath your feet?

This is an experiment that you can – and should – try out at home. Walk barefoot from house, to patio, to real grass lawn and back. Try to find sunny and shady areas of the surfaces for a fuller comparison.

Stone pavers, concrete, tarmac, brick paths, artificial turf and artificial decking will all become hotter than loose gravel, bound gravel and wooden decking. And by hotter I mean they may easily become too hot to walk on.

Whilst you can cool down these hard landscaping surfaces on a temporary basis by watering them, that is a waste of clean water!

Quick fix

Instead, lay a hall runner rug from the door to the lawn – your toddler, dog and cat will thank you, as will grown-ups who walk around barefoot (I’m one of those!)

Quick tips for keeping cool in your garden – More plants, less hard landscaping

This is one you can plan for now and put in to practise over autumn, winter and early spring as hot weather is not the best time to be planting. To cool your garden, increase the proportion of plants, also referred to as soft landscaping, in relation to the hard landscaping in your garden.

Garden Designer Tip

This doesn’t just mean laying a grass lawn: a selection of different plant species will be far more effective. It has been scientifically proven that certain plants, including Stachys byzantina, commonly known as lambs ears, actually reduce the ambient air temperature around them. This can be 1 – 2 degrees Celsius up to as much as 11 degrees with additional good leaf cover, especially from trees such as Malus ‘Scarlett’.

I’ll return to the topic of cool planting in another blog post. (I’m currently enjoying reading up the research posts and working out which might suit your particular soil type and size of garden).

newly planted herbaceous flower border, fruit bushes, garden design, planting design, garden project, ornamental edible gardens, artificial lawn, obelisk

newly planted herbaceous border

2 Garden Teacher Tips

Do you grow an Aloe Vera as a houseplant? Take it outside with you, as this plant is particularly good at cooling the atmosphere around itself.
Grow and eat cucumbers – the phrase “cool as a cucumber” is based in fact. The inside of a growing cucumber can be up to 20 times cooler than the air around it! Cucumbers also contain natural electrolytes so eating them will help keep you hydrated. I always carry some around when gardening in hot weather.

early morning spitfires and slow worms garden, rose, sunflower, blue pot aith fustuca glauca, glass stone wall

early morning spitfires and slow worms garden, summerhouse, weathervane, centranthus ruber, valerian, jaoanese anemone

the garden at Spitfires and Slow Worms in the early morning

Quick tips for keeping cool in your garden – Gardening in hot weather

Obviously you’re choosing early morning or evening to garden when it’s cooler! This is better for the plants as well as for you.

However, many of our usual summer tasks such as deadheading need to be approached with care. We do this to encourage more flowers, but producing those requires energy from an already heat stressed plant. One answer is for us gardeners to do less physical gardening.

Instead, take photos of plants that are surviving the heatwaves, struggling or not bothered, and those that aren’t. Plus where in the garden they’re situated. This is useful – essential! -recording which will help you to plan a more resilient garden. (Or help a professional design one for you – the more information you can give them, the better use of their expertise for you).

And finally

There are no guarantees with the British weather. Despite a general rise in summer temperatures, the vagaries of our maritime climate ensure only one thing: If you’ve got up at 4am to water the garden, there’ll be a thunderstorm by lunchtime…

I hope you’ve found these quick tips for keeping cool in your garden helpful? Whatever you do, enjoy your garden and if Plews can help you, please do get in touch. Whether you need our Garden Consultancy & Advice Visits, a planting rethink or a birthday present. Plews bespoke Gardening Lessons, where your classroom is actually your own garden make a wonderful and practical gift.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below.

And you could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest Facebook YouTube

Feeling nosey? You can have a peek at the progress of my garden renovation, Spitfires and Slow Worms, on Instagram and Facebook

You’ll get to see it in person if you come to the Plews Gardening Workshops

And why not get your local garden club, allotment, WI, U3A or other group to ask me along to give a talk?