Daffodils in nearby Nocton Wood. A great place for a walk out on the edge of the fen.

With so many people spending so much extra time at home the nation’s gardens have probably never looked better. The challenge is to keep them watered when we all go off for a week or two’s holiday. Some people set up complex irrigation systems and hope they don’t get clogged or the pipes don’t blow off while they are away. A better way is to first soak and then mulch the ground thoroughly, perhaps with lawn clippings, so evaporation from the soil is minimised. Most plants are reasonably tolerant of a short period of water stress so a good soaking on return, unless the weather has done the work for you, works well. We find that planting runner beans later in the season in mid June, puts back the peak flowering period when they need most water until after we return from our break. It also gets past the worst period for slugs at planting out. Whatever you do, half a crop is better than no crop so good luck!