Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail. 7th July 2018 
Hot Dogs
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was trying to avoid hyperthermia in work, and now it’s all about avoiding heatstroke! Derek Brockway did predict that the weather would be becoming more and more extreme with records being broken regularly and it seems he was right.
It’s not only the gardens, and gardeners, that are wilting, please remember that your four legged friends will be feeling the heat too. It drives me bananas to see people walking their dogs on boiling hot tarmac in the heat of the day. Whilst training for my barefoot run across Wales, I ran in all sorts of weather but it was the extreme heat that beat me, as the tarmac was too hot to encounter with bare feet. If the tarmac is too hot for you to walk on in your bare feet, it will be for your furry friends too.
Yogi has been enjoying very early morning walks and a make shift paddling pool to help keep her cool and a friend swills a towel in cold water and drapes it over her dog or leaves it for him to lie on. Or, of course, you could invest or indulge in a ‘cool coat’ for your furry friend. There are several types to choose from, with Pets at Home doing an Easydri Cooling Coat, which holds it’s own moisture without wetting your dogs coat and Hurtta’s Cooling Vest, which protects and cools the heart region and chest, which is vital for circulation. Ruffwear’s Swamp Cooler has also got good reviews and will help your dog keep cool in the hot weather.
Wild for Water
Don’t forget the wildlife too and please put water out in your gardens for them. Birds are struggling to find water to drink and bath in, and bees and butterflies need shallow saucers to drink from as the puddles and boggy drinking holes have dried up. Put a flat stone or a load of marbles in a shallow dish so they can stand on them to drink; they can’t drink from deep water as the surface tension won’t hold them. Lethargic bees will be either be thirsty or hungry.
As David Attenborough recently shared on social media, “If you find a tired bee, a simple solution of sugar and water will help revive an exhausted bee. Simply mix two tablespoons of white, granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water, and place on a spoon for the bee to reach.”
Hedgehogs will also be thirsty as their regular watering holes dry up. Please put water out for them and also remember that if you have a doggy paddling pool – like Yogi’s – then do make sure that hedgehogs can’t get into it as they search for water, or if they do that they can get out!
I am also still feeding my birds, and they are still queuing up at the feeders; it’s not just the harsh winter months that we can help them through, extreme heat can be life threatening for them too. They will really appreciate a bird bath to help them cool off and they’re a great present to give the gardener who has everything (else).
It is all common sense really, but as Nan used to say, ‘Common sense isn’t that common any more.’
Water Wisely
Although tubs, hanging baskets and containers will need regular watering – three times a day in the recent temperatures – try not to water other parts of the garden if you can avoid it. Most plants will respond by sending roots deeper to look for water which will ensure their survival if the hot condition continue. If you start watering it encourages the roots to upturn to the surface for their moisture, which can make them vulnerable in drought conditions.
If hanging baskets and small pots have dried out the co post won’t absorb water and will just run off – messy as well as annoying and pointless – so re-soak the compost and root-balls by plunging the whole container (where feasible) into a dustbin or Gorilla Tub full of water. Hold under the water until the bubbles stop and the compost will be ‘reactivated’. I have cut the bottom off of several 2 litre plastic bottle and sunk them upside down into by veggie beds. You can then fill these with water and it will seep slowly into the ground at the depth of the roots rather than just running off the surface. Don’t forget that our water is precious, don’t take it for granted.
When I was judging Blaenau Gwent in Bloom, a little boy cheerfully shared his best watering tip with me. It was, “Don’t stand under a hanging basket when you water it.”
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