Gardeners across the UK have been issued a "do not" warning about mowing their lawns following the return of rain after a prolonged dry spell. Andres Gomez, garden expert at outdoor cleaning appliances provider Aiper, has led the warnings, advising households to leave their grass untouched to allow it to recover naturally.
Why you should avoid mowing your lawn
Mr Gomez warned: "Don't mow the lawn. They are surprisingly resilient, despite looking brown and parched and will come back to life when the rain starts again. Mowing it can add extra stress and pressure on the grass so just leave it as long as possible."
Another benefit of not trimming the grass is that it helps protect the soil and allows it to "lock in the moisture for longer" when rain finally arrives. This means the lawn will recover more quickly, according to the expert.
Hold off on pruning shrubs too
Mr Gomez also advised against pruning shrubs at this time. He said: "Don't prune your shrubs yet. Even if they have dead stems and don't look attractive, just leave them as pruning will put extra strain on your shrubs. Wait until they are showing signs of new life before you attempt to prune."
This guidance comes as many gardens across the country show signs of drought stress, with brown patches and wilted plants common sights.
How to water your garden effectively
For those looking to help their plants, Mr Gomez suggested using grey water. He explained: "Grey water is water you have used for washing up, boiling veg or pasta and even bath water. Save it until it is cold and then pour straight onto the ground to directly reach the plant roots and focus your efforts on watering a few different plants deeply at a time rather than trying to cover the whole garden."
He also recommended watering early in the day. "Water the garden as early as possible so plants can use the water throughout the day rather than at night. Night-time watering can also encourage unwelcome slugs and mosquitos or midges," Mr Gomez said.
Avoid common watering mistakes
The expert highlighted a frequent error among gardeners: "The main mistake people make is trying to water much too sparingly and not focus on watering deeply."
He advised: "It's better to focus on individual pots or shrubs each day and rotate around the garden so everything gets a deeper soak."
Mr Gomez also cautioned against worrying too much about lawns. He said: "Another mistake is to spending too much time trying to stop lawns going brown. Focus on plants, shrubs and trees instead as lawns recover so quickly as soon as the rain comes."
