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How to holiday-proof your garden

How to holiday-proof your garden

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Monday, 30 June 2025 at 9:05 am

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Going on holiday? Monty Don suggests some simple techniques to help your plants in pots survive while you're away. And we reveal our top tips to prepare your garden for the summer holiday season

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Going on holiday? A few simple tasks before you go will keep it all ticking over so you can enjoy your time away. Watch this clip from Gardeners' World for lots of quick and easy techniques that will help to keep your patio pots from drying out while you're away on holiday. Monty Don offers handy tips, including a novel idea for keeping a moisture-loving eucomis happy.

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A couple of days before you leave, weed borders, deadhead flowering plants, mow and edge the lawn and top up the pond. Just before you go, water containers, fruiting crops and anything newly planted. Pots are most likely to suffer in hot weather, and an irrigation system is ideal, but if you don’t have one, follow our tips below.

Smaller pots can be sunk into the ground in a border or raised bed – as the compost dries out, it will take up moisture from the soil. If you can, ask friends and neighbours to water plants and crops, in exchange for harvesting produce or flowers, or the promise that you’ll do the same for them when it’s their turn to go on holiday. Take a look at some of the simple things you can do to prepare your garden for holidays, below.

Deadhead flowering plants

Deadhead flowering plants before you go, but also remove flowers that are fully open. This will stop plants running to seed, and means that existing buds will be blooming when you return.

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Mow the lawn

Mow the lawn just before you leave to encourage good growth and keep weeds down. Don’t cut it too short, as it will be susceptible to drought. If the weather is forecast to be hot, set the blades high.

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Eat or store crops

Pick and then freeze or eat any crops you can before you travel. Harvest courgettes, even if they’re tiny, to avoid finding marrows on your return. Also, harvest peas and beans to keep crops coming. Here's our advice on how to preserve your harvests.

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Water potted plants

Water pots well. Put saucers beneath them to collect water and increase humidity. Move them to a shady spot where they will dry out less quickly. If you can’t move them, cover with shade netting or fleece. Take a look at our guide to summer watering for more tips. And watch Arit Anderson's guide to holiday-proofing your pots:

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