It's another heatwave, and UK gardens are getting more than a little hot and bothered. Lawns are turning straw-coloured, borders are drooping and hosepipe restrictions mean you can't simply water your way out of trouble.
When you've tried every watering trick in the book, there's one solution you might not have thought of: shade.
And for under £15, you can build a simple DIY 'sun tent' to help protect vulnerable areas of your garden from scorching summer sun.
Gardening expert Clair Albone from Wickes swears by this simple fix: breathable landscape fabric stretched over a few plant sticks and pinned in place. It blocks harsh sunlight while still letting light and air through, giving heat-stressed plants the chance to recover.
The beauty of this hack is its simplicity. Grab some Apollo Weed Control Landscape Fabric (£12) and a pack of Smart Garden Plant Stix (£2.50), position your sticks around the plants you want to protect, drape the fabric over them like a tent, and secure the edges with pegs or weights. That's it.
"Summer heatwaves don't mean sacrificing a lush, green garden," says Clair. "A DIY shade canopy is an effective way to shield plants from the scorching sun and offer instant protection."
The woven fabric does the work: it blocks harsh rays while still letting light and air through. Within days, wilting stops and leaf scorch vanishes. It works across beds, borders, vegetable patches and heat-sensitive plants.
Our deputy multiplatform editor Lisa has been using a parasol to shade her patio pots and it has worked wonders on her roses, hydrangeas and herbs, but a DIY sun tent covers more ground.
Rather than shading individual pots, it protects entire beds and borders – meaning you can shelter multiple vulnerable plants without repositioning anything as the sun moves. Keep your tent in place throughout the summer, and remove it on cooler days or if heavy rain is forecast.
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