Regular deadheading is one of the simplest ways to keep your garden looking its best throughout July. Remove spent blooms from roses, sweet peas, nepeta and other flowering plants to encourage the plant to put more energy into creating even more fresh flowers rather than producing seeds. A few minutes every couple of days can make a huge difference to the amount of colour you’ll enjoy for the rest of the season.

Water your plants deeply and less frequently rather than giving plants a light sprinkle each day, as this encourages the roots to grow deeper into the soil. I feed almost everything in my garden with an organic liquid seaweed feed weekly throughout the growing season, as it’s packed with natural nutrients and helps plants stay healthy, resilient and productive.

Fresh water is essential for birds, bees, hedgehogs and other garden wildlife, especially during these scorching temperatures! Clean and refill bird baths and shallow water bowls regularly to prevent algae building up, and add a few pebbles so bees and insects have somewhere safe to land while they drink.

Courgettes, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs all benefit from regular harvesting. Picking little and often encourages the plants to keep producing, meaning you’ll enjoy a much bigger harvest right through summer and even into early autumn.

July is a brilliant time to think ahead and sow crops for autumn and even Christmas. Carrots are a great choice for a festive harvest, but you can also sow salads, beetroot and spring cabbage to keep your kitchen garden productive long after summer has passed.

After months of planting, sowing and caring for your garden, July is the perfect time to slow down and appreciate your hard work. Host a barbecue, enjoy a picnic on the lawn, or simply take your morning coffee outside. You’ll notice details that are so easily missed when you’re always busy working in the beds and borders.