So cross, my poor dried up pots….

To be fair to the girl in question watering pots is vary individual - to the pot and what it's made of, the size of the pot, the compost inside the post, the plant in the pot and it's requirements, the time of watering, the position of the pot in relation to exposure to wind and sun, whether there is a saucer beneath, what part of the country you are in, whether it is native to this country or else which country and climate does it originate from and the temperature of the particular day.

I've tended gardens, flowers, fruit and veg, all my adult life [now late 70's] and have not got it right many times. Nature is the proper caretaker and this is a summer of extreme conditions. Tap water doesn't always bring the results. Give her a break.

Peat-free compost sets like concrete once it's dry. Some brands are better than others. Avoid Waitrose's.

Having a wander round the garden yesterday evening, I found two azaleas in pots which I'd put by the shed as they'd finished flowering. Normally they are just left there, forgotten until early spring and survive to flower again but, of course this year they are dry and shrivelled. My own fault of course.

Fingers crossed they might revive.

I'm watering pots every day, sometimes twice a day, and I've got pots with sides that don't look like they touch the compost.

MayBee70

What amazes me is how lawns recover so well after heavy rain but not if they’re watered with tap water.

I have never noticed this.
Is it the way they have been watered?

MayBee70

I do love sedums and think I’m just going to fill the garden with them next year.

Snap, I was only thinking that the other day.

BlueBelle

How old a child are you talking about ? I would have
a) showed her exactly what was needed watching her do it before you went Children and non gardeners have no idea how much water plants need in a hot summer
b) I would not pay her till I got back, she would need to earn her wages

She’s probably at least 13.

Fara56

Despite being watered 2-3 x pd in our small walled south facing garden, the plants are in an awful dried state. Even the lavender!

I think I'm going to dig my lavenders up & put in the shade in pots.They're only 2-3 y o. It's in the front which I rarely water & 100% full sun. The only weed that seems to be surviving round here is brambles - nettles, coltsfoot & all the annual weeds shrivelled up weeks ago.
If I can get a spade through the soil..
I'm planning to re-do that bed in autumn & wondering if a parasol would look too weird over a flower bed!