With lots of us trying to preserve water, and many of us within a hosepipe ban, don't let your plants suffer. Here are some helpful tips to keep your plants flourishing this Summer...

1.  Collect Rainwater - Water butts are becoming gardeners new best friend. By collecting rainwater, this will allow you to keep your plants watered regularly, even in a hosepipe ban.
2. Water Saving Crystals - Aqua Gel is a must have for both indoor & outdoor plants. When you do water your plants they will store the water & release it when the plant is in need.
3. Mulch, Mulch, and Mulch again - Mulch your beds and borders with either Strulch, or Bark to help reduce water evaporation from the soil, plus it will help to suppress weeds.
4. Saucers - Use saucers underneath potted plants to catch any unabsorbed water that you can re-use. (Be careful not to leave plants in standing water too long though).
5. Watering Times - To help your plants retain as much water as possible, it's best to water them early morning and late evening when the temperature is cooler.
6. Regular Feeding - Give your plants a boost of nutrients to help them flourish by feeding them once a week. Remember to feed at cooler times of the day - we have a great selection of feeds for all plants.

Step 1: Select your Cacti
We suggest choosing 5 (odd numbers always work best, so 3 if you’d prefer smaller or 7 if bigger), and select a variation of heights, shapes, sizes and types.

Step 2: Plant your Cacti
Start by pouring 2-3'’ of cactus compost into the pot. Start with the tallest, remove the first cactus by gently squeezing the pot to loosen it. Remove excess soil and place the cactus in the pot. Add more soil around each cactus as you plant them.

Step 3: Add top dressing
Add a couple of large stones as well as small gravel stones - Choose a colourful variety if you want to brighten it up!

Step 4: Watering
Pop your cactus garden preferably by an East/West facing window and water it once a month. If you’re keeping it outside water it every 10 days.