My garden in the heatwave

Am I really awful... Here in Northumberland we have had plenty of rain and my many water butts are over flowing. ..so I use my watering can regularly.
I use grey water to water my pots .c
However, I do sometimes put the sprinkler on the lawn for a short time.
I know, with global warming, the time will soon come when my lush garden will become a shrivelled dry desert

The weeds in my garden are thriving

Here in central France we are on the 3rd heatwave. We were the hottest place in France at 44 at one point, today it’s 37 in the shade on my terrace. Overnight temperatures are high 20’s and have been like that for weeks. Add in a hot dry wind and the garden is just brown and crispy. We’ve had 2 short spells of rain of a couple of hours since April.
Officially we are at crisis level for water supply- watering anything other than your potager is forbidden and you can only water the veg from 8pm to 8 am.

I am keeping the pots alive by saving every drop of used water in the house, targeted water in the potager only. Trees are dying, the grass is brown and crunchy.

This in not normal- yes we expect hot weather, according to the weather apps the average temperature is 12 degrees above normal. Normally I can grow most of our summer veg and lots of soft fruit, but not this year. I’m concentrating on keeping the fruit bushes alive for next year.
The lack of rain and numerous fires are really scary- we have packed “grab bags” with essentials and paperwork ect just in case.

I think that I must definitely begin to plan for a garden of plants that come without water.

My lavender has flowered its socks off and I’ve only watered it a couple of times, whereas the dahlias are sulking because they had a period of no water, and so haven’t started to flower yet - I’m chivvying them along with some feed now.

Things on my dry so far list are salvias. - all sorts, lavenders and a little blue flowered creeping Mediterranean convulvulous - seems to manage with little water. It’s all blue though so far.

My grass is dried and crispy yellow. Even the weeds have died. Plants in pots near the house I put into either washing up bowls or large plastic boxes so that I can pour any spare water in and so far all those plants are OK. But I have lost a lot of plants in the ground. Even the sedum have very reduced flower heads. And the lavender flower heads are dry already.

I think this autumn I will get some help to cut back and dig out all those plants not doing well and have a good rethink.

Sad isnt it. It will affect garden centres in the south and midlands if all they dare sell next year are heat resistant plants.

My problem is my heavy clay soil is waterlogged all winter and now baked to concrete. I've lost so many plants and even some weeds are shrivelling. I'll try to dig in a load more grit, but oh for the days when I could add peat which really helped my soil.

mine also

3 years ago i got rid of all my grass. Made beds with old sleepers and old bricks, filled up with roses over an arch and lots of perennials. Looks really good and well alive.
I left an old dead ish holly for my everlasting sweet peas to scramble over, which are great but sadly no smell .so I made up by planting a highly scented, old fashioned, dead common honeysuckle next to them. Those 2 are absolute stars atm.
I also put a large watering can nxt to my backdoor and all my washing up and any other water which I use d the days gets poured over into the watering can, tea coffee rinsing water, washing up water etc all included. Ive got 3 rain butts but they're nrly empty sadly..

One of the everlasting sweet peas &co..

I've given up on the small wall mounted baskets - they simply cannot contain sufficient water for long enough to keep any plants alive - I have put some drought loving rock plants in there.

My lawn is interesting. There is a massive perfect rectangle (20 feet by 6 approx.) in the middle that is dead - I presume that the builders left something there when they built the house 6 years ago. The whole "lawn" was just turf on rubble to begin with, but this particular bit is interesting. A bit of modern archaeology needed!

oh Bassous and Lucky girl3 thanks,, very encouraging, I have a small box like garden well filled 3 tubs I have to water, the rest seems,,,, to be surviving without water, I have a huge hydrangea in a pot, which I have to water,,

we have been really lucky in that the heat scorched a couple of our acers but we moved them to the shade. They honestly looked dead but they have sprung back to life
I didn't bother with bedding plants at all

Loads of gorgeous poppies, carefully culled over the years and using their seeds every year, still going strong, lots of different stages doing well both in pots and in the ground. Geraniums, pelargoniums and my rhubarb is going full pelt still, Convolvulus Sabatius, sort of french blue bindweed but controllable! Rosemary, tyme, chives.. strawberries in big pot etc all doing well. Clematis have bn pretty rubbish. Dahlias ok.
What does help is putting a small circle of stones or just hard soil around each plant and water into that, it'll funnel it straight down to the roots anx not thd neighbouring soil

Good tip Bassoues. I will try that as the water goes everywhere especially when the earth is dry.