Gardens by Rachel

31/08/2026

🌿 FROM AUGUST INTO SEPTEMBER: YOUR GARDEN TO-DO LIST 🍂

As summer starts to wind down, there's still plenty happening in the garden — and September is the perfect time to start preparing for autumn.

Here are a few jobs to keep in mind over the next few weeks:
🌸 Keep deadheading
Many plants will continue flowering into September if you keep removing spent blooms.
💧 Water wisely
If we're still experiencing dry weather, keep an eye on newly planted plants, containers and anything showing signs of stress. Water deeply rather than little and often.
🌱 Start thinking about planting
Autumn is one of the best times to plant many trees, shrubs and perennials. The soil is still warm, while cooler weather and increased rainfall help plants establish before winter.
🌳 Look at your trees and shrubs
September is a great time to assess your planting. Has anything outgrown its space? Are there gaps you'd like to fill? Autumn can be an ideal time to make changes.
🌼 Collect seeds
If you've enjoyed particular plants this year, let some seed heads develop and collect the seeds for next year — or leave them for the birds and let nature do the planting for you.
🍂 Don't tidy everything!
As we head into autumn, resist the temptation to cut everything back immediately. Seed heads, stems and fallen leaves can provide food and shelter for wildlife over the colder months.

🌿 And finally… look back at your garden this summer.
Which plants thrived?
Which struggled?
Where did you need to water most?
And which areas did you actually enjoy using?

These observations are incredibly useful when planning for next year — especially as our gardens face increasingly hot, dry summers followed by wetter winters.
The best time to start planning next year's garden is while you're still enjoying this year's. 💚

What are you planning to do differently in your garden this autumn?

29/08/2026

🌿 GARDEN QUIZ! 👀
Let's see who knows their plants…
Can you identify this plant?

A) Salvia 🌸
B) Nepeta 💜
C) Agastache 🐝
D) Lavender 💜
No cheating! 😂

Drop your answer in the comments ⬇️
We'll reveal the answer later!
And if you get it wrong… don't worry. That's what we're here for. 😉

We know about plants. 🌱

27/08/2026

🌿 GARDEN DESIGN, TWO YEARS ON…

Back in July 2024, we designed and planted this garden, and recently the team were back to give it some much-needed maintenance.

It's always exciting to revisit a garden we've created and see how it has developed over time. Plants have matured, filled out and really started to settle into their space — and it's looking so good! 🌱

Good garden design isn't just about how a garden looks on day one. It's about choosing the right plants for the right place, giving them room to grow and creating something that will continue to evolve and improve over the years.

Of course, the current dry weather has taken its toll on the lawn, which is looking rather brown! 🌾☀️
But don't panic if your grass has gone golden. Lawns can naturally become dormant during prolonged dry spells and often recover when conditions become wetter again.

It's another reminder that our gardens are living, changing spaces — and increasingly, we need to think about how resilient they are to the weather we're experiencing.

We think this one is coming along beautifully. 💚

25/08/2026

🌸 PLANT OF THE MONTH — AUGUST 🌸
Echinacea 🌿🐝

If there’s one plant that feels made for late summer, it’s Echinacea.

With its beautiful daisy-like flowers, strong stems and long flowering season, it brings colour to borders just when some of the earlier summer flowers are beginning to fade.

And it isn't just beautiful…
🐝 Pollinators love it — bees and butterflies are frequent visitors.
☀️ It handles sunshine well — once established, Echinacea is relatively drought tolerant, making it a great choice for gardens experiencing increasingly hot, dry summers.
🌱 It keeps giving — resist the temptation to cut it down as soon as flowering finishes. The seedheads provide food for birds and add lovely structure to the garden through autumn and winter.
🎨 There's plenty of choice — from the classic pink Echinacea purpurea to white, yellow, orange and other cultivated varieties.
Our favourite thing about Echinacea? It manages to be beautiful, useful and resilient all at the same time.

A pretty good combination for a modern garden. 💚
Do you have Echinacea growing in your garden?

23/08/2026

🌿 A BIG CONGRATULATIONS! 🎓🌱

We have some very exciting news to share…
Rachel, Katie and Lucy have all received their RHS Level 3 Practical Horticulture exam results — and they did brilliantly! 👏💚

After months of studying, revising, practical work and fitting exams around busy days working in gardens, we're incredibly proud of all three of them.

RHS Level 3 is a significant step in developing professional horticultural knowledge, covering everything from plant identification and propagation to soil, plant health, pruning and practical garden skills.
And what makes this achievement even more special is that they're not just learning from books — they're putting that knowledge into practice every day in our clients' gardens.

🌱 Congratulations Rachel, Katie & Lucy!
We're so proud to have such a knowledgeable, passionate and continually learning team.
And, of course, the studying doesn't stop here… 😉

We know about plants. 🌿

22/08/2026

🌿 MEET FAY 🌿

We’re delighted to introduce the newest member of the Gardens by Rachel team — Fay! 💚

Fay has been a keen allotment holder for more than 10 years, so her love of growing, gardening and being outdoors has been a big part of her life for a long time.
She’s one of those people who genuinely loves being outside in all weathers — although we’re sure even Fay has her limits! ☔️🌱
After many years working in the veterinary profession, Fay has taken the leap to follow a long-held dream: becoming a professional gardener.
She’s currently studying for her RHS Level 2 qualification in Horticulture, while learning from the rest of our team and gaining plenty of hands-on experience in our clients’ gardens.

For Fay, being outdoors, working with nature and helping create beautiful gardens is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding.
We’re so pleased to have her as part of the team and can't wait to see her horticultural knowledge and confidence grow. 🌱
Please give Fay a warm welcome in the comments! 👋

18/08/2026

Very proud to have been chosen to be interviewed by the lovely Tim Life in Leam for his podcast series for the charity work we do for the The Social Gardening Project and how it all got started.

Have a listen:

On Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/warwickshire-social-gardening/id1819934851?i=1000782116756

On Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6lc6D6eWDl7pZG6ne3xGTe?si=-rYeJ8rySh-BZvpmaq5N7g

On YouTube
https://youtu.be/nl6Kxb-0t3U?si=-s3kXy-jgYR2K2zi

If you enjoy a potter in the garden and also a bit of friendly comp...

06/08/2026

💧 What happens to your bath water?

Most of us pull the plug and never think about it again.

But with hotter, drier summers becoming the norm, perhaps it's time we started looking at water a little differently.

This simple system at Rachel's home diverts bath water into a storage tank rather than sending it straight down the drain. The tank holds around two full baths of water, ready to be used around the garden when the plants need it most.

Imagine if every household could reuse just two baths' worth of water each week. The impact on our gardens—and our demand for treated drinking water—would be huge.

We're passionate about helping gardens adapt to our changing climate, and water conservation is becoming just as important as choosing the right plants.

Alongside rainwater harvesting, consider:
🌿 Reusing bath water where appropriate.
🌿 Installing water butts on every available downpipe.
🌿 Growing drought-tolerant plants that thrive in dry conditions.
🌿 Watering deeply but less often to encourage stronger root systems.
Sustainability isn't always about making big changes. Often, it's about making smarter use of the resources we already have.

Would you consider a system like this at home, or do you already have your own water-saving ideas? We'd love to hear them. 💚🌿

04/08/2026

🌍 Gardening for a Changing Climate 💧🌿

There's no denying it—our climate is changing.
We're seeing longer, hotter summers, extended periods without rain, followed by increasingly wet winters and intense downpours.
As gardeners, we can't ignore it, and neither should the way we design and care for our gardens.

The gardens that thrive over the next 10, 20 or even 50 years will be the ones that are designed with resilience in mind.
One of our clients has an incredible 15 water butts around their garden, capturing rainwater throughout the year to help keep their plants healthy during dry spells. It might sound excessive, but as summers become hotter, it could soon become the norm.

So what can we all do?

💧 Install water butts wherever you can. Every roof is an opportunity to harvest rainwater.
🪣 Reuse grey water. Water from rinsing vegetables, waiting for the shower to warm up, or washing up (using suitable eco-friendly products) can all be used around ornamental plants.
🌱 Improve your soil. Adding compost and organic matter helps soil hold onto moisture for longer, reducing the need for watering.
🍂 Mulch your borders. A layer of mulch can dramatically reduce evaporation, suppress weeds and improve soil health over time.
🌿 Choose climate-resilient plants. Mediterranean species and plants with silver or small leaves are often naturally adapted to cope with drought.
🐝 Think beyond watering. A diverse garden with trees, shrubs, perennial planting and healthy soil creates cooler microclimates, supports wildlife and is naturally more resilient.
Small changes made today can make a huge difference in years to come.

At Gardens by Rachel, sustainability isn't about following trends—it's about creating gardens that are beautiful, practical and able to thrive for generations.
Because the best gardens don't just look good today... they're prepared for tomorrow.

💬 What changes have you made in your own garden to cope with hotter, drier summers? We'd love to hear your ideas and experiences.

🌱 Together, we can create gardens that are kinder to the environment, better for wildlife and more resilient for the future.

02/08/2026

Our Team Makes the Difference 💚

As we come to the end of our Meet the Team series, we wanted to say one thing...
Gardens by Rachel is so much more than one person.

Every member of our team brings something different—different experiences, favourite plants, specialist knowledge, creative ideas and practical skills.
Some of us love pruning, others enjoy planting. Some are passionate about wildlife, while others have an eye for design, detail or problem-solving.

Together, those individual strengths become something much bigger.
We learn from one another, support one another and genuinely enjoy working together—and we believe our clients can feel that every time we step into a garden.

Thank you for following along and getting to know us over the past few weeks. We hope you've enjoyed meeting the people behind the gardens. 🌿

Here's to many more beautiful gardens together.
💚 The Gardens by Rachel Team