Try to spend time in the garden in early morning or late in the afternoon or early evening just observing. Take note of what is doing well and what is really not coping with the heat/dryness. Also note spaces where you would like more colour at this time of year.

Then plan what you need to do about those things and how.

No matter what time of day, remember to slip, slop and slap.

Start thinking about ordering winter and spring-flowering bulbs for planting in autumn. You can order or purchase off the shelf at your local nursery, or you can order from nurseries that sell bulbs online.

Some hot weather jobs:

Watering remains a high priority: Keep on with a deep-watering rotation for trees and shrubs planted in autumn. If you are going away, arrange for a kind friend or neighbour to do this chore for you. It is possible to rig up an automated system to water garden beds - and pots too. Investigate at your local hardware store.

Applying products rich in seaweed and organic matter around plants can help to improve the soil’s water holding capacity and the plants ability to tolerate hot weather.

Tie up new shoots of roses and new canes of berry bushes to prevent wind damage.

Keep harvesting crops like beans, peas, cucumbers, marrows and zucchini while the vegies are still young. They have a much better flavour and regular picking encourages the plants to produce more flowers and fruits to continue the crop into autumn. Keep the plants in good condition with water and fertiliser.

Harvest onions when the tops have shrivelled. Make sure there is no soil or mulch covering any part of the swelling bulbs. They need the sun to ripen properly. If onions are continuing to produce foliage when they should be swelling into bulbs, this may result in bull-necked onions which won’t ripen or keep. If this is happening, or they are running to seed, snap them over half way up to hasten bulb growth.