Monty Don has given some tips for gardeners this summer (Image: Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Range Rover)
Renowned gardening expert Monty Don has given some critical advice on soil health and how people can maintain this during hot and dry weather. In recent weeks, the UK has been battered by temperatures close to 30C and this has meant everywhere has become very dry, including the country’s gardens. Speaking on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast Monty, 71, was asked about soil health.
In response he talked about the importance of watering, but clarified that it wasn’t about watering the plants, but watering the soil. He said that this is because most plants get their moisture from the soil, not the water you pour onto them. Monty explained: “It always helps if you get your soil in good health. If you have soil that is full of organic matter, and therefore becomes loam, it will retain moisture and that’s really the secret of watering plants. Your plants should not be dependent upon you giving them water.
Monty Don has given some tips on soil health in the hot weather (stock) (Image: Getty)
“They should be dependent upon accessing water that’s in the soil. So…never water plants, water the soil. That may sound like I’m being glib, I really mean that, that’s serious.
“The only plants that I ever water are ferns, particularly tree ferns, which like moist air, but it’s the soil that needs it because plants get their moisture through the roots and they draw it up through the soil.
“And what you’ll find is that if the water is quite deep, plants will go and find it, whereas if you only water on the surface, the roots have to come to the surface to find it, and therefore they’re more exposed to heat and drought.”
Monty also talked about the importance of good compost in helping to keep your garden moist, he said: “If you have lots of organic matter, ideally garden compost, quite frankly any organic matter, including roots of old plants that opens the soil out and also retains moisture.
“So it opens out so the roots can go and get down and find it and then by retaining moisture there is moisture to find, so it’s the perfect solution.”
Monty’s comments came as the Met Office warned that the extraordinarily hot weather the UK had been experiencing was partly a warning, and that weather which would previously be called extreme, would become normal.
The UK has experienced heatwave conditions repeatedly this summer (Image: Getty)
Speaking about the matter, climate information scientist for the Met Office Mike Kendon said: “What we used to think of as extreme, we increasingly consider as normal.
“What is particularly concerning is how temperature extremes are being affected, as these cause the greatest impacts – a pattern we’ve seen again in 2026 so far. Every year is adding to the body of evidence showing climate change in the UK.
“We are right now living in a time of historic and unprecedented change and in terms of temperature, on annual, seasonal, monthly and daily timescales, this evidence shows the climate of the 20th Century has now gone.”
Monty has previously commented on the best time to water plants. Speaking about the matter earlier this year, specifically when it came to plants in containers, he said: “In fact, every day when it’s as hot as this and, if you can, the best time to water your container is early morning before the sun warms up.
“If you can’t get it done early in the morning, don’t do it during the middle of the day wait till the evening. Basically, when it’s cool. The plants will then take the moisture and they can lose it during the day without suffering any problems.”
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