As we get a welcome break from the summer heat, gardeners may be keen to tidy up their outdoor spaces. But you may want to be cautious with your work in your green space during the cooler temperatures.

Andres Gomez, a garden expert at Aiper, warns that stepping away from any major work is often the healthiest choice for your heat-stressed plants. Rather than trying to fix brown grass, Mr Gomez suggests leaving the turf alone until wet weather returns. He said: "Don't mow the lawn. They are surprisingly resilient, despite looking brown and parched and will come back to life when the rain starts again. Mowing it can add extra stress and pressure on the grass so just leave it as long as possible."

Weather forecasts suggest there could be heavy rain over the coming days for much of the UK. Keeping grass uncut helps protect topsoil and allows it to "lock in the moisture for longer" once rainfall arrives. The same patient approach applies to untidy bushes.

Leave your plants alone for now

Mr Gomez said: "Don't prune your shrubs yet. Even if they have dead stems and don't look attractive, just leave them as pruning will put extra strain on your shrubs. Wait until they are showing signs of new life before you attempt to prune." To keep plants thriving, Gomez advocates for reusing household water at the root level.

He explained: "Grey water is water you have used for washing up, boiling veg or pasta and even bath water. Save it until it is cold and then pour straight onto the ground to directly reach the plant roots and focus your efforts on watering a few different plants deeply at a time rather than trying to cover the whole garden."

Do your watering at this time of day

Proper timing is also crucial to protect your plants and avoid pests. Mr Gomez said: "Water the garden as early as possible so plants can use the water throughout the day rather than at night.

"Night-time watering can also encourage unwelcome slugs and mosquitos or midges." A common mistake when brandishing your watering can is lightly spraying the entire yard rather than concentrating on key areas.

The expert said: "The main mistake people make is trying to water much too sparingly and not focus on watering deeply. It's better to focus on individual pots or shrubs each day and rotate around the garden so everything gets a deeper soak."

Gardeners should redirect their energy toward their established plants rather than their faded grass. The outdoor specialist said: "Another mistake is to spending too much time trying to stop lawns going brown. Focus on plants, shrubs and trees instead as lawns recover so quickly as soon as the rain comes."