Gardeners who went on holiday confident that friends and family would water, deadhead and harvest their crops in their absence must be feeling pretty smug.

But what about those who didn’t have the luxury of a mate to water the garden while we were sunning ourselves elsewhere? What about those who just didn’t find time to install an automatic irrigation system?

Well, you now have to look at the mess that remains and consider what’s worth saving and what isn’t.

Annual bedding plants in containers and baskets are unlikely to recover fully if the weather’s been scorching and they’ve been left in the sun, so it might be a case of taking an executive decision, tipping them out and starting again.

Plants such as lobelia and soft, fleshy plants including fuchsias and tomatoes are much less likely to survive than drought-tolerant plants such as pelargoniums.

You may find a few bargains of late summer blooms in your local garden centre to brighten up the scene, but if you’re on a budget it’s probably better to invest in some spring bulbs for planting, or get a head start on autumn and winter planting designs.

Containers holding year-round interest plants such as shrubs or evergreens may benefit from being submerged in a bucket of water to re-wet the compost, but it is difficult to tell if the compost is thoroughly soaked and it is important not to waterlog the plants.

Clematis in containers are more likely to survive a week without watering if they are in big pots and have other plants around them, says world famous, award-winning clematis specialist Raymond Evison.

“If a clematis is in a pot 2ft in diameter and 2ft deep it should survive well. Those in smaller containers, say 15in in diameter and 18in deep, will suffer some damage after a week of really hot weather with no water. Place other plant material in the pot, creating a micro climate so the clematis has a cooler root system.”

Border perennials and shrubs are much more likely to survive your absence, but pick weeds when you return to stop them shedding seeds which will cause you problems later. Deadhead all your border plants and give them a good water and they should recover.

If no-one has picked your crops, you are likely to come home to a large amount of stringy, tough runner beans which need to be put on the compost heap, and the plants will probably have stopped flowering. Pick all the beans, feed them with tomato feed and they may start producing again.

Some gardeners can become more relaxed about pest and disease control once they’ve had their two week holiday, but ignore them at your peril – you may be storing up problems that will remain dormant until next year.

Pest control is also important. Predatory insects which provide control multiply more slowly as the temperature drops. Take off shoots which are infested with greenfly or blackfly.

If you’ve been one of the unlucky ones whose plants have had it this summer, don’t worry – you can steal a march on autumn and winter schemes which should keep the garden looking good later in the season.