Depending on where you live, this is a week to avoid big decisions. This may sound like a woo-woo warning, but this is about the sun not the stars. As you probably discovered last month, when the mercury rises our clarity of thought drops. Why? Because hot weather is proven to impact cognitive skills. 

On a temperate day, your brain will use 20% of your total energy to function at full force, but hot weather puts bodies under stress, so that energy and other resources like oxygen are diverted to help cool your body down. The result? Our brains are quite literally put on ice. Cue sluggishness, irritability, difficulty concentrating and higher levels of forgetfulness. The impact on our clarity of thought echoes what also happens when we’re stressed, dehydrated or tired, which is triple-trouble because these are all more likely to increase when it’s hot, too.

So, what can you do to be on your A-game during this hot, hot summer? Aside from the obvious – stay hydrated (glug that water before you feel thirsty), prioritise sleep, re-structure your day if you can to work in cooler hours and take advantage of any air con you can get – the best tip I’ve come across is to cool your hands, not your face. Submerging your hands in cold water for 15 minutes slowly cools your body down and is proven to be more effective than fanning your face or even taking a cold shower.

If all else fails and you remain hot under the collar, it might be time to hit the stop button. A bad decision can haunt you for months, a delayed decision only costs days, which means every now and again, being on you’re A-game means knowing exactly when to do absolutely nothing. 

If you’ve spent any time swooning over award-winning greenery lately, you’ll already know Zoe Claymore. As one of the absolute standout stars of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 and a Hampton Court gold medallist, Zoe is officially redefining modern British garden design. Whether an allotment or a small terrace or a sprawling garden, she creates outdoor spaces that are sustainable, deeply thoughtful, and utterly gorgeous. When she isn’t knee-deep in mud or transforming urban landscapes, though, you’ll find her working from a shared creative hub in Teddington.

“I’d like to say my desk is tidy all the time, but there are usually piles of design books, brochures, and paving samples everywhere,” Zoe laughs. “But no matter the chaos, these five staples always have a permanent home on my desk.”

1. The Heavy-Duty Measuring Tape

Designers are nothing without their dimensions. Whether she’s mapping out a massive estate layout or just visualising a client’s patio size in real life, Zoe is never without a measuring tape. “Honestly, I go through so many, but my absolute go-tos are Stanley FatMax Measuring Tapes because the tape is much thicker and actually lasts the distance on site.”

2. A Flame Tree Notebook

Every great garden starts as a sketch. For Zoe, those ideas live in a beautiful notebook featuring a bee motif, picked up at an English Heritage site. “I use it to constantly jot things down. When it runs out, I’ll find my next favourite one,” she says. Want the look? Snag a gorgeous bee notebook of your own from the Flame Tree Publishing collection.

3. A Special Photo Frame

Even the coolest career women have a sentimental side. To get her through tricky administrative days, Zoe keeps a photo of her husband on a holiday in Canada just before they went whale watching. It sits in a rustic slate photo frame that they received as a wedding gift.

4. Desk Moss (Yes, Really!)

Naturally, a world-class gardener brings the outside in. Zoe keeps a few incredibly cute Marimo moss balls on her desk. “They make me smile and are basically bomb-proof in low office light,” she says. She gets hers from her friends at Highland Moss Marimo Moss Balls, proving you don’t need a sprawling lawn to be a plant parent.

5. An Eco Water Bottle

Hydration is non-negotiable when you spend half your life trekking across windy garden sites. Zoe always keeps a plastic-free water bottle right next to her laptop so she’s ready to dash out to a client consultation at a moment’s notice. For a brilliant British staple that keeps things crisp, try an insulated option from Chilly’s Bottles.

Interview conducted by Kayleigh Dray. Imagery provided by Annabelle May Photography.