If you're an avid football fan, the chances are the rest of your life's going to be put on hold for the next few weeks as the World Cup takes place.
Many of us will be glued to our televisions or buried deep in match reports, oblivious to the attempts of well-meaning friends and relatives to return us to the land of the living.
However, there's one vitally important part of life you shouldn't allow the football to eclipse – your garden.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is trying to assure gardeners that gardening and football-watching aren't mutually exclusive, and has come up with a guide to integrate the two activities.
RHS chief horticultural advisor Guy Barter says plenty of tasks can be done at half time, like dead-heading, picking fruit or veg such as a bowl of strawberries or watering pot plants in the house or patio.
If you're watching a particularly dull match, you can start shelling beans or topping and tailing gooseberries. Once the Mexican waves start, it's time to sharpen those knives and secateurs so they're ready for use.
A good way to vent excess energy during the tournament is to mow the lawn, the RHS points out.
As many matches take place at night, it's the perfect chance to pick off slugs, snails, caterpillars and adult vine weevils by torchlight as they go about their nocturnal feeds. You could even indulge in a spot of midnight hoeing to reduce the growth of weeds.
Let's not forget the watering: using a sprinkler once a week and watering for enough time for half an inch to collect in a jam jar placed on the lawn will ensure your lawn is World Cup green.
"The summer months are vital for plants to grow and develop and build up the stores of nutrients they will need to see them through the autumn and winter," Mr Barter explained.
And for those gardeners who don't care about football, the RHS points out that the day of the World Cup final coincides with another exciting event – the last day of the Hampton Court flower show.
