Gardening tips to survive the summer hosepipe ban

Gardening tips to survive the summer hosepipe ban

If you ask the average British person what they feel the UK never gets enough of weather-wise, it’s unlikely their answer would be ‘rain’. However, it seems that global warming has been at work in recent years, with falling dam levels and a risk of drought last year spurring a ban on the use of hosepipes in the North West of England. Indeed, January through to April in 2010 were the driest months in North West England and Wales since the 1970s.

It’s likely that, despite predictions from meteorology offices that this summer will experience a wet start, parts of the UK will experience a hosepipe ban again this year. For dedicated gardeners, this could spell disaster, as their lovingly tended gardens fall prey to dehydration for months at a time.

Fortunately, there are a few simple strategies that you can use to keep your garden looking its best throughout the summer. Why not take your lead from the drought-prone expanses of Australia and install a water tank? For a small investment you can install a plastic water tank that will hold up to 3000 litres of water, which should be more than enough to see you through a few months of a hosepipe ban.

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Alternatively, for the more dedicated, you can employ some intensive drought-battling tactics, such as washing your vegetables in a bucket, and placing a bucket in the shower with you, to catch and keep any excess water wherever possible for re-use in your garden.

If catching and storing your own water supply seems unfeasible, you could always stock your garden with drought-tolerant plants – also known as ‘xeriscaping’. While the words may bring to mind mental images of cactuses and other spiky, dusty vegetation of low aesthetic value, the fact is that there are plenty of beautiful plants which require very little water that can survive and even thrive locally.

Shrubs such as Manzanita, agaves and sagebrushes, evergreen and deciduous trees, perennials such as Maximilian sunflower and red valerian, and flowering annuals such as Owl’s clover, Cosmos flowers and Amaranth, all need very little water to survive. Introducing these plants to your garden will not only help to keep it thriving throughout the seasons, but will also give your plot a point of interest beyond the average English garden.

Alternatively, one very clever way of getting around the issue of not being able to water your lovingly tended lawn is to fake it. Investing in fake grass is a nifty cosmetic solution to your water-related gardening woes – it requires no tending, remains green and luscious whatever the season, and best of all, never needs mowing.

A lack of water doesn’t necessarily have to mean an enforced gardening sabbatical, and however you choose to beat the hosepipe ban this summer, one thing is for certain – you’ll have plenty of reasons to potter about in your plot. Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.

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