Apart from the expense (time and money), I like plants. So I'm doing what I can to keep them alive until this weather passes.
I think that's fair up to the point when/if hosepipe bans come in in your area. Then you probably can carry on with a watering can, which again, is fair. If we were to get to the point of standpipes in the street I might argue it's time to let them fend for themselves. But it seems very unlikely that will happen this summer. Outside the Northwest of the UK, water levels are quite healthy. If this drought continues through the autumn and winter into next spring and summer, we may all have to think again. But we're months away from that yet
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Can I repeat that during hosepipe bans, golf courses are still allowed to water as much as they like. Thanks @raisingirl I have over 1,000 hostas in my polytunnel and I'd say £10 each is a conservative valuation. Am I expected to A: lose them? B:water them with a can? or C: remove the cover and hope for the best? Nope, I'm carrying on with the hose.
I can safely say that was a lousy year to create and plant up two new beds from scratch. I don't think I will be planting again such thirsty plants as hydrangeas or tomatoes or sweet peas in pots. It's just continuous watering. My general aim has to make my gardens more drought tolerant and so more sustainable. Not quite sure what happened. Seed excitement, I think. I hope the toms are extraordinary after all this.
I spent £10.00 on plants last year, and on thinking that was probably the year before. I’ve bought one Clematis this year at £1.79. Such a lot of rich people around. I’m taking cuttings from my plants as I do every year, if they die in the garden I can replace for nothing next year.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Apart from the expense (time and money), I like plants. So I'm doing what I can to keep them alive until this weather passes.
I think that's fair up to the point when/if hosepipe bans come in in your area. Then you probably can carry on with a watering can, which again, is fair. If we were to get to the point of standpipes in the street I might argue it's time to let them fend for themselves. But it seems very unlikely that will happen this summer. Outside the Northwest of the UK, water levels are quite healthy. If this drought continues through the autumn and winter into next spring and summer, we may all have to think again. But we're months away from that yet
I've used a hosepipe for about half an hour every two weeks, and if there's a ban I'll stop. The rest of the time I'm using cans. As I said, I'm just stopping them dying really, they're certainly not getting enough to thrive. And yes, of course, if we were at the standpipe stage then I would have to let them go. But we're not, yet. I was rejecting the suggestion that needing to water my plants to keep them alive equated to me being a quick-fix, thoughtless makeover gardener with no consideration for right plant right place. HOWEVER, I thought I was on the 'downpour' thread, not the curmudgeon one - so - apologies, Frank, make all the curmudgeonly assumptions you like (I know you will anyway!) and I'll not take offence.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
There are always exceptions Raisingirl and if I had a rare collection then i would break all the rules to keep them. Dad showed his Chrysanthemums they got special treatment. They were shaded with netting to give a dappled shade and covered in heavy rain storms. They had a pipe with holes in along side the roots and watered this way in dry spells, he won a lot of prizes. I saw all the palaver and thought is it worth the worry, he enjoyed his hobby which is what collection are. Give me an engine to strip down and rebuild and it got my attention and time as did dad's Chrysanthemums each to his own. The Water Companies lose millions of gallons of water on leaking pipes then blame the gardener, they should put their own house in order before slapping bans on people. We have more water than we need and it has been shipped out to other parts of the country and even abroad, why can't they put pipe lines to where the water is needed i ask. Frank.
How can hosepipe ban be enforced? Just curious, how does it work? If I'm using it in my back garden to water a few plants rather than carrying cans (the amount of water is the same, just less work) - how would anybody know and why would anybody care?
I've just paid for a new outside tap to be installed to make using cans easier in the garden. The pipe had been ready for it for 10 years and I've never needed the water in that time. Hosepipe bans are there to target excessive water use though. If you use a controlled spray head on the hose to water pots it uses no more water than a can. The ban is more for people who just hose down everything indescriminantly getting as much water on the floor as in the pots.
I prefer using a can in my garden though rather than wrestling a hose about.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Thanks @raisingirl
I have over 1,000 hostas in my polytunnel and I'd say £10 each is a conservative valuation. Am I expected to A: lose them? B:water them with a can? or C: remove the cover and hope for the best?
Nope, I'm carrying on with the hose.
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/anglian-water-says-its-water-reserves-are-above-average-1-5610044
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Such a lot of rich people around.
I’m taking cuttings from my plants as I do every year, if they die in the garden I can replace for nothing next year.
Give me an engine to strip down and rebuild and it got my attention and time as did dad's Chrysanthemums each to his own.
The Water Companies lose millions of gallons of water on leaking pipes then blame the gardener, they should put their own house in order before slapping bans on people. We have more water than we need and it has been shipped out to other parts of the country and even abroad, why can't they put pipe lines to where the water is needed i ask.
Frank.