Since the hosepipe ban was announced, it hasn’t stopped raining!
So who’d have thunk it? A few days after drought was officially declared across large areas of the UK, and a hosepipe ban was enforced, the heavens opened and it seems to have rained non-stop ever since! Today looked at my iPhone for the next 7 day’s weather forecast in Woking, and it looked like this. Well at least Monday offers some respite! After one of the driest winters on record, and the warmest March in decades, April could be breaking some rain records!
And now flood warnings have been issued in the areas affected by drought. You couldn’t make this stuff up!
Of course, we’ve been recommending the new Hugo Water Butt, as a way to beat the hosepipe ban legally. I’ve been promoting these fantastic collapsible water butts on Facebook and Twitter over the past couple of weeks, and Robert Whiteley (who runs the Balcony – a bar, restaurant and function room at the Harrogate Cricket Club) tweeted back yesterday: “Water butts all full. Do you stock arks?” And I take his point entirely. It now seems ridiculous to be talking about conserving water, when we are suddenly inundated!
Having said that, a few weeks rain won’t make up for the exceptionally dry weather we’ve had over the winter. It won’t make much difference to the reservoir levels. So don’t expect the hosepipe ban to be lifted soon. Before the wet spell I went out for a walk on Horsell Common, and took a few photos of the stream which (usually) runs through it. It was bone dry. You could safely lie down it and not get wet!
So it’s still a good idea to get a water butt – and if it fills up Robert, buy second or a third! You can daisy chain Hugos – you only need to connect the first to your downpipe (see photo). Take advantage of the current deluge and stock up with water for the dry spell!
If you can’t stretch to a Hugo – or even if you can – take a look at a blog post I wrote a couple of years ago, which contains tips on how to water your garden during a drought – specifically recycling brown water.
Good Luck
Gardener Jack
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