It’s either deluge or drought !

At the moment it hasn’t rained much at all and I’m really trying to make my water stretch, especially since we’re on a water meter.

The greenhouse has a huge rainwater tank under the staging that holds 80 gallons (360 litres). It has a hand pump and is so convenient for watering.

It takes all the water off the roof and rarely runs dry in a “normal” summer. This year it was empty by the beginning of July. I have two other water butts: one on the shed and one by the back door to take water off the house. I also rigged up another one on the garage with the hope of watering the front garden.

It’s a narrow strip alongside the drive with an ash, a yew tree and a beech hedge. I’ve under-planted them and of course the plants are struggling to compete with the trees’ roots. I’ll confess some of my plant choices would prefer damper soil like the astilbes… I installed a seep-hose – one of those tubes that are porous.

It works to an extent but I wonder if the water pressure needs to be a little higher because the amount of water that drips down is negligible. Either that or I work my way along with a darning needle. It’s a work in progress and fortunately as I write this it is raining. Hurrah!