By garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin. I was going to start this month by giving some handy ways to beat the hosepipe ban and keep your trees and shrubs alive but before I got there I started thinking about the reasons for a hosepipe ban.
You won't have missed the fact that since February our gardens have been the battleground in the fight for sustainable resources. Apparently there's a water shortage because we've been watering the garden too much. OK, that's not quite true - we're going to have a widespread hosepipe ban because reservoirs and aquifers are low. But really, if you listened to the water companies you'd think it really is all about the foolish and wasteful use of water by gardeners in a time when climate change is causing havoc on our weather.
The water companies tell me that the garden takes about 4% of water demand on a seasonal basis. Banning hosepipes will have some affect but do we really think that it's enough? Lets put our senseless use of hosepipes into perspective. Thames Water, the instigators of the largest ban to 8 million households, loses 30% of water before it gets to our taps. So that's 30% of water going nowhere against 4% for gardens. I don't pretend for a moment that every use of a hosepipe is essential. We can all get by without a clean car or a green lawn but I am equally sure that watering trees and shrubs is a far more positive step towards reversing the negative affects of climate change than letting it seep out of pipes.
Consider the other household uses of water. When did water companies last give you advice on saving water in the home? Have you turned off that tap when you cleaned your teeth (5% of water use!)? Did you really need to put half a load into your washing machine? Was the water company bothered? Until this month I've never had anything from them except the feeling that my role in encouraging people to garden is a cause of all their problems. I'd feel better about a hosepipe ban if they did something proactive about the other 96% of water used and the stuff they lose, didn't fill in reservoirs to take advantage of the property boom and gave us advice for saving water so that hosepipe bans weren't necessary.
The gardeners and designers I meet are intensely aware of the impact their work has on the environment, natural resources and climate change. Hardly a conversation about our work passes without looking at the positive and negative impacts of our work. I have always worked towards designing planting schemes with low water requirement. I have no doubt that I am not alone in encouraging my customers to conserve water.
So what can you do to keep your garden growing though the ban short of a raindance?
With any luck by the time you read this we'll have had the
wettest April on record. I won't have got any gardens built but we
might have a sensible debate about water resources that places our
gardens as part of the solution and not the cause of climate
change.
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