Hosepipe use

Consumption has gone up 25% and they cannot treat it and deliver it to source quickly enough. Plenty of water though!

I received an email, yesterday, from our water suppliers, asking us to be economical. They are having trouble keeping up with demand. We have a few moorland fires burning in the area. The firemen have been fighting them for days. Peat smoulders, and the fires can pop up again in new areas. They must be using vast amounts of water. The only thing that will really douse them is several days of heavy rain, and I feel sorry for the poor firemen and soldiers struggling in this heat.
I have moved all my pots of flowers and veg into the shadiest areas, and will do all I can to save water. As far as flushing the loo is concerned, the Aussies have a saying - “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down!”
I, too, have left my grass uncut, and it’s still green. My daughter’s, which gets the full blast of the afternoon sun is nothing but straw, but I’m sure that it will soon recover when the rain comes. The birds will not be rationed with their water supply, though. My two birds baths are in great demand, and four magpies have already splashed most of the water out of them this morning!

Thanks for all the water saving hints DD! My south facing “lawn” is suffering but will only be watering tubs and filling birdbath.

I hate the look of brown grass, but my husband loves it, because it conjures up the feeling of long hot summers...a rarity...and as he says, it always recovers.

We don't have a lawn. We do have a large area of grass, which we call the 'Drying Green'. It is currently hosting a big tent and a swingball set. courtesy of the DGC. Not watering the grass but giving the vegetable plot and fruit bushes a good watering late evening using the hose. No hose pipe ban here, nor likely to be thanks to well run, non privatised Scottish Water.

Totally agree Panache and Nanak54, and the poster who said the water companies simply don’t invest in updating the infrastructure. They know we’ll always get more rain sooner or later, so they won’t put the investment in. I’ve no patience at all with these pleas for us to use less water.

My front lawn is very brown but my back lawn is lovely and green - I knew I was right not to use moss killer! I call my garden the jungle as it is full of well established bushes and perennials and nothing else thrives due to two big trees and a lovely high laurel hedge so I focus on pots for summer colour. I do water those and use compost with water retaining crystals which helps. Living in Manchester, we have has weeks of rain and parts of my garden are still a bit boggy! And no, you southerners cannot have any of our water! My only issue with this not weather is that my gardener still came to mow the grass this week even though it had not grown but it is his livelihood and I would not dream of not paying him. His services are in huge demand and I need him!

I have 2 large water butts that I have emptied just watering the fruit and veggies that I am growing, and am now reduced to the hosepipe for them. Would not and never would water the 'lawn' as I am forever grateful if it stops growing for a while as mowing is difficult on my uneven, sloping ground. I long for a lawn that is just moss, nice and green with no mowing ever but the b****y grass is so persistent!

I’m with you mabon1 ... I just say grass, not lawn! Sounds proper posh that! Like saying ‘drive’ instead of path for the 10’ of space in front of a garage.

I don't water lawn but it gets a bit from hose when I do the pots & beds.
It always comes back green.
It does annoy me that we get this annual gripe about lack of water though.
Some years ago we had a talk from our water board during which he told us that although we have plenty of water as so much flows from Surrey hills every winter that reservoirs are full to brim they have to impose a hose pipe ban. Even in the very hot summer of 1976 they had plenty of water. The reason being that other authorities do not have such good reservoirs & if they did not ban our hoseshere there would be an outcry from neighbouring borough's residents. Then those companies would have to answer for why their reservoirs are sub standard.
Totally mad-if they know they need better reservoirs then sort it!! We pay enough in water rates.

Well I thought a patch of mown grass in the garden is called a lawn. I don't see it as anything posh. And drive indicates cars go on it. Path sounds like pedestrians only. Funny how different people have different perceptions!

Sorry Sarahcyn but we have artificial grass both back and a small front. Hubby works for a landscape company and we have had it down in both houses we've lived in. Easy to clean up after dog and means kids could play out whatever weather without bringing muck into house. When we moved to this house 3 years ago almost got it down asap and we've been copied by several of our neighbours now once the could see the benefits. Ground round here is very wet as we are near a canal. Plant lots of wildlife friendly plants for birds, bees and various tho.

They look beautiful MawBroon.
Were they pre-planted or your choice of blooms? The orangey colours look particularly summery.
The picture would look more complete with a bottle of wine in a cooler and some glasses on thst lovely table...

*that

I remember in the summer of 1976 my lawn looked like a cornfield that had been reaped. I really thought I would never have a lawn again, yet within days of having rain it was beautifully green again, and no weeds. I get cross when people waste tap water on grass. Just wait for the rain, and enjoy this wonderful summer.

I don’t have a lawn, more a children’s play ground. Two pedal cars, a huge climbing frame, a swing seat, a kiddie basketball stand, tractor, wheelbarrow and ‘lawnmower’, a sandpit and two parasols. And washing lines crisscrossing down the garden. The rest of the garden is growing vegetables which I fully intend to carry on watering as long as this hot spell lasts.

This is not the end of your lawn. It is always remarkable just how quickly the lawn, and the rest of the garden recovers when rain arrives.

During the long hot dry spell in 1976 everything looked like clay and dead until the rain changed it all back to normal. Just enjoy all this good weather while we can.

Nooo of course it isn't! Remember 1976? The grass in our local, beautiful park turned to Weetabix and a lot wore away leaving bare soil. Within a couple of weeks of 'normal' British weather it was back to lush green. I do remember a helpful Government official telling people they should pour concrete over their gardens; what that would have done for the glorious appearance of this country's gardens, and the environment, I cannot imagine. One of the tabloids sent a ready mix concrete lorry to said minister's house; funnily enough he didn't take them up on their offer of a vista of grey over his back garden.

And meanwhile, broken pipes and leaks leave thousands of gallons wasted.

Just laid Astro turf, best thing ever, easy to vacuum!

Yes kazzer -might be easy but not good for wild life! Sorry!

The dry lawns are our fault. This year we are paying a lawn company to bring outer lawns up to scratch... The year we bought a hose licence, it started to to rain the next day and carried on all summer. Should I buy a new patio set to break the drought?

Our not outer, of course. We haven’t got any inner ones.

My Dil has just been to bring me some shopping.
Her neighbour has said he doesn't intend to stop watering, "he pays for his water" we obviously all get it for free.

Why do we have such an obsession with grass? It will grow again no matter how dry it gets, but how about planting something wildlife friendly? In my area there are fields full of grass - no animals, no crops - where the natural vegetation has obviously been cleared in the past for some purpose, now forgotten. And areas of woodland which have been 'gardened' for no other purpose than to say 'this belongs to me'. These large sterile areas of grass will still be there when we're long gone but the wildlife will have disappeared. What a shame we must have our perfect lawns.