Hosepipe use

Yes in my small back yard I have a quickly browning lawn and lots of shrubs to provide hiding places for birds, plus two bird baths, but don’t provide bird feed in the summer - I did have a hanging suet ‘log roll’ feeder a month or so ago, and was inundated with about twenty noisy starlings along with pigeons on the ground underneath, so that the blackbird and robin I bought it for never got a look in. All the food was gone in two hours. But there is plenty of natural food for them and I love to see the blackbirds on the lawn cocking their heads to listen for worms, then diving in with their beak to pull them out.

Lawns will always recover without watering, but save every drop you use indoors for those flagging plants. I stand a bucket in the shower with me to collect the water while it is warming up. I save any water vegetables are cooked in(no salt) as once it is cool it can go on the garden. And use a small washing up bowl for hand washing after toilet visits, you'd be amazed at how much we use in a day. Plants don't mind a bit of soapy water, just never use any with bleach in it.

Annsixty I live in front of the Hoe in Plymouth (I have a guest house) and it is OK at the moment, still reasonably green, but it is armed forces weekend and with the weather being good it is going to get a good trampling on so may not look so good after.
My friend has a plastic lawn and it looks very real.

May I come in here and issue a plea for people to think twice before installing artificial grass to replace disappointing lawns. A lot of people seem to be doing this especially in rented accommodation.
Our songbird population is under huge stress with numbers of many species dwindling at a terrifying rate. We've all noticed how few insects are flying around this summer and last summer - the collapse of the insect population means starvation for birds.
Many species such as blackbirds depend on picking out grubs and worms from the ground.
Birds find food sources by sight. They spot a likely place and go for it. If they see something that looks like grass they will land on it and peck about until they realise it's not food.
So a patch of artificial grass not only blocks off potential food sources from being accessed by birds but also dupes them into thinking it might be a food place and so they waste precious energy trying to get food from it.
When we had to redo our tiny London garden last year after it had been used as the builder's yard for a big building project, I threw away the lawnmower.
Instead we put down topsoil where it used to be a lawn, had a little path made going round it and then I've just planted it all over with shrubs and perennials. I thrown appropriate bird seed down now and again and have a total of 10 bird feeders around the garden. Not all the feeders are popular but I'm proud that I seem to have helped a new little family of great tits make it through to adulthood this year.
Your lawn doesn't have to be velvet green grass. What about a meadow lawn with wild flowers? Camomile? Clover? All very wildlife friendly.

had even!

I agree with Panache this is all getting right up my nose!
We have ad more rain than you could poke a stick at this year.
I wouldn't dream of watering a lawn, but there is no way that I will watch my veg, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, pots and troughs of flowers die

I too water the runner beans , hanging baskets and any new plants not yet really established.
The lawn no (we have huge cracks appearing, now worried incase we get a sink hole!!!! lol), the shrubs no, fruit bushes no, the tomatoes in the greenhouse yes.

We were staying in Plymouth one very hot summer and the Hoe was like straw.
The hotel staff assured us it would be back to green as soon as the rain came.
I am watering my pots and veg but not grass.
If this is a pattern being set I will not have bedding plants again but I do love my fushias.
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Grass is pretty resilient, apparently it goes into ‘sleep’ mode when there’s a drought. A few rain showers and it will bounce back.
I don’t waste water on the grass, but my courtyard planters and veg beds are a priority, as long as we’re allowed to water.
Lovely hanging baskets MB

We have deliberately left our grass uncut in an attempt to stop it browning and it is still green despite having had no water for some time, but the flower beds are looking droughted. We have used the hose sparingly, and mostly use waste water on the pots. It is galling to see carefully nurtured plants suffering for lack of water. I hope it is not the end of the British lawn, Pitt. That would herald more hard landscaping and that brings environmental problems of its own.

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With darling Hattie our lawn is a lost cause anyway, but on the basis that it will rain again one day, I am prepared to live with a combination of beige carpet and the well known chemical K9P. (!)
However, my hanging baskets cost an arm and a leg so I will continue to water them as long as I can!

Here in Italy we have irrigation water that is supplied between April and September. It is paid for separately from the domestic supply to a different supplier. There never seems to a problem with drought and Italians are not into conservation.

Well we haven’t had any rain in London for at least two weeks, although they could store more efficiently I agree. I for one never waste water on the grass makes me mad when a neighbour has the sprinkler going for hours on her tiny patch of grass at the front god knows how much she uses at the back.. I only water my pots and beans the grass can die right off and is doing but it’s always grown back.

Quite frankly this news truly peeves me.
We have had an inordinate amount of rain.......and more rain.......yet after just a handful of days with high temperatures already these companies are wittering on about a drought,that we must use less or no water etc........
I understand the great need for water,it is a valuable commodity............my niggle is the reasons why we cannot invest better in preserving the over abundance of rain we do get for far too long.......so that at least we can enjoy the odd good summer and that means being able to use water sensibly and enjoy our personal baths, our gardens,florals and all the rest.
It is a serious gripe of mine every summer hearing this same song, whilst surely nothing looks worse than our landscape browning off.................
I am certainly browned off with it all!!