Of all the gardening solutions that we can offer, water management is among the most common. In some cases, that can be about dealing with drainage problems in gardens that flood in wet weather. This summer, however, a lack of water has been the key issue.
Amid all the uncertainty presented by climate change, prolonged dry spells are becoming more common and this is bringing major challenges:
- Seven areas of England are now officially in drought, including the West Midlands
- This year brought the driest July on record for England and Wales
- Met Office projections indicate that summers in the UK will gradually get drier and winters wetter
The last of these considerations is bad news for towns like Shrewsbury, where many areas close to the River Severn are already prone to being flooded. However, it poses a question: Can you save up the extra rain from winter to use it in summer?
This may be a very important consideration, because droughts can mean hosepipe bans, which will make it harder to stop your plants drying out in hot, dry spells.
Is A Water Butt An Effective Solution?
You could try digging a pond in your garden that could be used to store water and this may indeed help with winter drainage. But if the summer is very dry, this could all evaporate. Indeed, if you want a pond to encourage wildlife, you will need to have ways of filling it.
An effective alternative is to install a water butt, which can fill up in the winter as water pours down your gutters, while being sealed away from the hot sun and therefore not evaporating in summer.
This not only reduces the amount of water landing on the ground around your house, but provides a supply you can tap when the weather is very dry and hosepipe use has been banned.
As ever, you can see lots of DIY videos on how to do this, but most people are not confident about installing a water butt. However, this is the kind of thing our expert gardeners can do easily.
That way, you can get an extra store of water, ready for the next drought.
