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| Slimline water butt at side of garden room to catch water from roof - photo taken 2017 |
I've been watering my plants when they need it. I have a lot of ferns and hostas, some in containers, which will simply not tolerate being dry and fortunately, in the morning when the sun is on them, I can protect them with my electronic retractable awning. That awning has been invaluable for protecting those plants and also for protecting me when the garden room gets too hot.
I am trying to do my bit and conserve water in other ways to make up for it. Flushing the toilet less—yes, I know, some of you are disgusted, but there is a saying in the Caribbean where I lived for a decade and where water is rightly treated with respect particularly during the dry season:
If it's yellow, let it mellow.
If it's brown, flush it down.
Water saving tips from Yorkshire Water (external website)
When I had the garden room built, I also installed alongside of it a slimline water butt with a soak-hose connected to it so that rainwater can be fed into it via gutters and a downpipe. The garden room and water butt are at the top of a slope and so the water naturally finds its way downhill.
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| Water butt and soak hose |
My garden room hits above 30 in the afternoon even with the solar reflective blinds down, the window wide open, and the doors ajar. Around the ceiling, where it meets the walls, large gaps are appearing where the plywood panels are distorting. Oh joy! I'm hoping when the weather gets back to normal that the gaps will at least lessen.
Please don't forget water for the birds. I have created a little home-made bird water-bath using a shallow ceramic bowl with pebbles in it.
They can splash around without the risk of drowning. I keep the birds' water dispenser topped up too.
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| Birds' water dispenser |