The skimmia is scorched, the petunias are parched and the dahlias are dehydrated. But just when drought-stricken gardens need watering most, some UK water companies are banning hosepipes.
Many gardeners are apoplectic. The message from Middle England is clear. You may not have to prise our watering guns from our cold, dead fingers. But you can expect us to write stiff letters to our MPs.
Even so, six English water companies and one Welsh utility have imposed hosepipe bans or are expected do so. Proponents claim behavioural benefits on top of demand reductions of about a tenth. Customers use water more sparingly in the home as well as the garden, supposedly.
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