Yorkshire Water hosepipe ban: lawn company's tips to keep your garden looking fresh

Yorkshire Water imposed the measures on Friday after months of dry conditions, meaning people are prohibited from using hoses for activities such as watering the garden or cleaning their car.

However, there are still ways to take care of the lawn, says York company Rolawn. Sales director Jonathan Hill has put together some simple tips to help gardeners during the ban.

1) Water less, water better.

It’s important to water your garden and lawn less frequently during hot, dry periods when water is at a premium. Beyond the hosepipe, reducing the amount of water we take from water supplies generally will not just conserve water but will also save money, energy and reduce carbon emissions.

If you do need to water the garden, avoid the heat of the day by watering early in the morning before the sun warms up, to reduce the amount lost to evaporation.

Avoid ‘little and often’ watering as a light watering during dry spells is of little use to plants and lawns. Water will evaporate quickly and only reach the surface, where there are very few roots.

If watering plants, avoid areas of soil where plants are not growing by directing water at a plant’s stem base, beneath the leaves, to ensure as much water as possible goes to the roots.

And use a tray beneath pots to collect excess water, rather than letting it drain away.

2) Dig out the watering can.

Besides using up a lot of precious water, hosepipes and sprinkler systems require mains pressure and energy and therefore money to run.

A watering can is much less wasteful than a hose and will help to reduce and monitor the amount of water you use more easily.

If you have not already collected rainwater this might not be an option for you now, but it is worth considering using water butts to collect and store water from downpipes to ensure you have a water supply during future dry periods.

3) Use ‘grey water’.

Water from around the house can usually be recycled and put to excellent use in the garden. ‘Grey water’ can be collected from bathrooms and

kitchens and reused outdoors. Water from boiling vegetables or rinsing pots, for example, can be used – although it’s best to avoid water with any strong detergent or cleaning products which might be harmful to plants, especially edible varieties.

4) Mulches.

Mulches have many benefits and generations of gardeners swear by mulching as a means of protecting the garden.

In periods of hot, dry weather, mulches provide a moisture retentive layer which reduces evaporation and can help with water run-off, allowing any useful rainfall to be stored more efficiently.

Using mulch has many year-round benefits, but during hosepipe bans, it helps maintain soil moisture, allows any rainfall to penetrate the soil, suppresses weed growth, is resistant to pests and behaves as a nutrient- rich barrier to protect plant roots from direct sun and extreme heat.

5) Protect your lawn.

You can help your grass by rationing your mowing and raising your mower’s cutting level – shorter grass will dry out quicker and need watering more often.