Drought!

[woolybanana]

Sure as eggs follows little green apples it will now deluge but there has been no real rain for weeks and weeks and the water butts, newly installed this year are empty.

When I came to the Pas de Calais, many people warned me about the sale climat, constant rain, bitter cold .... Blahblah, but, what I find is that is is quite warm enough, and that there is, thus far, rugger all rain. Even the locals wont believe me when told that there has been hardly a drop for x weeks and that the ground is rock hardish.

I am trying to plant a new garden and getting fed up with lugging watering cans everywhere or hosepiping.

Did someone tell me porkies or is it always like this?

[Patf]

We're at the opposite end of the country from you, Wooly, but also suffering from drought.

Another 10 days of no rain forecast. It must be due to global warming?

This area was mainly maize-growing, but I've heard/read that the cerealists are changing to crops which demand less water.

[idun]

I can only wish you both regular April showers to loosen the ground, as a big storm will only run off[blink]

[woolybanana]

It rained in the night, whooopeeee, but only about enough to fill a teaspoon. It didnt even show in my shiny new waterbutts.

Grrrrrrr, please, Bobo, just enough to soften the ground a bit, keep my babies alive.

[richard51]

Arrived in Dordogne-shire and assessed the garden,(about 1000 sq m.).

Mostly grass which is rather long, about 12-15 inches where we had seeded some bare patches last year. This in comparison to house in UK where the grass is about 3-4 inches high on the sloping areas. Flat lawned area there looks like a 1970's football pitch at the end of the season owing to our new dog being rather keen to run rather fast in the damp areas. My task is to attack this.

Rather a lot of "cursing" from OH who was assigned the task of sorting out the border around the patio area that was newly constructed last year. ( It was assigned by herself as I'm not perfect in the garden ). Her conclusion was that it was bl**dy hard digging it because of the clay and we needed to fork out for some more compost. Several plants had not survived.and she felt that her first choices were based on a hot and dry summer whereas perhaps wet and cold winters need to taken into consideration too.

She was rather smug when she advised that the dahlias that we took back to the UK, and which I moaned about because they took up precious space in the car, would definitely have not survived otherwise. She is wondering where to put them This year.

When I could sneak off from grass duties I immediately went to my beloved fig plant (tree) that was planted last year. Friends had suggested that they would grow well. The poor thing ( about 2 feet max.) had grown green leaves but these leaves were now very dry and the grass was encroaching. OH was very sympathetic and suggested that I clear around it and give it some water.

Am currently trying to talk it back to life. Sod the other trees.