Enthusiasm Gone

Hi All. For the 1st time for years I have seem to of lost my enthusiasm for gardening. That bad frost we had started it and lost lot of established plants. Next was the way MPC has rocketed up in price. I normally buy in MPC early and buy annuals early to keep in greenhouse to grow on. Morrison’s up till yesterday have had no annuals in whereas they normally get them in before Easter. Lastly we have had a compulsory water meter put in by Thames water!! Garden is normally bursting with color and neighbors sometimes put head around gate to have a look or take photo. This means a lot of water use for plants with sprayer. We also for years have a pond with often needs topping up due to evaporation. Thames water on their calculator asks how many times you fill your kettle up!!!??? Who keeps account of that? How many times do you wash your car a year!!!! No idea but when it is dirty. Only have 2 baths a week they say and I suppose smell the rest of week. Wifey cannot stand up in shower as she loses balances so on the whole showers are out. Water usage and bill is an unknown factor until 1st bill comes in so all have contributed to not being able to get out and do some gardening. I think we will have to cut down from 8 hanging baskets to just 3 and smell of BO for rest of week.

 

You could consider a secondary meter for your garden tap. Because a large part of your bill is for sewerage, showing that a quantity is used externally enables you to get an offset for water NOT returned to the sewer(ie that applied to garden , pond etc). You would need to decide if the cost of the second meter, a one -off cost, exceeds the benefit over time.
See :
www.thameswater.co.uk/help/account-and-billing/understand-your-bill/reduce-your-wastewater-bill

 

I know it's easier said than done, but don't let things grind you down. There is an old saying. 'There is opportunity in adversity'. This is from my own experience of 'interesting times', it's ok to lose interest and motivation from time to time. That's the time to re evaluate your plans and routines. Sometimes that doesn't mean stop, it can mean it's time to pivot, that is, to rethink your strategy based on the changing situation.

Last autumn, as usual around that time of year, I had a clear plan for this year. Then I had a major health situation. All my plans went out the window and I'm now four months behind where I planned to be. As you know, in gardening terms that translates to a year behind because nature tends not to wait. Like you, I totally lost my enthusiasm for a while, but then I ripped up the plan, and came up with a new set of priorities that should be achievable. It's much smaller than I had in mind last year, but it's progress. I hope you can find a new strategy that works for you.

 

Tbh, since having a water meter fitted my summer bills are probably a bit higher but the winter one comes out lower.
I don't do a lot of spray watering but I'm usually topping up the pond and filling water butts for most of the summer.
I think unless you are wasteful or excessive with your water usage you will be surprised, water is pretty cheap really.

If you are truly interested in growing I'm sure you will get into it again, some hobbies just never leave you.

 

I really wouldn't worry about what Thames Water say, unless you have teenagers most people save money on a water meter, just carry on as usual.
If you use a lot of water outside then a secondary meter is worth considering. I would also see if I could get more water butts for rain water.
Hanging baskets consider using water retaining gel in them.
My mother used to use a stool in the shower.
You say you lost a lot of plants in the cold snap are they definitely gone? It's still relatively early in the year and you may get a few surprises, otherwise it's an opportunity to try something new.
As for annuals in supermarkets it's possible that commercial growers delayed sowing to reduce costs of heating large greenhouses, also less chance of a cold snap wiping out your annuals.

 

When we were forced to have a meter, I changed the type of plants I used in my bedding displays. More pelargoniums and less impatiens. This saved on twice daily waterings and actually reduced the slug and snail damage.
The stool in the shower is a must and as for car cleaning, the state of the roads means the vibration from extra potholes help knock off excess dirt!

 

Don’t lose heart ! My late husband used to say, that 1 cu m, 1000litres is a hell of a lot of water and is relatively cheap. It’s the other things on your bill that mounts up !
I am struggling to get the old enthusiasm going, also lost some young plants, that went in in my new garden last year, but I’m still going to have a go with my beloved cosmos after the disastrous triffid like ones I had last year ! I’m hoping the soil has lost some of its potency by now, and they will grow nicely.
I’m watching the stumps of the cordylines that just rotted after the frost, hoping I will see some new shoots from the roots, could happen !!!!!
Never lose sight of the beneficial uplift pottering in a greenhouse or doing the rounds of the beds gives you, worth bottling !

 

Thanks for all your encouragement & suggestions. I have perked up and got out and got some gardening done. Some good points made by everyone. Less water used in winter than summer due to not watering the garden so it evens itself out.

Come up with a new plan & priorities, doing that. Choose pelargoniums and other annuals that do not need a lot of water. They can go 2-3 days without watering and seem to thrive in dry soil that was a good suggestion.

Been looking on web for other annuals that do not seem so much water and one was marigolds, African & French. I would not be surprised if we have another hosepipe ban this summer so some plants that do not need so much water seems the way to go.

Has anybody got any other suggestions for annuals that seem to need less water? How about perennials in containers that also do not watering so much? I think sedum is one. No problem if they do not like frost as I always put them in garage over winter and even cover them with fleece if a hard frost comes.

I am always struggling to find small evergreen or deciduous small shrubs that grow to roughly about 60cm (2feet) tall again in containers. I think once they establish they do not need to be watered so often. What are your views on a dog rose in container?

I am sure you all have your favorites and some good suggestions. Again thank you all for giving me my enthusiasm back.

 

My front garden is a nightmare. It's sheltered, south facing and clay, so in summer it just bakes dry.

Flowers that in the past have thrived out there and are gorgeous include, osteospurmum, and petunias. It's just bare mud out there at the moment because I made the mistake of clearing it for veg, which was an absolute failure. I'm having another go this year, but I'm going to try a different strategy.

 

Great to hear things are brightening up for you, @trogre

For annuals, I can recommend J Parker's plugs, very good value and some good varieties.

Selecting planting that requires less watering is not just wise economically, but an important action for the environment. Purifying, storing and moving drinking class water requires a lot of resources.

In the UK we can still enjoy water relatively easily and cheaply, but globally things are getting tough. My Turkish friend tells me that their weather forecast includes ground water report, and when the water level goes low enough, the water just stops. Everybody is extremely water aware and I think it's the way we are heading for also here on this rainy island.

Pelargoniums are a good choice for annuals. For permanent containers, herbs are not just decorative, but very useful. There's nothing more posh than garnishing your meal with a sprig of fresh Thyme

Rosemary looks good all year round and Chives are very attractive and flower a long time.

Please keep us posted on how you are getting on.