Will June heatwave see disappearance of the British lawn?
We could be on course for a scorching June as forecasters predict more warm weather. But what does it mean for our gardens? Jane Dodge reports on the rise of the fake lawn.
Weather forecasters are damping down fears that the driest spring since 1990 has left the UK facing a scorching, drought-hit June.
Across England and Wales spring rainfall averaged at 86.9mm, which is 45 per cent of long-term projections. East Anglia was the driest area in the UK with just 28.1mm. The lack of rain in East Anglia made it the driest period there for 101 years, beating the previous record of 51.9mm in 1996.
Looking ahead to 16 and 30 June, Helen Chivers of the Met Office said: “The fine weather we are having at the moment won’t last that long.
“Early next week north-westerly winds are likely to bring outbreaks of rain as well so make the best of the sunshine across the next few days.”
So how are Britain’s gardeners preparing for summer?
Adopting a “Mediterranean” approach is one way of ensuring efficient use of water, especially in times of drought. This means paved gardens and overhead plants rather than grass. So could the British lawn be under threat?
Artificial turf companies have reported a rise in sales with “drought resistant” turf becoming a more common alternative for gardeners who cannot face brown grass. But Guy Barter, head of RHS Advisory, told Channel 4 News dry British summers are nothing to worry about.
“If it doesn’t rain in June, July or August lawns will go brown but they will green up again as soon as the rain returns in September.
“Water is a precious resource that has to be used really carefully and I wouldn’t recommend extra watering of lawns during dry weather. In the south east, and other parts of the UK, the amount of water taken for use by water companies accounts for half the amount of water that would normally end up in rivers.
We need to plan for the worst but we don’t want to panic. Trevor Bishop
“If the water companies run short they have to take more from rivers and rivers go dry and it’s bad news all round for wildlife. Water consumers need to take note of that.
Barter is unconvinced on the merits of fake lawns.
He said: “There are some drought resistant grasses but they don’t make a good lawn. The benefit of gardens for wildlife is that they’re very diverse, offering lots of different food sources. Artificial turf does not add to provision of food to wildlife, or to bio-diversity.”
Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said: “The main impacts of the water shortages as we see them are on the environment and on agricultural sectors which are reliant on water.”
The Environment Agency is developing ways for water users and extractors to learn how to share resources.
“We need to be prudent over the next couple of months because a drought could disappear or get quite severe,” said Bishop.
“There is considerable uncertainly with weather forecasts and we almost need to plan for the worst but we don’t want to panic.”