Celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh has welcomed the end of the UK's hosepipe ban.
It has been hard to avoid news of flooding and transport disruption caused by severe rain in June. But at the start of the month, parts of the country were prevented from watering their gardens as water companies took steps to conserve the precious resource.
Gardeners will welcome the rain in many respects – as long as they don't receive too much of course – and it is expected to continue will into July.
So the likelihood of the hosepipe ban returning – and forcing people to put down their garden tools – is slim.
Speaking to Horticultural Week, Mr Titchmarsh said: "I do welcome the end of the ban. The important thing is that the water boards start looking ahead and making arrangements for surface water storage."
He added: "I think it's a mistake that's unfair and unjust to blame gardeners, who use on average between three and five per cent of domestic water. Gardeners are performing a great service."
Mr Titchmarsh told the news provider that one of the reasons that Britain was experiencing water supply problems was that a lot of reservoir land has been sold off for redevelopment.
The change in fortunes for British gardeners is dramatic as in May of this year, many were predicting hosepipe bans to remain in place for the rest of the year.
At the time, Simon Evans, Thames Water's media manager, told This is Wiltshire that there was an irony in having introduced a hosepipe ban as the "heavens opened".
However, he added that the rainfall in April had not "got us out of jail" as water levels in reservoirs were still low.
But with the heavens working their magic for the foreseeable future it seems that gardeners will stop being hit with tough rules and regulations that can cause untold damage to their plots.
