Who needs a hosepipe? The watering cans worth investing in

In the hot, dry summer of 1976, I was working as a gardening student at Arboretum Kalmthout in Belgium. The temperatures in July were frequently 40°C by lunchtime, so we worked in the early mornings and through the evenings. My job was to drive a tractor pulling a trailer, on to which were placed dustbins full of water drawn from a borehole. These were ferried around the grounds so we could water rare, precious and drought-hating rhododendron and tree species. The owners of the garden were white-faced with apprehension all that month but the stratagem worked and we saved the lot.

Something of that anxiety comes back to me, for my garden is at risk of losing plants from drought. We have had a measly 0.157 inches of rain in this corner of Northamptonshire this month, and no appreciable quantity since 16 March. The effects of high temperatures have been made more damaging by very warm, drying winds.