It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do to set plants on a healing path. Follow that with a dose of drenching rain and the most beleaguered of gardens will soon make a recovery.
One of the pitfalls of container gardening is that the sun which nourishes also tends to dry my plants out quickly, so frequent watering is a must. By the end of summer, skipping even a day can leave me with brown, shriveled flowering plants and edibles.
And while I’m committed to regular hoisting of the watering can, I’m always grateful when an all-day rain gives me a little relief. Plus, the plants seem to like rainwater more than that from the tap.
Which brings me to another pitfall of container gardening… There’s no room to apply some of the environmentally friendly options like composting or building rain barrels that those of you who have large yard gardens can. This HGTV
video shows how simple setting up a rain barrel system to harvest runoff for watering your garden can be.
I’m not the only one thinking about the environment. I’ve recently become one of the mentors to a group of inquisitive Chicago high school students participating in an environmental journalism reporting academy.
Called “Green in the City,” the program is a product of Columbia College’s journalism department. The students explore eco-related topics like urban gardening and work on stories for an online magazine.
They’re also sharing their thoughts on the environment in a blog of their own, so stop by to let them know you’re listening.
[Meanwhile, I'd love to hear from you about what you're doing to make your garden greener. And, if you're looking for green landscaping ideas, check out the fabulous designs on Steve's blog.]
However, I am fortunate that the water rate here is not high. Else, my water bill is going to be very high… it is always hot here! But rains often too 
A lot of the allotment sites in Britain have a water supply where plot holders can fill their watering cans, or attach a hosepipe. Our site isn’t one of those, it doesn’t have a water supply at all, so it’s really important to collect as much rainwater as possible. I have lots of water butts, but no shed or greenhouse on the plot, so I can’t collect the rain which runs off the roof. I just have to collect whatever falls. It certainly makes you aware of how precious water is.
Your mentoring job sounds interesting. How old are the kids who are involved?
Jo,
I agree, rainwater is precious. I was talking to someone who lives in the desert today and he was telling me how important it was to conserve there. The students in the program are 15 and 16 and have introduced me to things like “plarn” (recycled plastic grocery bags woven like yarn to make purses and such
Stephanie,
If Malaysia is anything like Florida where I grew up, we got short rains almost every day during the summer. But, it was so hot that we still had to use the sprinklers every day!