When a hosepipe ban arrives in the middle of hot, dry weather, gardeners are often left with one big question:

What am I actually allowed to do?

Can you water tomatoes? Can you use a watering can? What about a water butt, drip irrigation, newly planted trees, hanging baskets, or a brown lawn?

In England, what most people call a hosepipe ban is formally known as a Temporary Use Ban (TUB). Water companies can introduce these restrictions to reduce demand when water supplies are under pressure.

And the rules matter. Ofwat says breaking a Temporary Use Ban can result in a fine of up to £1,000.

There’s also an important complication:

Not every ban has exactly the same exemptions.

Your water company’s current notice should always be your final authority.

For gardeners, though, these are the key things to understand.

1. CAN: Water Plants With a Watering Can

A hosepipe ban doesn’t usually mean you have to stop watering your garden altogether.

Ofwat specifically says plants can still be watered using a watering can or bucket rather than a hosepipe.

That’s particularly important for vegetables, containers, hanging baskets, and recently planted shrubs that may struggle during prolonged dry weather.

Use your limited water efficiently.

Instead of showering the entire bed, remove the rose from your watering can where appropriate and deliver water slowly around the base of individual plants.

You’re trying to wet the root zone—not the path beside it.

Smart move: Prioritize vulnerable plants and water directly around their roots.

2. CAN: Use Stored Rainwater

This is exactly when a water butt earns its place in the garden.

Rain falling onto a surprisingly small roof can provide a useful supply of water when it’s collected rather than allowed to disappear down the drain.

The Environment Agency recommends installing a water butt as one way households can reduce their demand for mains water during dry conditions.

Consider collecting rainwater from suitable roofs on:

Sheds.

Greenhouses.

Garages.

Houses.

If you regularly run out, you may be able to connect multiple water butts together.

And don’t wait until a ban begins.

Installing storage during wetter weather means you’ll already have a reserve when the next prolonged dry spell arrives.

Smart move: Save rainwater for containers, vegetables, and newly established plants that need it most.

3. CAN: Reuse Suitable Household Water

Some household water can get a second job in the garden.

The Environment Agency suggests using suitable kitchen water, including washing-up water, for plants as a way to conserve water during drought.

Often called greywater, this can reduce the amount of fresh mains water your garden requires.

But be selective.

Avoid water containing bleach, disinfectant, large quantities of salt, or other potentially harmful cleaning products.

It’s also generally better to use greywater promptly rather than storing it for extended periods.

Established ornamental plants are usually more sensible candidates than delicate seedlings or edible leaves that will soon be harvested.

Smart move: Give suitable household water a second use instead of immediately sending it down the drain.

4. CAN: Mulch Your Garden

One of the most effective things you can do during a hosepipe ban doesn’t involve adding water at all.

Cover the soil.

A suitable layer of mulch helps reduce moisture loss from the soil surface.

Depending on the planting, you might use:

Compost.

Leaf mold.

Wood chips.

Bark.

Well-rotted organic matter.

Other appropriate organic mulches.

The best time to mulch dry-weather beds is generally when there’s already moisture in the soil—after rainfall or watering, for example.

You’re essentially putting a protective cover over that moisture.

Keep thick mulch away from vulnerable plant crowns and don’t pile it directly against tree trunks.

Smart move: Concentrate on keeping water in the ground rather than constantly trying to replace it.

5. CAN: Prioritize Vegetables and Newly Planted Plants

Not everything in your garden deserves an equal share of limited water.

A mature shrub with an established root system is in a very different situation from a tomato growing in a container.

Give priority to plants such as:

Recently planted trees and shrubs

Seedlings

Vegetable crops

Fruit plants carrying crops

Hanging baskets

Container plants

Plants showing severe drought stress

Recently planted trees and shrubs deserve particular attention because their roots haven’t yet spread extensively into the surrounding soil.

Water slowly and deeply using whatever methods are permitted under your supplier’s restrictions.

Smart move: Don’t spend precious water keeping everything cosmetically perfect. Protect the plants most likely to suffer permanent damage.

6. CAN: Move Containers Into the Shade

Sometimes the easiest way to reduce watering is to reduce how quickly plants lose water.

Containers sitting against a hot south- or west-facing wall can become extremely warm.

Move vulnerable pots somewhere that receives afternoon shade if the plants can tolerate the change in light.

Grouping containers can also reduce exposure to drying wind around individual pots.

Hanging baskets deserve particular attention.

They’re exposed on several sides and contain a relatively small volume of growing medium, so they can dry extremely quickly.

If necessary, temporarily move them somewhere less exposed.

Smart move: Make the environment easier on the plant so you don’t have to replace as much lost moisture.

7. MAYBE: Use Drip Irrigation

This is where gardeners need to be careful.

Don’t assume drip irrigation is automatically permitted simply because it’s efficient.

And don’t automatically assume it’s prohibited either.

Temporary Use Bans are implemented by individual water companies, and their exemptions or discretionary concessions can vary.

The legal framework specifies categories of hosepipe use that can be restricted, while companies publish the details and exemptions applying to their particular ban.

So before connecting a mains-fed drip or trickle system, check your supplier’s current rules.

If permitted, properly designed drip irrigation can be extremely efficient because it delivers water slowly around the root zone rather than spraying large areas.

Smart move: Check first. “Water-efficient” doesn’t automatically mean “exempt.”

8. CAN’T: Water Your Lawn With a Hosepipe

This is one of the classic activities covered by a hosepipe ban.

Temporary Use Bans can prohibit watering a garden using a hosepipe, and the definition of a garden includes lawns and other grassed areas.

The good news?

An established brown lawn isn’t necessarily a dead lawn.

Many grasses can become dormant during drought, sacrificing their green appearance while conserving resources until conditions improve.

When rain returns, surviving turf may begin greening again.

So don’t waste valuable water trying to maintain an immaculate emerald lawn during a serious shortage.

Smart move: Let established grass brown temporarily and save water for plants that can’t tolerate extended drought.

9. CAN’T: Get Around the Ban With a Sprinkler

Attaching a sprinkler to your hose doesn’t turn restricted hosepipe use into unrestricted irrigation.

If your mains-fed hosepipe use for watering the garden is prohibited, connecting equipment to that hose doesn’t create an automatic loophole.

Sprinklers aren’t particularly attractive during severe water shortages anyway.

Water can land on paths and other areas without roots, while evaporation can reduce efficiency.

A watering can gives you much more control.

Put five liters around the roots of a vulnerable plant and almost all of it can be useful.

Spray five liters across a large flower bed and the story may be very different.

Smart move: Target roots rather than spraying everything.

10. CAN’T: Wash the Car With a Hose

Your dusty car may have to stay dusty for a while.

Cleaning a private motor vehicle with a hosepipe is one of the uses that can be restricted under a Temporary Use Ban.

Ofwat says you can still clean your car using a bucket rather than a hosepipe.

Don’t wash it.

During a serious dry spell, a spotless driveway vehicle isn’t exactly a gardening emergency.

11. CAN’T: Fill a Paddling Pool With the Hose

Temporary Use Bans can also restrict filling or maintaining domestic swimming and paddling pools.

It makes sense when you consider the quantities involved.

A large paddling pool can require hundreds or even thousands of liters.

That’s water that has been treated to drinking-water standards during a period when the supply system is already under pressure.

Check the precise wording of your supplier’s ban before filling any recreational water feature.

12. CAN’T: Fill or Maintain a Garden Pond With a Hose Without Checking

Garden ponds create a more complicated situation because wildlife or fish may be involved.

Temporary Use Bans can include filling or maintaining domestic ponds using a hosepipe.

However, individual suppliers can publish exemptions and circumstances in which otherwise restricted use is permitted.

If animal welfare becomes an issue, don’t simply assume you’re either allowed or prohibited from using the hose.

Check your water company’s specific exemption rules.

Meanwhile, reduce unnecessary losses where practical and use stored rainwater when suitable and available.

Smart move: Animal-welfare situations deserve a direct check of your supplier’s current exemptions.

13. CAN’T: Pressure-Wash the Patio as Usual

A dusty patio isn’t an emergency.

During restrictions, cleaning outdoor surfaces with mains-fed hose equipment may be prohibited depending on the Temporary Use Ban in force.

So put the pressure washer away unless you’ve confirmed that your particular use is permitted.

A stiff broom can deal with leaves, dust, and loose debris without using any water.

Save the deep clean for wetter conditions.

Your patio won’t mind.

Your reservoir might.

14. MAYBE: Water Newly Laid Turf

This catches plenty of homeowners by surprise.

Fresh turf needs regular moisture while its roots establish.

Unfortunately, laying a lawn shortly before a hosepipe ban doesn’t automatically guarantee that you’re free to water it however you like.

Water companies may offer exemptions or concessions for newly laid turf, but you need to read the conditions carefully.

There may be restrictions concerning:

How recently the turf was installed

How long the exemption lasts

What equipment can be used

Whether the installation was completed professionally

If you’re considering laying turf during a severe dry spell, postponing the project may be the easiest solution.

Smart move: Check the exemption before—not after—installing a lawn that will require intensive watering.

15. MAYBE: Use a Hose Because of Disability or Mobility Problems

Telling someone to “just carry a watering can” isn’t practical for everyone.

A large watering can filled with water is heavy.

People with disabilities, mobility limitations, or certain medical circumstances may be covered by exemptions or discretionary concessions from their water company.

If carrying watering cans isn’t safe or practical, check with your supplier.

You may also want to see whether you’re eligible for its Priority Services Register.

Don’t risk injury trying to comply with restrictions when an exemption may exist specifically for your circumstances.

Can You Fill a Watering Can With a Hose?

This sounds like a clever workaround.

You’re technically watering with the can, right?

But you’ve still used the hosepipe.

So don’t assume that connecting a hose solely to fill watering cans makes the activity permissible.

Instead, fill the watering can directly from a tap unless your supplier’s published restrictions explicitly say otherwise.

The simplest rule during a ban is:

Don’t invent loopholes.

Check the actual restrictions.

What Should You Water First?

When every liter has to be carried manually, priorities become important.

Water first

Recently planted trees and shrubs.

Seedlings and young plants.

Vegetable crops.

Fruit plants carrying developing crops.

Containers.

Hanging baskets.

Plants showing severe drought stress.

Lower priority

Established shrubs.

Established drought-tolerant perennials.

Mature hedges adapted to the site.

Usually lowest priority

Established lawn.

A temporarily brown lawn is much easier to replace than a mature tree.

Water Early in the Day

Early morning is generally an excellent time to water.

Temperatures tend to be cooler and evaporation losses lower than during the hottest part of the afternoon.

More importantly, water deeply enough to reach roots.

A tiny splash across the soil surface may disappear rapidly without doing much for established plants.

Slowly delivering a larger amount around the root zone can be far more effective.

And don’t automatically water simply because the surface looks dry.

Check beneath it.

Make Every Watering Can Count

Carrying watering cans around a large garden quickly teaches you how much water sprinklers can waste.

Don’t water paths.

Don’t water empty spaces.

Don’t soak weeds you’re planning to remove tomorrow.

Put the water where roots are concentrated.

For large plants, watering slowly into a shallow basin around the root zone can help reduce runoff on suitable soils.

Then mulch the damp ground.

You’re trying to make that watering last as long as possible.

Stop the Weeds Stealing Water

Every actively growing weed is another plant using moisture.

During prolonged drought, removing weeds reduces competition around vegetables, flowers, and newly established plants.

The easiest time to remove them may be shortly after watering or rainfall, when the soil has softened enough for roots to pull free.

Then mulch exposed ground to suppress another flush of seedlings.

Water conservation isn’t only about supplying water.

It’s also about controlling where that water goes.

Should You Stop Planting?

In many cases, postponing nonessential planting during an extreme dry spell makes sense.

A newly planted shrub immediately becomes another plant requiring regular watering.

Established plants have root systems extending into surrounding soil.

A brand-new transplant doesn’t.

If you’re planning a major border renovation, waiting for cooler and wetter conditions could save considerable water and give the plants an easier establishment period.

Sometimes the best drought gardening technique is simply:

Wait.

What About Greenhouses?

This is another area where checking the precise rules matters.

The statutory definition of “garden” has some specific exclusions, including certain plants under cover, but Temporary Use Bans also contain a separate category relating to watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises using a hosepipe.

In other words:

Don’t conclude that your greenhouse automatically gives you a hosepipe loophole.

Water greenhouse crops using clearly permitted methods such as a watering can unless your supplier confirms another method is allowed.

Why Does a Hosepipe Matter So Much?

Because hoses can use water extremely quickly.

Government reporting on the 2025 drought notes that hosepipe use can reach around 1,000 liters per hour—almost ten times the amount an individual typically uses in an entire day.

Now multiply that by thousands of households watering lawns simultaneously during a heatwave.

Suddenly the purpose of the restrictions becomes much clearer.

It’s not your individual tomato plant causing the problem.

It’s the enormous collective demand created by unrestricted outdoor water use.

What Happens If You Ignore the Ban?

A Temporary Use Ban isn’t merely a request to “please use less water.”

It’s a legal restriction.

Ofwat says anyone who breaches a hosepipe ban could face a fine of up to £1,000.

That’s an expensive lawn watering.

More importantly, these restrictions are intended to reduce demand when supplies and the wider water environment are under pressure.

Follow the rules that apply to your supply area rather than assuming nobody will notice.

Hosepipe Ban Quick Guide

The crucial word here is “usually.”

Water companies implement their own Temporary Use Bans, so exemptions and concessions need to be checked against the current notice covering your property. Government guidance likewise advises checking your water company’s website for restrictions currently in force.

Use a Hosepipe Ban to Rethink Your Garden

A water shortage can reveal which parts of your garden demand far more water than they should.

Maybe you have dozens of tiny containers baking in full sun.

Perhaps your lawn struggles every summer.

Maybe bare soil dries almost immediately.

Or perhaps you’ve planted moisture-loving species in the driest part of the garden.

Once conditions improve, consider making the garden more resilient.

Increase rainwater storage.

Mulch more extensively.

Improve suitable soils with organic matter.

Choose plants adapted to the conditions.

Group plants with similar watering requirements.

Reduce lawn in areas where grass continually struggles.

And position containers where they aren’t being baked unnecessarily.

The objective isn’t to create a garden that never needs water.

It’s to create one that uses less of it intelligently.

Final Thoughts

A hosepipe ban doesn’t mean you have to stand at the window and watch your garden die.

You can generally still use a watering can or bucket.

You can collect rainwater.

You can reuse suitable household water.

You can mulch.

You can move containers into shade.

And you can prioritize your most vulnerable plants.

What you shouldn’t do is assume that a sprinkler, drip line, greenhouse, new lawn, or clever hose attachment automatically gets around the restrictions.

Check the current notice from the company that supplies your water.

Then make every liter count.

Protect newly planted trees before established grass.

Save vegetables before ornamental lawns.

Keep water around roots instead of spraying paths.

Capture rain whenever it arrives.

And remember that sometimes the most effective response to a hosepipe ban isn’t finding another way to supply more water.

It’s redesigning your garden so it needs less water in the first place.