Chelsea Flower Show 2006 - Water shortage

"Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink;" you can almost hear thirsty plants around the country crying out as they feel the rain pelting down on their greenhouses.

It does seem absurd what with all the wet weather of late that we should be experiencing a drought at all - but unfortunately, rainfall - for the year so far - has been well below average - so low infact that Thames Water and Three Valleys Water introduced a hosepipe and sprinkler ban last month.

This really is a justified. In January alone we had just 55.4mm of rain - a massive 54% below average for the month. The trend continued into February with just 60.8mm. Things looked promising in March with 107mm falling, yet it still failed to match the average for the time of year.

Fortunately the plants at this year's Chelsea Flower Show were able to breathe a sigh of relief as quick thinking organisers came up with an innovative way to combat the shortage. A 100-metre deep borehole was dug which connects with a water table sitting deep in the ground. This table lies below masses of chalk and clay - and is even deeper than the River Thames. It's a very simple but effective concept; basically a pump is lowered down into the borehole which then extracts water and stores it in two huge tanks - exhibitors can then draw from this supply using standpipes which are dotted around the showground. It is thought it will provide up to 20,000 litres of water a day and also work as a long-term sustainable solution.

Some water-aware exhibitors pre-empted the shortage and made up for it in other ways - by making up displays from drought-resistant perennials which require very little water. There is also the design of a system which traps rainwater under garden paving on display.

This year sees the Chelsea Flower Show, run by the Royal Horticultural Society, in it's 84th Year. Some 157,000 visitors are expected to view the huge array of displays on show by some of the world's best horticulturists and garden deigners during the course of the week.

This year the show will run from Tuesday 23rd to Saturday 27th May.

For more information on the Chelsea Flower Show visit the official site