Automatic watering turned of

At Claines Canna, we have turned of the automatic watering system, as it doesn't look as though it will be needed this summer.

Parts of the UK have been on flood alert as torrential downpours swept across the country.

Every corner of Britain was set to be hit by heavy rain, according to forecasters.And as the deluge moved north, seven flood watches across the UK were issued by the Environment Agency.

Summer holidaymakers in the South West saw their travel plans hit as more than 20mm of rain hit parts of Devon and Cornwall in the early hours. Areas of Wales and Northern Ireland were also subjected to heavy downpours. In central London, commuters were soaked as 5mm of rain fell over two hours before 7am.

Claire Austin, a meteorologist from the Press Association's weather division MeteoGroup, said: "There is a possibility of flooding today." The reason we have got so much rain is a band moving north-east." Northern Ireland, the Midlands, including Worcestershire, East Anglia and London have already been hit." There will be heavy rain and, at times, thunderstorms."

Looks like flooding and heavy rains are becoming the norm, maybe not as bad as last year, but enough to blight what we are trying to do. For 10 minutes I saw heavier rain coming down today than I have ever seen anywhere, even in northern Norway during bad storms. Much damage was done to the foliage on our Cannas, and some large leaves were totally shredded by the rain. This was not rain as we know it, this was a monsoon!