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Saving rainwater with Collingham Bowling Club

Rainwater Terrace would like to congratulate Collingham Bowling Club on their centenary. The club is open on Saturday and all were welcome to help celebrate.

 

 

Collingham Bowling Club had 2 Rainwater Terrace water butts installed before the hot dry weather arrived in the UK which gave them time to fill up with rainwater, the club members were impressed that the water butts filled up with rainwater so fast.

black water  butt with flowers on it at Collingham Bowling Club

A water butt is a great addition to a sports or leisure facility where lawns and grounds need to be maintained not only is rainwater better for plants and grassed areas its FREE. Installing a water butt is a great way of saving on the rising costs of water bills, Collingham bowling club chose 2 200 litre water butts which will make a big saving compared to using treated water from a hose pipe.

When you attach a water butt using a rainwater diverter to a house, shed or greenhouse roof a over night downpour can fill the tanks to the brim. We receive a lot of feedback from our customers on how surprised they are by the speed at which our water butts fill and not only that but that they do not overflow and spill out over the top they have a concealed overflow which ensures excess water flows back down the drain.

 

 

Water butts at the Harrogate Flower Show Spring 2022

Rainwater Terrace water butts with planters have had an exciting 4 days at the Harrogate Flower Show 2022 demonstrating how these clever water butts work.

Rainwater Terrace water butt stand at the 2022 Harrogate Flower Show

They are the most versatile water butt on the market providing not only rainwater storage for use on gardens but provide planting space which is great for and flowers or plants that would go into hanging baskets or small pots as well as a huge variety of salad leaves, herbs and small fruits such as strawberry plants.

Herbs and salad leaves growing in water butt planters at Harrogate Flower Show

All the planters which and detachable from the water butt are self watering as long as some rainwater has flowed through the system.

Spring planting display on top of a water butt at the Harrogate Flower Show 2022

The Rainwater Terrace water butt & growing system surprises people when they see inside, there is an inbuilt filtration system that catches silt and debris off a roof firstly in the top planter tray and secondly in the top water container this means water collected in the lower water containers is much cleaner which is ideal for car washing. The through flow system not only provides cleaner water butt it acts as an overflow back to the downpipe which ensures the system will never overflow out of the top and the water within the system is kept fresh as the water in the system is constantly refreshed each time new rainfall enters the water butt.

134 Litre water butt with planters on display at the Harrogate Flower Show

We have enjoyed telling you all about how our water butts work and why they are so unique in comparison to other water butts on the market. If you want to see what our customers think why not see our reviews here 

200 Litre Water butt with flowers on display at the Harrogate Flower Show 2022

 

 

Planting an Autumn water butt

As the weather gets colder we planted a selection of plants that will look great through Autumn and into Winter.black water butt installed on a paving slab with a rainwater diverter connected to a black downpipe

We find it helpful to take a water butt planter along to the garden centre to help judge how may plants we will need. Selection of plants in a trolley at a garden centre. plants include heuchera and ornamental grass

Once we have all our plants we lay them out and then place them into the water butt planters in their pots to get a layout we are happy with before we start planting the new plants into the the water butt planters.

plants and compost laid out with a trowel compost and gardening gloves

plant labels and tags from everything we are going to plant

This is what we have chosen to plant:-

  • HeucheraPalace Purple
  • Uncinia  Rubra
  • Pansy  Premier F1
  • Carex – Comans Brinze
  • Lavender  Vera
  • Cerastium – Tomentosum
  • Santolina – Lemon Fizz
  • Carex – Flagellifera
  • Carex – Comans Green
  • Ivy Hedera Genus

festive black planters on a water butt

Once we are happy with how the planting display looks all the plants are carefully planted in the clip on planters with a multi-purpose compost. Dont forget to put the capillary mats provided into the planters green/grey side up before adding the compost.

black water butt with festive planters at the front of a red brick house

The finished result, a water butt that looks fantastic where ever you choose to put it. This example is placed at the front of a property.

Water butts in schools are great to get children playing and learning about saving rainwater

The kids at Lady Elizabeth Hastings school in Thorp Arch near Wetherby have a great new activity garden built by a team of willing Parents. They have no water supply down there so they’ve built a Playhouse to collect rainwater in their Rainwater Terraces. They can’t wait to get planting!

school water butt with planters

Rainwater Terrace water butts come in a range of sizes that includes this low level water butt which is the perfect height for children to get involved in recycling rainwater whilst growing herbs, flowers and salad vegetables in the self watering planter pods.

Water butts over the drier months.

In long dry spells you may need to top up the water in the Planter trays that the side and top planters take their water from. Hopefully you can use water stored in the Rainwater Terrace but if not just use tap water. Each tray holds about 2.5 litres of water before it overflows into the container below.

 

water butt planter with capillary wicks topped up in summer months

10 of the best water butts

Rainwater Terrace made it in to 10 of the best water butts put together by Gardeners World.

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Find out who else made it here -  10 of the Best Water Butts to Buy - BBC Gardeners' World Magazine (gardenersworld.com)

 

One of the best water butts for 2021

We love to shout about how great we think Rainwater Terrace water butts are but we love it even more when we receive such great feedback from our valued customers.

black water butt with planters filling a watering can

 

Don't take our word for it, see what some of our customers think.

Verified customer reviews received between 2015 and 2021.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 April 2015

Ok it's main function is as a water butt and for that purpose its rather expensive when compared to its competitors Butt (sic) a lot of thought has gone into the design of this. With a few well chosen plants this will enhance any corner or wall it is up against and not become an eyesore as a lot of butts are. To begin with it comes in a box that approx 2 by 2 by 2 foot so it is easy to handle. The instructions are very easy to understand and provided that where you are placing it is exactly level (a 2 by 2 paving slab is ideal) the only tools you will need is a drill and screwdriver for the safety clip and a saw to cut the downpipe to fit the diverter. If I have any complaint its that the diverter pipe was a touch small but that's an easy matter to solve. As with other water butts you can have a number of these butts side by side with a simple joining pipe (sold separately) or you can install another section on top (Max 3 tiers) In short I'm very happy with this purchase. :)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 July 2020
A very comprehensively filled box delivered by Amazon. After some head scratching over the instruction booklet the butt was quickly assembled and ready for action. Yes you can spend less money for a water butt but by the time you've added a pedestal and tap is it really so much cheaper? And with the Rainwater Terrace you have so much more functionality. We have our butt positioned just outside the kitchen door so it's easy to recycle any clean water (thinking running the hot tap to fire up combi boiler here). Also think it's important to buy British in the new 'normal' of 2020.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2019
Brilliant product and just what we were looking for. can't believe more variations of this aren't on the market. Would certainly recommend to anyone.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2020
Anyone with a reasonable DIY ability can assemble this great piece of kit in under two hours.
Innovative, no leaks, came earlier than expected, looks great.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 May 2016
Brilliant bit of kit I would recommend this to anyone. The best part is the recycling of the contained water. If it's full, it will continue to accept water at the top and empty older water at the bottom keeping the contents fresh.
A great idea well thought out.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2017
Great product - set up in an afternoon and full in a week. NB needs a properly levelled surface to sit on and comes with a black rain water diverter