Last week someone from Thames Water turned up to say we were using more than the average amount of water. I tried to explain that we have small children; I spend my life doing laundry and baths are one of my few vices. And no, we don’t have a car to wash or use a hose in the garden.

The visitor then presented us with a small hourglass with a suction pad attached. Now, each morning, my husband and I emerge from the shower, crowing that we managed to brush our teeth and wash and condition our hair in under four minutes.

I’ve never been hugely rash with watering the garden – as a result of my climate anxiety and, frankly, laziness. I’m on trend. Resilient, drought-tolerant and water-conscious gardens have been appearing in one form or another on Main Avenue at the RHS Chelsea flower show for the past decade (even though you invariably see volunteers frantically watering things most mornings of the show). Meanwhile, an increasingly feverish debate over the merits of dry and gravel gardening in our backyards demonstrates the desire to square the fact that our rainfall is less predictable than it has ever been – and we have to be more careful with the water we’ve got. Even without that visit, the news that the world is facing a water bankruptcy crisis should make us think before we turn on the hose.

Water harvesting can help make the most of our winters now being far wetter than they used to be (one of the biggest arguments against leaning towards Mediterranean plants to suit our increasingly hot summers). The UK Water Reuse Association is a font of knowledge about large-scale water harvesting, which is worth investigating if you’re about to overhaul your house or garden. But nearly everyone can install water butts; not just on the house, but also sheds and any outbuilding with a roof.

A lot of water-conscious gardening, though, happens through simply not watering. Mulching your soil with organic matter as the year warms up can improve water retention. And choosing drought-tolerant plants (the RHS has a planting guide) will also reduce the need to water. Making a garden from smaller, younger plants, rather than larger, thirstier ones, will allow them to establish and adapt to lower water use over the long term. While most plants will need watering in when they’re newly planted to develop longer root systems, letting them adjust to drier conditions once they’re established will result in more resilient plants in the long run. Yes, it’s tough to see them wilt, but many will adapt to survive with less cosseting.

Just think of all the things you can do once you’ve reclaimed all that watering time.