With the amount of rain we’ve had recently, you may be asking yourself ‘Is garden irrigation worth it?’  We’d like to explain why we think the answer is an emphatic ‘yes!’

We all want thriving gardens

Gardens as we know them today haven’t been around all that long.  A few hundred years ago, only country houses could afford gardens as a sort of leisure space.  Now most houses have gardens, where people make the space an extension of their homes and a place to relax.  We all enjoy making choices about planting, landscaping and furniture to personalise our gardens.  The plants we choose give us great pleasure, but growing grass, shrubs, flowers or trees also takes a lot of effort and time.  Although pottering around with a watering can is often therapeutic, we’re all time-poor, and watering by hand is a particularly time-consuming job.  For most of us, gardening because we want to is a lot better than gardening because we have to!

What is irrigation?

Where natural rainfall is not sufficient for plants to thrive, ‘irrigation’ is simply giving them water by artificial means.  Even using a watering can is a form of irrigation!  But when we talk about a garden irrigation system, we really mean an automated system whereby plants are watered without the gardener doing anything.  And effective irrigation has so many benefits.  It makes gardens more water-efficient and easier to manage. It keeps lawns green, improves foliage and flowers, and increases the yield of fruit and vegetable plants.

Why is an automated system better than hand-watering?

The reason automated garden irrigation systems are better than manual ones, is that effort is minimised and watering is optimal.  You can programme your system to ensure watering happens at the right times and in the right amounts.  You can have multiple zones, each one programmed differently to make sure plants with different requirements are all treated separately.  Then once the controls are set up, you can sit back and relax.  Most of our systems include the ability to adjust everything via a phone app.  This means that even if you’re away from home, you can make changes if you want to.

Why do I need Rosewood?  Can’t I just buy a DIY kit?

At Rosewood we have more than a decade of experience and the expertise that goes with it.  All our staff are carefully trained and we check every system thoroughly.  In addition, there’s the design aspect. There are many types of irrigation, some watering the garden’s surface from above, and others placing water directly at the roots.  Do you know whether a given plant would prefer sprinklers, misters, dripline or pressure-compensated drippers?  Would your lawn best suit subsurface dripline or pop-up sprinklers?  Is that large shrub in need of dripline or a specialist root watering device?  At Rosewood we understand all the options and design our systems specifically to suit your own garden.  We put in as many zones as are necessary for plants with different requirements, and know exactly what will work for you.

So, what are the main benefits once an irrigation system is in place?

Our systems help to avoid under- or over-watering, helping your plants thrive.  Automated watering systems noticeably improve plant growth, by giving the right amount of water at the right time.  This includes improved crop yield for edible plants.

A well-designed irrigation system saves time, delivers water when and where it’s needed, and waters your plants in the most efficient way.  Very little is wasted, so ultimately it uses less water – every precious drop is targeted properly, saving water and money.

If your watering system is properly designed and installed, your plants will get the right amount of water at the time when it does the most good.  As well as saving money, watering efficiently helps to preserve a precious resource.

A well-designed, effective irrigation system encourages deeper roots, better nutrient absorption, and improves soil structure.  Heavy hand-watering by contrast can wash away valuable nutrients, encourage unhealthy fungi, compact and deoxygenate soil, and lead to root disease.

Because professionally designed irrigation systems only water targeted areas, less weeds grow in other areas. Drip irrigation systems do this best.

An automated watering system adds value to your property, both by helping your garden look better, and by making it low- maintenance.

Okay, we see the benefits, but what if the weather changes unexpectedly?

The most sophisticated irrigation systems allow remote reprogramming from your phone, so you can adjust watering, either for an unexpected heatwave, or a wet spell.  And systems fitted with smart controllers even adjust automatically to weather conditions, using weather data and rain sensors.

Should we wait until the weather is dry, or is now a good time?

Now is a great time to discuss your requirements with us. Spring and summer get extremely busy for most irrigation installers, and at that time of year we usually have a waiting list.  If you contact us now we can design and install your system over the winter ready to be switched on when spring comes.  Get to the front of the queue and call us today!