Garden work being done transplanting celosia

Restyling a garden doesn’t just mean laying new turf and trimming the hedges, but often requires paying our flower beds a bit of attention. After the hard work of choosing a new colour scheme, planting flowers and bulbs to spring up throughout the year, and making sure that the soil is mineral rich; our attentions then turn to maintenance. Watering a flower or vegetable garden sounds like a simple task, but irrigating our plants correctly greatly increases how long they will live for, and whether they will be able to reseed for the next year.

You might think that sounds simple, just give them a quick hose everyday and they will be fine, but unfortunately if you want to avoid leaf rot and water logged roots its a good idea to do some research into plant irrigation systems. We have put together a list of three of the main types of garden irrigation systems to help find the one that suits your needs best.

FLOWER BED SPRINKLER SYSTEMS

For larger flower beds, a sprinkler system is an effective choice. With the option of going for manually operated versions where you time yourself watering and then shut off the flow or automatic systems with programable controllers; there is something to suit any lifestyle. Because they are made to cover wider areas, it is a good idea to split your watering regime in to two parts, half first thing in the morning and half just after the sun has gone down. This reduces the risk of beds becoming waterlogged and water being wasted.

DRIP IRRIGATION

This system works well for small beds and individual plants as it feeds water directly into the plants roots. It also causes very little water loss due to lack of evaporation and run off, it just needs topping up as you go. Drip irrigation is particularly good for mulched areas because it can directly suit the soil without washing away the mulch.

MICRO SPRAY IRRIGATION SYSTEM

By using a micro spray irrigation, you can spread a small amount of water over a wide area. Its gradual precipitation means that all the moisture is absorbed by the surrounding soil without any run off, minimising water wastage during the warmer months. This system can be used on smaller or larger plots and you can buy spray heads that disperse the water from a mist to a more pressurised stream.