Deciding whether garden irrigation is a good option for you mostly comes down to the size of your garden, the scale of your planting, and whether you can find a type of garden irrigation that fits your needs.
With the UK experiencing increasingly hotter and drier summers, finding effective ways to keep plants irrigated is becoming a more pressing issue. While water butts and watering cans certainly have their place, finding less labour-intensive methods for watering your garden can be key to ensuring plants remain healthy in warm weather.
Systems such as sprinklers, drip hoses and automatic watering containers can all be effective solutions for gardens of any size. They can all deliver water when it's needed most with minimal time and effort from you.
Different types of garden irrigation
"The three most common methods of garden irrigation are hand watering, garden sprinklers and an automatic garden irrigation system," says Tom Clifford, garden expert at Gardenstone.
"For small gardens, hand watering is common as it can be done quickly and easily using a garden hose, however, for larger gardens you may wish to install an automatic system of pipes that will save you time and energy by regularly providing your plants with water," says Tom.
These are the key types of garden irrigation you can use in your garden:
- Drip pipes and hoses: These release water slowly at specific points. A soaker hose works in a similar way, but instead of having specific watering points, the whole hose is porous, so water slowly leaks out along the length and into the ground.
- Spray and sprinkler systems: These will throw water out to hydrate a specific area of garden. Micro sprayers tend to project a finer shower of water than garden sprinklers, making them well-suited to young plants and delicate flowers. Sprinklers can be mounted on fixed rods or on pop-up mechanisms that can be buried in the ground. They can be connected to an outdoor tap or water butts.
- Rain channels: You can also design your garden with a system of channels and pools that irrigate your garden naturally.
- Low-tech irrigation systems: There are options which require little set up such as watering spikes and terracotta watering systems known as Ollas. Try these Terracotta Clay Garden Ollas at eBay.
- Hand watering: This includes watering cans and hoses and where your watering is done by hand every time you need it.
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Ollas are buried so they allow water to reach the roots more directly. As the topsoil remains dry they're a good tool for keeping weeds at bay. They require no complex installation either.
This kit allows you to water up to 20 pots on a schedule. The kit includes pre-set programmes which deliver water directly to the roots, giving you peace of mind that your plants will be happy and healthy.
Another easy-to-install option. Simply hook the soaker hose up to your outdoor water source and feed the hose through your garden beds for a slow and steady flow.
Benefits of garden irrigation systems
- Weed reduction: Richard Ferguson of Hozelhock suggests that an automatic irrigation system can help to kill weeds naturally. “Water is directed to exactly where it needs to be, and weeds tend to appear when there is excess moisture and gaps between plants,” says Richard.
- Uses less water: Watering by hand or with a hose means that you're watering plants from above. Irrigation systems water the soil directly meaning that less water evaporates or is blocked by the leaves of your plants. "Every drop is targeted properly, so water and money are saved," says Jane Dobbs garden expert at Allan's Gardeners. Of course, if you're watering with rain run-off that you've collected in a water butt, this would be the most environmentally friendly method.
- Saves time and effort: "Some more advanced garden irrigation systems have timers, making them ideal for busy homeowners that may not have time to water their gardens regularly," says Tom Clifford.
- Customised watering: "If you have plants and edibles with differing needs, you might find a drip-hose kit more useful. You can usually adapt and add to these, to customise your set up and many come with adjustable drippers and flow controls, so you can make sure your plants are getting the right amount of water," says Tom.
Tom Clifford is the director of Gardenstone Limited, a leading garden landscaping supplier. Tom has been in the garden landscaping business for over 13 years making him an expert in garden design and maintenance. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with readers to help them create the most sustainable and visually appealing gardens as possible.
Downsides to garden irrigation
- Installation effort: "For small gardens, a mechanical irrigation system may be more trouble than it's worth and you may find that five minutes hand watering every day will be enough to sustain the growth of your plants and keep them healthy," says Tom Clifford.
- Visual impact: Though some irrigation systems are subtle, you may not like the appearance of all the extra tubes running through your garden.
- Trip hazards: Depending on where your water source, the hoses may present a trip hazard as they reach your plants.
How to set up a drip irrigation system
Drip irrigation systems are relatively easy to set up if you use an off-the-shelf kit. The kits typically come with a hose, connectors and drip heads as well as pegs to pin your system in place.
It's a good idea to really think about what plants need watering most so you can ensure you're targeting the key areas. Do a rough sketch of your garden first so you can mark up where the drip heads should go. This will make it easier to plot the route of any hoses and ensure the system will be as effective as possible.
Look out for systems that allow you to add extra connectors and drip heads so you can easily extend the irrigation system to additional plants in the future.
Gardena's Micro-Drip-System Drip Irrigation Set at Amazon can water up to 30 plants, but it can be extended with an additional unit that gives you even greater control over the watering schedule and the amount of water that gets used.
FAQs
Is garden irrigation worth it?
Basic garden irrigation kits start from as little as around £25 on Amazon, although prices can go up to around the £50-£100 mark or more for bigger systems from the likes of leading brands such as Hozelock and Gardena, especially if you want to add programmable timers to your set-up.
It can be a worthwhile investment, however, if it protects your plants and prevents them from dying in the warmer months, particularly when you're on holiday and can't water the garden by hand. The cost of replacing plants lost to lack of watering could end up being more than the initial investment in your irrigation system.
What's more, using a garden irrigation system can actually reduce the amount of water you use on your plants as the systems are generally considered to be more effective at delivering water to the roots of the plant where it's needed most.
If you would like to reduce the need for watering in your outdoor space it's worth looking at our gravel garden ideas which rely on little to no water to thrive.
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article included a quote from a purported expert whose credentials we have not been able to verify. The quote has been removed. We regret this lapse in our verification process and have updated our internal protocols to reduce the risk of recurrence.
