We maintain beautiful landscapes, but to have the lush greenery and flowering plants that you want, you need an irrigation system. Alabama weather is unpredictable with washout storms one week and very hot dry winds the next. We will design your land forms to withstand the erosive power of the heavy rains, but you will need irrigation to keep plants healthy in the hot dry weather that may follow.
We install irrigation systems to cover all planted areas, and to miss walkways, patios and other unintended recipients of sprinklers. We prefer popup concealed head systems, so that vehicles that protrude over the edges of drives and curbs won’t decapitate them, and so that humans don’t trip over them.
We also install sensors to tell when water is needed and not needed. We have all seen automatic sprinkler systems working to a schedule in the middle of a rainstorm. We don’t want to waste water, or raise water bills at any time the irrigation system isn’t needed.
We install both active and drip irrigation systems. The drip systems are most effective in areas where direct water on plantings may damage sensitive blooms, or in vegetable gardens. Drip systems also reduce water loss through evaporation and runoff to save water while keeping plants healthy.
Some ways we recommend to save water:
- Water during off hours, specifically early morning before the sun is high in the sky. This is the time of day it’s most likely to be calm and cool, so that loss through evaporation is less. Further, this will give leaves a chance to dry during the day to reduce the chances for mold.
- Zone the system. Some plants need more water than others, and areas that are in shade most of the time will need less water than those in direct sun.
- Adjust the controller to the season. While sensors can tell if the weather has been dry, also adjust when the weather is cooler. Plants need less water during those times.
- As mentioned above, we will make sure that the system is only watering planted areas. Watering pavement or decking is not efficient.
- We will adjust the system so that the heads are providing sprays of large water droplets, not mist. Smaller droplets are more likely to be affected by wind and evaporation.
Call us to plan, install and adjust your irrigation system. We know the requirements of the plant materials you have, and we know how to make your system work in the most efficient way possible.