Irrigation for Your Yard...get in "the Zone"!

Irrigation has been around for as long as humans have been cultivating plants. But gone are the days of having to haul buckets full of water to provide proper irrigation. Pouring water on fields is still a common irrigation method today -- but other, more efficient and mechanized methods are also used.
Some homeowners think that irrigation systems are wasteful...quite the contrary. Automatic irrigation systems are convenient, especially for those who travel. If installed and programmed properly, automatic irrigation systems can even save you money and help in water conservation. Lawn grass and plants that need to be replaced due to a lack of irrigation can be expensive. But the savings from automatic irrigation systems can go far beyond that.

Watering with a hose or an oscillator actually wastes water. Neither method targets plant roots with any significant degree of precision. Automatic irrigation systems can be programmed to more precisely discharge the proper amounts of water in a targeted area, which promotes water conservation.
To protect your landscaping investment, it is always best to hire a professional to design and install your irrigation system. Determining the frequency and correct amounts of water that your lawn, plants and trees need is not a decision you should make without being fully aware of the consequences. A good landscape designer/contractor can calculate what type and number of sprinkler heads you'll need and determine the best placement of them to provide the best irrigation for your Orlando home.
Many homeowners do not realize the complexity or importance of a properly installed irrigation system and underestimate what they need. This can cost you more in the long run by having to do rework to your irrigation when the results are not what you had anticipated. Your landscape contractor has access to all the latest technology and wide assortment of sprinkler head solutions for any type of landscape.
The first step will be to divide your landscape into "zones". The premise behind the design concept of "irrigation zones" is simple enough. Before you install your system, you need to decide that area A of your land should get X amount of water, while area B should receive Y amount, etc. Once you have irrigation zones established, you can then program your system accordingly. This is one of the virtues of automatic irrigation systems: you can target water distribution more precisely than by manual watering or by using oscillators.

When designing your landscape, you should provide separate beds for your plants according to how much water they need. If plants with similar watering needs are planted together, you'll conserve water. You'll also promote plant health by insuring that one plant isn't over-watered because of the needs of the ones next to it. This planting strategy is sometimes referred to as "xeriscaping." Drought-tolerant shrubs will inhabit one landscape irrigation zone, drought-intolerant annuals another, and so on. The lawn is a landscape irrigation zone all by itself. And keep in mind that an area with southern exposure requires more watering than one with northern exposure.