Garden irrigation

A garden that waters itself, properly

Hand watering is slow and uneven, and it’s easy to forget. In a Sydney summer, one missed week can cost you a lawn or a new hedge. A well-designed irrigation system puts the right amount of water where each plant needs it, at the right time of day, without you having to think about it. It also uses less water than a hose, because it isn’t watering the paths, the fence and the air.

Irrigation systems we install

Drip irrigation for garden beds

Drip line runs under the mulch and releases water slowly, straight into the root zone. Very little is lost to wind or evaporation, the leaves stay dry, and nothing runs off onto the paths. It suits garden beds, hedges, screening plants, native gardens and new trees, and it’s the most water-efficient way to keep a garden growing.

Pop-up sprinklers for lawns

Pop-up spray and rotary heads sit flush with the lawn and only rise when they run, so they stay out of the way of mowers and feet. We space and set them for head-to-head coverage, so the whole lawn gets even water, with no dry strips along the edges.

Subsurface drip for lawns and narrow strips

For narrow lawn strips, odd shapes and lawn next to walls, windows or paving, drip line can be laid under the turf. Nothing sprays onto the house or the path, nothing is lost to wind, and there are no heads to trip over.

Micro-sprays, bubblers and pots

Micro-sprays, bubblers and drippers reach pots, planter boxes, vertical gardens and tight corners the main system can’t.

Controllers and smart timers

Every system runs from a controller. We can fit a standard multi-zone timer, or a Wi-Fi controller you run from your phone, with a rain sensor or weather-based adjustment so the garden isn’t watered in the rain. Going away for a week? Change the program from wherever you are.

How we design your system

A good system is designed, not just laid out. At the site visit we look at:

• Water pressure and flow. We test what your tap can deliver and size each zone to match, so every sprinkler and dripper works as it should.
• Zones. Lawn, garden beds, pots, and sunny and shady areas all need different amounts of water, so each gets its own zone and its own program.
• Soil and slope. Sandy soil dries out fast, clay soaks water up slowly and slopes shed it. Run times and emitters are chosen so the water soaks in instead of running off.
• Water source. Mains water, a rainwater tank with a pump, or both.
• What’s coming later. We leave spare capacity for future garden beds, a new lawn or a pool area, so the system can grow with the garden.

Installed at the right stage of the build

On a new landscape, irrigation goes in before the turf, paving and mulch. Pipes are trenched in, and sleeves are laid under paths and paving so lines can cross the yard without anything being cut up later. That’s part of building in layers: the water is planned with everything else, not added at the end.

Already have an established garden? We can retrofit a system with very little disturbance, running drip line under the existing mulch and sleeving under paths where we need to cross them.

What’s included

1. Site visit and design. Pressure and flow tested, zones planned, and an itemised quote.
2. Installation. Supply lines, valves, sprinklers or drip line, and the controller, installed and connected.
3. Testing and adjustment. Every zone is run and every head is adjusted for coverage, so nothing sprays where it shouldn’t.
4. Programming and handover. We set the run times for the season and show you how to change them, pause the system and run a zone by hand.

Water-wise watering

Good irrigation saves water. Drip and subsurface lines put the water straight into the soil, controllers water early in the morning when less is lost to heat and wind, and a rain sensor skips a cycle when the weather has done the job. We set watering times to suit Sydney Water’s Water Wise Rules.

Repairs, upgrades and servicing

Already have a system that isn’t doing its job? We repair and upgrade existing irrigation, including:

• Leaks, broken pipes and damaged sprinkler heads
• Zones that won’t turn on, or won’t turn off
• Dry patches and poor coverage
• Old timers replaced with smart Wi-Fi controllers
• Systems extended or re-zoned for new garden beds or lawn
• Seasonal checks and run-time adjustments