How to Add an Effective Irrigation System to Your Landscaping Design

When it comes to landscaping, the one thing that people regularly forget about is just how much effort it can be to maintain a large garden. Even if you choose options that require very minimal in terms of overall effort, they will still need to be looked after, pruned, watered, and so on. Most, however, want plants and flowers that require a bit more TLC than that. That’s why it’s important to consider how you’ll be taking care of your setup once everything is in place.

Installing an irrigation and sprinkler system, for example, can help keep your plants well-watered, with fewer droughts and less effort. However, knowing how to design and install such an irrigation system so that it seamlessly fits in your design is not immediately obvious, which is where this guide comes into play.  

Follow the Natural Shape of Your Plant Beds

You want your grass to remain open and free for lounging, running, partying, and playing sports. This means you don’t want pipes or sprinklers sticking up and out in a few large areas of your lawn. Instead, you’ll want to follow the natural shape of your plant beds. This may be around the perimeter of your yard, or it may be around a central section. The point is, by installing the main irrigation system where the bulk of your plants are, you can keep your most expensive yard investments well-watered and can also plan for ways to keep your grass nice and green while you’re at it.

Hiding Your Irrigation System 

Irrigation systems can be unsightly. They require a lot of hoses and tubes, which can make your yard look like a construction site long after the work is done. It also means that the hoses themselves are exposed to the elements, including UV damage. While some materials are naturally UV resistant, you generally don’t want your hoses and pipes out in the elements. 

That’s why you’ll need to bury them. This can be done under dirt or even stone. Factor in the fact that you’ll need to either bury or cover them when buying topsoil, mulch, or stone when buying landscape supplies wholesale, so you can easily hide and protect your irrigation system.

Types of Irrigation and What’s Best

In general, you’ll either install sprinklers or a drip irrigation system. Drip irrigation is typically a better option for planters and if you have a fruit or vegetable garden. Essentially, plants that do best when the soil is constantly a bit moist will do well with a drip irrigation system since these systems continuously release a few drops of water at a time. Sprinklers work on fully refreshing plants with water, like rainfall, at set periods of the day and only on certain days.

Make Sure Your Yard Has Proper Drainage

Regardless of what irrigation system you use, you need to ensure that all your plants have proper drainage. If your yard floods when it rains, for example, and maintains standing water for days afterwards, then your yard does not have good drainage. You’ll want to install water-intensive plants in this case, to both soak in this excess water and do so without drowning themselves.