Copyright 1999 Douglas E. Welch
Ask your gardening questions! Send email to: agn@onelist.com
Well, it looks as if the Southern California summer is finally
upon us.
We had a gray May and June but just recently the temperatures
have jumped
into the 80's and 90's. This is more typical but not necessarily
welcome.
With temperatures like these watering becomes a daily ritual.
Over the 3 years I have owned this house and garden I have done
everything I can to make it easier to maintain. The irrigation
system is a
bit of a hodgepodge, using equipment and parts left behind by
the previous
owner along with some new purchases. The interior part of the
front garden
uses a system of sprinklers that was originally designed for a
lawn. Since
this area is filled with geometric plantings of azalea, juniper
and
rhaphiolepis the sprinkler heads were placed on risers to reach
above the
plantings. It also means that instead of them being concealed
inside or at
the edge of beds, in some cases, they sprout from the middle of
a pathway.
It makes for a cluttered look and desperately needs replaced but
at least it
works. I will be forced to get rid of this system eventually as
the
galvanized pipe is already rusting from the outside and clogging
on the
inside.
The perimeter of the front garden includes 15-18 roses lining
the
driveway and property lines. A long front bed including coreopsis,
salvia
and dusty miller. This was one of the first sections automated
when we moved
in. I happened upon a brand new soaker hose at a neighborhood
garage sale
that was just the right length to reach the entire U-shaped area
outlining
the front garden. A second soaker hose lines the rose bed along
the opposite
side of the driveway.
I added a 2 hour clock timer to the water tap and quickly gained
the
ability to water this major area with the flick of a wrist. I
have used
these same clock timers in other areas of the garden as well.
Since they are
not based on water flow or pressure but true clock timers they
work for both
soaker hoses and drip systems. I can turn them on in the morning
and be
assured that they will shut off automatically as planned.
The final piece of the front garden system is a small bed of four
roses
along the house. This is watered using a small drip system that
is run off
the same tap as the driveway soaker hose. In an attempt to save
money I
tried a different pressure regulator for the drip but all it succeeds
in
doing is blowing the tubing right off the faucet unless I watch
it very
carefully. I need to replace this with the regulator I have used
(flawlessly) elsewhere. I will probably re-pipe this system, too.
I want to
clean it up visually and include a system to water a number of
potted plants
and a birdbath.
While I have automated this system with the clock timers the older
sprinkler system is totally manual. I suppose I could eventually
wire
everything up to an electronic control device but I have found
a benefit to
my manual system; it forces me to go and be in the garden for
at least a
short period of time. Even on the most rushed days I have to go
out and
start the timers or actually stand there while the sprinklers
run.
Too many of us forget to enjoy our gardens just when we need them
the
most. Keep some parts of your system manual and use it as an excuse
to keep
in touch. I never cease to find plants that need pruning, sprinklers
that
aren't working, fences that need mending and a host of other concerns.
I
also find that perfect cobweb in the corner, the lizard attempting
to
control my ant problem and the quail that has decided to visit
my decidedly
urban bird feeders.
If all this sounds complicated, it is. The back garden is another
collection of all the systems mentioned above and a few more.
I will detail
that set up in next week's column.
Keep digging...
Keep digging...
Douglas
Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and comptuer consultant
based in Van Nuys, California.
He can be reached at douglas@welchwrite.com or via his web pages at www.welchwrite.com.