Water Management & Irrigation

One of the most mismanaged aspects of our landscapes today is irrigation systems. They are important to get new gardens and landscapes established but they need to be managed each season depending on each zone, climate and the type of the plants or lawn that are in your landscapes.

 Good water management begins with an audit to ensure that your system is working efficiently. We check to see if everything is functioning properly and if there are any obvious defects. Systems should be checked properly each year because of the damage that can easily ensure due to weather, wild life and even people mowing or using the lawn.

  The weather in New England not only changes from season to season but also can be extremely variable within each season. Systems need to be managed for weather and variability in temperatures in order to ensure the health of your landscapes. Overwatering has been cited as one of the key contributors of poor plant health. Drought conditions, as we had in summer of 1999 and August 2007 will also severely stress plants and can cause enormous damage to your landscapes. Irrigation methods need to be dynamically managed so that your plants stay healthy and that water usage is optimized.

  Most people have multiple landscapes in their yards - lawns, sun gardens, shade gardens and shrub beds for example. It only makes sense that these areas of your garden - microclimates - need to be configured for irrigation differently. Watering deep and right to the root systems is the ideal condition for all plants. Improperly designed overhead watering tends to increase the amount of landscape disease and waste a lot of water. These two conditions create the need for different types of watering systems in your landscape. GreenScapes recommends and uses drip systems in most beds and efficient spray systems for lawns, making your watering optimal. Rain sensors and / or soil sensors can dramatically benefit watering, and as part of smart watering solutions, can be critical in reducing runoff, leaching or inefficient watering