Choosing A Garden Sprinkler or Watering System

Whether your home is for sale or you just want to improve the look of the front of your home & the back gardens, keep those attractive lawns looking green & beautiful by using a lawn sprinkler or watering system

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How To Create Curb Appeal When selling your house maintaining a beautiful lawn improves the look of your home.

If your staying put a beautiful lawn creates a more attractive space and adds to your enjoyment.

Everyone loves a luscious green lawn, but hand watering using a hose is time consuming and a little boring. The only way to maintain a green healthy lawn is to have an efficient lawn sprinkler system.

There are many different lawn watering systems on the market each have both advantages and disadvantages depending on the style & size of garden you have.

With the innovative and creative technology available, there is a lawn sprinkler system that can accommodate everything from the tiniest front garden to a large estate.

How do you choose the correct type of sprinkler to bring out the best in your lawn?

Lets take a look at the different styles of lawn sprinkler on the market.

First we need to decide what we need from the watering system:

What size of lawn do we need to water?
How often do we need to water?
Do you often go away for periods when your lawn may need watering?
Are there local restrictions on use of water?
Are you laying a new lawn?
What are your soil & local weather conditions?
What's your budget?

By considering all of the above you will then have the information to hand to be able to choose the right watering device for both your needs and your budget.

There are several styles of lawn sprinklers to choose from.

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The five major type of lawn sprinklers are:

Impulse
Oscillating
Rotary
Stationary
Leaky pipe

Impulse sprinklers

These type of sprinklers have a single water outlet. You'll remember these sorts of sprinklers from the lovely noise they make as they work their way round in one direction and then 'pulsate' in the opposite direction to begin again .You've probably seen them watering cricket grounds, public lawns and the like.

They are usually positioned on spikes in the ground and cover a large area in a circular pattern.

These sprinklers are good if you have a single water outlet e.g. an exterior tap. The will quickly water a single area of grass and are quick and easy to install.

The downside of these types of sprinklers is that you will need to move them about the lawn, they throw a very large arc of water in a circular fashion, so can be difficult to use in small or tight areas. They also use rather a lot of water.

Best for large areas of lawn and for people who have time to move them about.

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Oscillating sprinklers

These have many jets. These types of lawn sprinklers spray water from a long tube that look like a small swing and as the name suggests they 'oscilate' side to side.

These sprinklers can accommodate fairly large areas. They spray in a rectangular or square shape or area and so it's quite easy to ensure even coverage. They will also spray in a more gentle droplet fashion which is more appropriate for newly seeded or laid lawns or for very hard soil areas that need a gentle constant 'damping'. Another advantage of these types of sprinklers is that they throw water up into the air so that they can be used where bushes may hinder a rotary style spray of water.

The downsides are similar to the impulse sprinklers in that they will need to be moved by hand, you can only water one specific area at a time.

They are a good choice for small to medium size lawns and gardens.

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Rotary sprinklers

These have a unit that spins. This sprinkler often has two arms that have water jets on the ends and will sprinkle water very quickly over a small radius.

They sit close to the ground and cover a large area in a circular pattern. These sprinklers are good if you have a single water outlet e.g. an exterior tap. They will quickly water a single area of grass and are quick and easy to install.

The downside of these types of sprinklers is that you will need to move them about the lawn, then can over wet the lawn because they throw out a lot of water in rather a heavy way so aren't great for new lawns or lawns on a slope.

These sprinklers are best used on small flat lawns.

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Stationary sprinklers

As the name suggests, do not move in any way. They are often simple attachments that pop onto the end of a hose, often they look like slim doughnuts with little holes all around the ring.

They sit on the lawn, low to the ground and spray water in a circular pattern. They are fine for the occasional watering job when you just feel the lawn needs a little extra however they aren't very accurate and can end up soaking some areas of the lawn while leaving other areas dry.

I would only recommend them for very small lawns.

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Leaky pipe sprinklers

These are long hose like systems that are more often used in shrubs and flower beds. They are basically hoses with fine regular holes that allow water to leak out of them and so water over a long period of time.

These systems aren't really designed for grassy areas as they aren't easy to lay down and put away and leaving them in place is both unsightly and a bit of a trip hazard. However for very long thin lawn areas and for those times when you go away and need to water your garden slowly over a period of time, they can be very useful.

Final Thoughts

Which ever type of sprinkler you choose, they can be connected to a tap timing system that will allow you to water your lawn every day for set periods of time.

I always recommend that no matter what type of front garden or lawn you have, invest in a watering system to ensure that your lawn stays in tip top condition throughout the year.

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