Melissa, It is very easy and very cheap to take a PVC water line out to the areas of the yard where you need a faucet. That way you can hook the hose up in different parts of the yard. The task seems daunting if you have never done it before, but if you ask someone in a plumbing store they can show you how easy it is. I have 3 different faucets that I put in a couple of years ago and they really make life easier. I plan on putting in a couple more pretty soon but haven't had the time yet. You would have to rent a ditch witch to dig the trench to lay the PVC in but they are not expensive to rent. I live on 2 acres and have plants in about 7 different areas, pretty much spanning the property on all 4 sides and in between. I have drip irrigation on all of those plants. It's really 7 different drip systems. That way I just drag the hose to the section I want watered and hook it up and turn it on. Some of the sections are established now and only get watered once or twice a year. But it's nice to be able to hook the hose to the drip system and then go into the house where the air conditioning is! It doesn't cost that much if you buy the right parts to begin with. If money is really tight then just do the drip for the areas you will be watering the most often this summer. Then next summer you may have a different area that gets the most water and you can buy a new system for that area or add on to the old one. Rosefolly, If the parts were coming apart then you bought the wrong brand. I've bought almost every brand and some of them are very good and some are VERY BAD. Can I recomend a product on here or is it against the rules? I guess I'll recomend anyway. Mr. Landscaper brand is the best for 1/2" tubing and the connectors that hook the 1/2" tubing together. Mr. Landscaper is also best for the 1/4" tubing. DIG brand is the best for the Pressure Compensating drippers. They also sell the connectors for the 1/4" tubing. Around here Lowe's sells Mr. Landscaper and Home Depot sells DIG. The DIG products are much cheaper if bought on line. I can promise you that Mr. Landscaper tubing will not allow the drippers or connectors to pop off! Email me if you have any questions about that. Carrie

Last year with a serious drought 28.4". Sedums thrived unwatered across our land. So did all of the native small shrubs by their look this spring. This year we've has 12" to the beginning of April and an additional four inches through yesterday afternoon (and more last night). This year's rainfall is two inches below normal so the fifteen inch hydrologic deficit from last year is only slowly being replenished. A friend from uptown New Orleans called last night. They had rain two days ago and the Gretna/Algiers gauge(across the river from him. Audubon didn't report.) was 8.64" for that six hour storm. (The gauges are important and news down there because they determin the rate the pumps are worked in different sectors of the city.) Yes, catsroses, you ARE going to make money with the installations and with their maintenance. Because people have forgotten that they can reason things out themselves. But it will keep gardens going and that will interest gardeners of the future (not just their yardmen).

sweet, The answer is yes for one garden plot using drip. Here is how I would do it. I would try to convince all four plot owners on my water source to go in with me in purchasing a battery powered hose bib timer with multiple zones connected to automatic valves(maybe one for each plot). Have separate time to irrigate for each plot. Each plot would set up their own drip type systems after the auto-valves. This saves you time at the plot to do other things beside watering. If anyone that doesn't want to be part of your deal, provide a hose bib splitter before the timer and they can attach their hose to the other outlets at the splitter and use a hose to water by hand. There a hose splitters that have four outlets so you could hook up your auto system and three other could hand water theirs. The 4-hose splitter would need some bracing to work over an extended time. I would be interested in knowing the flat fee you pay, how many plots there are and the average size of the plot. Is the CG run by the municipality or private owner? Let us know what happens. JMHO Aloha

Your garden is beautiful so great, I loved your explanations very easy to understand. Best of luck with your wonderful garden. I have been thinking about doing this myself I did stock up in the weed block cloth at the end of the season last year. Please keep us posted on how well it works for you. We have had a record breaking winter this year I am so ready for Springtime, and Summer.