rm, I don't know how much you want to spend on this system. It will be hard to answer your questions with asking more questions to get a better picture of what you are doing and how much knowledge and experience you have. My $0.02 is to hire a local irrigation or landscape expert to come up with a design to meet your needs. Then you can decide to DIY or hire a contractor. Do not hire the same guy that does your design. Always get three quotes to obtain a reasonable price for your area. If you are operating a greenhouse it would be a good idea to go with the profession licensed route. You can always go back to them if something isn't right. Otherwise you are climbing the learning curve on your own nickel. Aloha

Good Morning, Everyone! I'm sorry I didn't post earlier, it's been a long busy week! I posted my query over on the rose forum,like Ideefixee suggested and I did get more info there. But I tried here too, just incase :) No one knows your climate like your fellow neighbors :) Thank you, everyone, you've really been helpful to me in helping me with deciding if I should plant the David Austin roses. In my search on the internet I did find a family that grows and sells roses an hour from me. He and his staff are very knowledgeable for the best kind of roses for me and my climate, so I think this fall I'll take a trip on over :) I guess the family sells over 9,000 roses with 600 varieties! So I'll Definately find Something for my area!!! I'm a person who has to see it in person before I buy, so this'll be great. I've been guilty of buyers remorse at times because of big exspectation in my roses, then being let down :) Gardenguru, Thank you for the email addresses. I appriciate them very much! I certainly will email them. Anything to find some really nice roses! Thank you again, everyone! :) ~Amanda

That's odd, I have Cincinnati, OH listed as Zone 6a/6b (you're right on the border). Regardless, Ohio is completely compatible with bluegrass if that's what you want. You may or may not. Personally, I consider bluegrass to be the grass against which all others are measured--and found deeply wanting. But that's because I'm willing to put in the time and effort to optimize performance. And money, let's not forget the money. Bluegrass has absolutely terrible drought resistance, but phenomenal drought tolerance. Or, it wilts quickly and has to be watered, but survives drought very well by going dormant and simply waiting it out. It's the most demanding of the northern grasses in terms of feeding, and really objects if you give it less than 4 pounds of nitrogen per thousand square feet per year, delivered just the way it likes it (small amounts in late spring, large amounts in fall). In terms of disease and insect resistance, it's about average. However, planted as a single species (a monoculture), any disease it's susceptible to will run rampant. That's why we suggest multiple cultivars with different resistances to counter that. Planting a single cultivar (a monostand) is asking for trouble (but it can be done). Properly managed, it's an intense green with blue overtones (mine throws blue topaz highlights in sun that, regrettably, don't photograph at all well), a strong grower, and capable of filling in any holes without much additional encouragement. It feels like carpet underfoot. Improperly managed, it's a sickly yellow-green, grows weakly, and gets patchy. Just like any other neglected grass. Plantings are slower to develop than other species, and sprout far slower than most others, so you have to keep after the watering on the seed bed for far longer. If that's what you want, and you're willing to put in the effort, I'd suggest Midnight II, Prosperity, and Moonlight SLT cultivars for you if you want the darkest colors and excellent performance. Award and Bedazzled are two other suggestions, but the Bedazzled won't be quite as dark a green. If the idea is kind of daunting, fescue and ryegrasses are easier to manage but do require occasional overseeding in fall.

First of all what is you're water source? Will you be connecting to the faucet of your home? If you're going to use drip tubing, how far will you be spacing your plants? Also with the planters spaced the way they are, have you thought about maybe drilling from one planter to the other and insert maybe a 1" pipe as a sleeve? I have sent designs to lawnsprinklershq@yahoo.com. They have done scale drawings and take offs for me. It may help with cost and the battle of the significant other debate.