When it comes to how to properly irrigate your landscape in San Diego it comes down to a few factors based on where you live such as Point Loma faces different challenges than Kensington. Today I wanted to discuss different in ground irrigation systems, hopefully in future post we can discuss the other factors that contribute to an overall effective irrigation system. 

In ground irrigation systems are the most common system for both new and existing landscape. They have many built in benefits such as the ability to be programmable, they can even be tied into the internet and receive relevant weather information and self adjust how much and how often water is applied. This also allows for a wide range of heads to be incorporated into one system, so you could have drip, pops ups, soakers and bubblers all on one system with only different zones separating them. In ground system have the aesthetic benefit of being hidden thus keeping the landscape tidy, however when they need repairs digging is typically required. 

A major part of modern in ground systems are drip systems. Drip lines emitters come in a wide array of GPH or gallons per hour allowing you to highly customize how much water is provided. When discussing drip systems the only brand to consider in my opinion is Netafim. They are an agriculture based product that is far superior to anything else on the market. The other common system for in ground systems would be pops up. Today we have a number of different choices from HE-VANS which allows for greater control of how far and wide the water is distributed to MP ROTATORS for large coverage areas to even products like Irrigreen that will deliver water to only a predetermined area limiting overspray. 

In ground irrigation systems might not be a “sexy” topic, but they are essential and with all the modern additions to the market they can be so highly customized that installing any type of landscape without one is foolish. If you would like to know more about irrigation systems please call Cleator Landscape Design at 619 917 3644.

In the last post we talked about how to reduce the stress your plants face during a heatwave. However today I wanted to quickly touch on how to design a landscape for a warming climate. As we all know the climate is heating up and along with that comes rainfall uncertainty, so how does one have a beautiful garden is an ever-changing world. It does not matter if your property is in La Jolla or South Park it’s prudent to consider how the landscape will respond in a hotter than typically environment. 

When designing a landscape here in San Diego I always recommend a client take into considerations the sites microclimate. This is a good starting off point to figuring our what types of plants can potentially grow where. Along with that it’s vital to consider water use, with limited water becoming available as well as the ever risen cost of said water it’s important to use it wisely. It’s also critical to capture any rainfall we do receive as this can be a great resource during the hot dry summer months. 

Another factor to consider when designing a landscape is how best to use shade in your garden. This can reduce evaporation and cool your home thus reducing cooling cost. A beautiful shade tree not only looks amazing it can greatly affect how the outdoor space is used during the hotter times of the year. Along with shade it’s essential to consider how different hardscape elements respond to wild swings in temperature. Some hardscape products especially synthetic can heat up to a point that they become unusable. 

These tips along with selecting plants that can handle the warmer climate is a good starting point when considering how to design a landscape here in San Diego. If you would like to learn more please contact Cleator Landscape Design at 619-917-3644

As we are all aware San Diego is dealing with yet another heatwave and the effects of continued higher than normal temperature can play havoc in your garden. It doesn’t matter if you are in Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Del Cerro or North Park the higher temps effect us all. 

Today I wanted to discuss a few ways we can reduce the stress our gardens face during times of higher than normal temperatures. In a future post I will also discuss ways we can design gardens to handle a warming planet. 

When a heatwave strikes we need to be mindful of how these higher temps and often drying winds effect our gardens. One way to help relieve some plant stress is to water your garden in the morning when temperatures haven’t risen yet. This allows the water to seep into the soil and cool the root zone before evaporation takes hold. Another effective strategy is to give you plants a quick cool shower in the middle of the day, this is less about watering the plant and more about lowering the surface temperature of the leaves to reduce internal water loss. 

Shade is another way to help reduce the stress plants face during times of extreme heat. Even if your plant is a full sun plant, higher than normal temps can still be difficult for the plant to handle. Moving the plant or adding supplemental shade can help the plant cope. Supplemental shade can come in all forms from simple umbrellas or sunshade/ sun cloth to more elaborate built structures. Not only do such measures help with the heat they can also shield them from the drying winds often associated with heatwaves. 

Try not to mow or prune plants during times of high stress, the additional leaf blade can help shade itself and the root zone aiding it ability to survive. Also be very careful about adding any type of growth fertilizer to your plants. Allowing the plant to focus its energy on deeper roots and over all stress survival is more important than the plant putting on additional growth. Some fertilizer and foliar sprays designed too improves the plants stress tolerance and the ability for the soil to retain water can be effective if applied prior to a heatwave, but that can be hard to plan for. 

If you would like additional information please call Cleator Landscape Design at 619 917 3644