Background
As well as working on well-known and famous commercial projects, we are also regularly involved with a wide variety of interesting private garden irrigation projects. A worthy example being a pretty, quaint-looking ‘arts and crafts style’ property, boasting a beautiful, large mature garden, located in the picturesque town of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, just north of the bustling city of Birmingham. The garden included extensive planted borders to the front and sides of the property, and a large lawn to the rear of the property. There were also additional lawns to the side and front of the property, and large, mature shrubs surrounding the back and sides of the rear lawn.
The Project
Access Irrigation were responsible for the design, supply, and installation of the complete private garden irrigation system watering the lawns, planted borders, and shrubs. The system was fully automated, using a highly reliable Hunter X2 irrigation controller. A ‘WAND’ Wi-Fi module was included to allow the controller to be operated remotely from any computer, Android, or iOS device and to automatically adjust irrigation schedules based on local weather data, enabling substantial savings in water use.
To comply with the Water Regulations, the system included a pre-assembled break tank and pump. The 2,500-litre tank included a Type AB air gap to prevent backflow into the public mains and was supplied with a float valve inlet, to prevent the tank from overfilling by closing the tank inlet when the water level raises the float valve too high. The pressurised water supply to the system was provided by a Divertron submersible pump housed inside the tank, designed to operate when pressure drops. This pump has built-in dry running protection to prevent it from running if there is a water shortage, thereby protecting it from damage. The controller and pump and tank were located at the bottom left corner of the rear garden, being discreetly hidden from view by the large shrubs.
Hunter PGV solenoid valves were used to split the system into 12 separate zones, allowing each zone to operate at a separate time and duration according to separate watering requirements, thereby enabling efficient watering for each zone. The solenoid valves were housed in underground valve boxes at various locations within the soft planting of the garden, these being connected to the controller via multi-core signal cable and connected to the pump & tank via MDPE supply pipe. Both the signal cable and supply pipe were housed in underground trenches – being buried 300mm below the surface, to ensure protection from foot traffic and frost.
Each solenoid valve is opened and closed in sequence by the controller. When the first valve opens, the pump detects a drop in pressure (due to pressure release from the open valve) 
and will begin to operate to boost the pressure back up again. This will cause water to flow through the first (now open) solenoid valve to water the first zone. The controller closes the first valve, and immediately opens the next valve in the sequence. Once the last valve has closed, the water flow will cease, pressure will build again, and the pump will stop operating.
The lawns were watered using popup sprinklers – the large rear lawn being watered by large spray radius Hunter PGP ultra sprinklers, and the smaller, side and front lawns being watered by Hunter MP rotator sprinklers. Popup sprinklers drop into the lawn below the mowing level when not in use, enabling them to be completely hidden from view. The PGP Ultra is the latest version of the world’s best-selling rotary Popup. They have a watering distance ranging from 5.2m to 14.0m radius, and an arc adjustment from 50º to 360º, this fantastic versatility in spray distance and angles allowing them to be used in a wide variety of situations.
The sprinkler is very well built, and protected by a heavy-duty plastic construction with vandal-proof drive mechanism and thick rubber cover. MP Rotator sprinklers emit water with multi-trajectory rotating streams, giving excellent uniformity, matched precipitation at any arc or radius and low application rate to reduce run-off. These sprinklers have a watering distance ranging from 2.5m to 10.7m, making them ideal for small to medium lawn areas. Both models of Hunter sprinkler are renowned for their quality and feature a ‘top-down’ design that allows all servicing to be carried out from above – preventing the lawn from being damaged. Both sprinkler types include built-in drain check valves that will hold back up to a 3m head of water.
The planted borders and large shrubs were watered using highly efficient Permadrip-Pro dripline. Permadrip-Pro is a brown coloured dripline perfectly designed for landscape irrigation. It has a 16mm pipe diameter and a wall thickness of 1.2mm. The 1.6 L/h drip emitters built into the pipe wall are pressure compensating, ensuring uniform output over a wide pressure range and include a built-in anti-siphon mechanism, to prevent dirt being sucked into the drippers at the end of the watering cycle. The emitters also have a large inlet filter and unique, continually self-cleaning design, giving excellent resistance to blockages. The dripline being laid out in lengths spaced every 0.5m apart, to ensure completely even watering.
The Irrigation Installation
Our experienced engineers were responsible for the installation, testing and commissioning of the complete system. This was carried out in phases according to actual site conditions and the program of works. Once the installation was complete, we provided the client with full instructions regarding the operation of the system, enabling them to competently manage and maintain the system by utilising its full potential.
The Result
The private garden irrigation system we supplied has resulted in a lush, green, and colourful garden that further compliments the pretty ‘arts and crafts style’ property that it surrounds. We are delighted with the result and are proud to play our part in making beautiful gardens flourish.
