The Outback Blog

Spring is approximately four weeks early here in Idaho Falls.

As the weather warms and plants slowly emerge from the soil, it’s only natural for homeowners to begin to think about ways they can water their lawns and landscapes more efficiently

But a sprinkler system can seem like a mystery because the guts of the system are mostly underground. While the value, time savings and water savings of a properly and professionally installed landscape irrigation system are priceless, figuring out how to fit this installation into your budget can be a daunting task when you don’t know what a typical system might cost.

Irrigations systems can be simple or complex. The purpose of installing an irrigation system is to provide adequate cover and absorption for your landscape without wasting water.

Your ideal irrigation system will reside mostly underground, but your sprinkler heads (the components that are visible above or flush with the ground) won’t, so your first step is figuring out which sprinkler heads are the best for your application.

No one likes when water collects around your house or in your basement. Flooded basements and sunken landscape beds around new home foundations as a result of misplaced downspouts can create not only costly messes, but big headaches for Idaho homeowners.

And though we don’t always get a lot of rain here, when we do we tend to get an inch of rain all at once, and that’s when better managing stormwater flow in a home’s landscape can make all the difference between a wet or dry basement.

Autumn is an amazing time of transition. With the summer’s heat and activities wrapped up, fall is time to enjoy the outdoors in a whole new way.

We bundle up a bit more. We marvel at the brilliance of color that emerges and the changes that take place as nature prepares itself for a long winter’s sleep.

Around your home, the feeling is an interesting mix. As temperatures cool, homeowners make a mad dash outdoors on sunny days trying to complete any cleanup tasks before it becomes too cold to venture outdoors. It’s reminiscent of preparing for hibernation, so we can soon rest easy and stay warm and cozy indoors.

While many landscape tips and suggestions focus on maintenance during the growing season, autumn is an essential time of year for performing landscape tasks. In fact, preparing the landscape now, while temperatures are in the low 40s or even high 30s, can result in substantial outcomes for the next spring and summer.

Since the window of time to complete these tasks is short, we’ve narrowed down the top items to focus on to prepare your Idaho landscape for winter.

July is Smart Irrigation Month, and the start of summer is a great time to improve the efficiency of your outdoor irrigation system or install a water-efficient automatic irrigation system. There are many “smart” technologies available today that allow you to maintain beautiful landscapes while maximizing water efficiency.

Here are some to consider whether you do it yourself or through a professional.