Nothing beats a walk through your garden, noticing new buds and by-chance color combinations, and providing a chance for general oohing and ahhing over the beautiful scene. You can now also use this time to notice tell-tale signs of drought: drooping or twisting leaves on trees, shrubs or perennials, wilting annuals, and off-color foliage. Some plants may forefit bloom to survive.
During the cool temperatures of early morning or evening, a watering wand is a handy tool to attach to your garden hose. Like a shower head, it delivers water right to the roots of the plant in need. Fill the wells of recently-planted trees or shrubs and let the water percolate down. It may make sense to spray down the leaves as well and let the moisture drip into the ground; however, let your focus be the root zone.
This wand is also the perfect tool to attach to your garden hose in any season. With its shut-off valve, you can easily fill a watering can at a distance from your spigot. On a low setting, you can easily water young seedlings or newly planted containers safely.
I often prefer to use the spike waterer so I can multi-task. This tool also attaches to the garden hose. Point the spike into the root zone of the plant in question and regulate the outflow of water according to your water pressure. A slow drip for 20-30 minutes per plant is ideal. Meanwhile, you can run to the mailbox, put out the recycling, weed or deadhead nearby, or use a watering can or wand on plants in another section of the garden.
Use rainwater collected from a rain barrel for any watering can use, such as for potted plants on a deck or porch.
