Dallas Area Estate

The owners of a large estate home in an upscale municipality on the northern fringe of Dallas had a vision: to transform a large, predominately turf, lot into a stunning English Cottage Garden. To ensure that each of the thousands of various plants, shrubs and trees received just the right amount of water, Rain Bird ESP-MC controllers were chosen to control the irrigation system.
Vision Takes Shape

The estate home is located on 4-acres. The owners had purchased two adjoining lots, demolishing one of the houses and expanding the remaining home. Prior to the installation of the beds and plants for the English Cottage Garden, the landscaping was overwhelmingly dominated by large turf areas, with a few sculpted shrubs and mature trees to provide aesthetic appeal.

To bring their vision to life, the owners hired Warren Johnson, landscape architect and owner of Fall Creek Gardens. While much of the early effort in designing the garden would be spent choosing specific plants, both owner and Johnson agreed that an area containing old, mature trees should be left undisturbed. The row of trees and native plant occupies the area that had once been the dividing line between the two properties. In addition to the gardens, which occupy a little more than one-quarter of the property, design plans called for the installation of a reflective pool and a small pond. Neither the pool nor the pond are linked to the irrigation system.

A Bouquet of Plant Life

With the design plans finalized, Johnson and Bryant Griffith with Mesa Verde Landscaping, and work crews began the laborious task of removing several feet of black gumbo clay sub-soil and mixing in a more permeable soil. They then began installing the beds. Among the thousands of flats of flowers, and the hundreds of trees and shrubs that were installed for the garden were: ferns, lilies, azaleas, dogwood, sweet gum trees, roses, magnolia trees, Japanese red maple trees, bamboo, tropical and exotics plants, and clinging vines. Thyme and moneywort were planted for ground cover.

While the garden is breathtaking, the tremendous scope and variety of plant life did present challenges for the irrigation system. “The biggest challenge for us was separating the zones for watering,” says Mesa Verde Landscaping’s Rizo. “Some of the zones have native plants, some are developed areas. We have to give them adequate water without overwatering the natural areas.”

ESP-MC Provides the Precision

Two ESP-MC-32 controllers were installed at the site. The ESP-MC was selected over other controllers for several reasons. Of these, the ESP-MC’s ability to tailor irrigation to specific plant needs and zones was the most significant. The ESP-MC has four independent programs with eight start times each that allow mixed irrigation applications. And because the site is a residence and will be in frequent use, such features as Event Day Off—which allows the user to program any day of the month as a non-watering day— have proven to be especially beneficial.

Remote Capability Also Important

From the beginning, Fall Creek Gardens’ Johnson knew that no matter which controller was used at the site, it would need to have remote capability. He says that even though the controllers would be placed in a central location, “I thought it would be too hard to just turn on the controller, there are a lot of odd angles on the property so you wouldn’t be able to see the whole system in operation real well.”

The ESP-MC was again a natural choice. The ESP-MC is universal remote ready: preinstalled connecters make adding a remote card as simple as putting a plug into a socket. The remote feature allows the master gardener or property owner to activate individual irrigation programs from any location on the property. This allows the running of individual irrigation programs and perform routine maintenance while getting an up-close view of the system’s operation. Most
ESP-MC-compatible remotes allow operating ranges of up to 7 miles.

The ESP-MC’s built-in versatility will be additionally welcome in future years, says Mesa Verde Landscaping’s Rizo. “One of the main reasons we chose the ESP-MC was that it gave us the capability to add to it later.” Rizo says that the estate’s owners have tentatively planned to add cobblestone walkways and planting beds near the reflecting pool. While the design has not yet been finalized, Rizo believes that plans will allow the team to use the ESP-MC’s drip feature, helping the owners conserve water and reduce their irrigation expenses.

Remainder of System Selected for Precision Irrigation

As with the decision to use the ESP-MC-32 controllers, precision watering also influenced the selection of the other components of the irrigation system. According to Harold Allison, Sales Representative with Pipe ’n Heads, an authorized Rain Bird Distributor located in Lewisville, Texas, the estate’s irrigation system incorporates Rain Bird globe/angle PGA valves. The PGA has a double-filtered pilot flow to resist debris and clogging of the solenoid ports, an extremely useful feature because of the high concentration of clay soil in the area.

The bulk of the water distribution duty is handled by forty Falcon® rotors: a handful of T-Bird™ rotors are in service to provide spot coverage to difficult, hard-to-reach areas. Pipe ’n Heads’ Allison notes that all the rotors are equipped with Rain Bird’s patented Rain Curtain™ Nozzles and Seal-A-Matic™, or SAM, check valves. The valves help prevent puddling resulting in water waste, run-off and erosion.