• Learn the water requirements of your plants and just give them what they need. Over watering probably causes more plant losses than under-watering.
• Newly-planted trees/shrubs require more frequent watering than established plants.
• Water less in August and September than May, June and July unless trees are just planted. Trees need time to harden off before a hard freeze occurs. Cutting back on watering should give them time to accomplish this. 
• Adjust automatic irrigation systems monthly and pay attention! Heavy precipitation may warrant shutting off your system temporarily.

Wipe Weeds Away

Flower beds can present a special problem when it comes to weed eradication, particularly when the weeds are strong-rooted ones that resist being hand-pulled. Spraying an overhead herbicide is not advised because it's often difficult to direct the spray only on the weeds without also touching on desirable plants - especially in our windy country. Here's a method we feel is safe and effective:

Wearing rubber gloves, dip a cloth into a solution of Roundup (glyphosate), wring out the cloth to remove excess, and wipe the cloth over weed leaves. Then be patient: it takes 7 to 10 days for Roundup to do its job. By the way, we prefer using Roundup concentrate (1 part concentrate to 2.5 parts water) rather than the ready-to-use formula, which is a weaker solution and thus not as effective.