How to make your garden hold water

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It is no exaggeration to describe thewatering can as indispensable. Simple, reliable and fully operational even under the present rash of draconian hose-pipe bans, it will deliver a precise volume of water precisely where you want it. There is little to choose between metal and plastic, though the former is better looking, heavier and more expensive. What really matters is balance and ease of filling. Some are awkward on both counts, so try them out before you buy. Look for one with a long spout, as this will help accurate watering.

Two gallons is the standard capacity, though a smaller one is handy in the greenhouse. Perforated rose ends are fine for seedlings but not much use when watering larger plants, so make sure they can be easily removed.

The obvious adjunct to a can is a butt, and in these straitened times no garden can afford to ignore the common sense of water storage. Go for the biggest you can accommodate and save money and plastic waste by buying one that has had a previous life - but make sure your large recycled container hasn't contained any potentially damaging chemicals.

Water is heavy stuff and in the heat of summer the extra demand can be considerable. Irrigation can involve a great deal of time and effort, and the logical solution is a hosepipe. Hoses, unfortunately, seem to take perverse delight in tangles and kinks, leaking at the joins and flattening plants with a single wicked sweep across the border. The secret is to be methodical: have a regular order to your watering, route the hose carefully, perhaps with the help of low stakes at strategic corners, and always wind the hose on to a reel or coil it up when you've finished. Flat- packing cassette hoses are an unalloyed nightmare. They save on storage space, but what's the point of storing something so fundamentally useless anyway?

Spend as much as you can afford, as the thicker-walled construction of "professional" hoses minimise kinking and prolong life. Use good quality fittings, preferably screw threads and snap-ons, but I would not bother with fancy spray attachments. The best way to control flow is by simply folding the hose on itself with one hand a couple of feet from the end.

If you want to go further still, you're into the realm of automatic watering systems. A number of Specialist irrigation firms will design and install large, complex systems, involving everything from permanent pipelines and pop-up sprinklers to sensors and computerised control panels.

Rather more realistic for most gardeners is the DIY plumbing of trickle and spray systems. These involve a length of supply piping attached to a tap, off which runs a series of narrow- bore feeder pipes, fitted at the end with dripping, spraying or misting heads to supply individual plants, containers or small groups. Complete kits are available but you may do better buying separate components so you can construct your own customised lay-out.

These systems have been used foryears in greenhouses, to which they are perfectly suited. However, in the open garden they are visually intrusive, relatively expensive and rather inflexible. Once set up to water patio containers, for example, rearrangement of the system becomes problematic. Far more useful in borders and the fruit and veg plot are leaking hoses. These can be connected to the tap via lengths of ordinary hose, and seep or sprinkle water along their whole length. This provides a gentle ooze of moisture along a narrow strip so there is minimal wastage, especially if the pipe is buried.

As the hose is flexible, it can be laid out however you wish. As with trickle systems, adding a computerised timer will make things more truly automatic, turning the supply on and off at preset intervals. This should never be an excuse for leaving things entirely unsupervised, though. Conditions are constantly changing and alterations to the regime will always be necessary.

Hozelock and Gardena irrigation equipment is available from most garden centres. Systems are also available from: Leaky Pipe Systems 01622 746495; Porous Pipe 01282 871778 (for stockists); Two Wests and Elliott 01246 451077. Large recycled water tanks are sold by Tank-Exchange 01226 203852

Tom Barber presents "The Garden Party", on Channel 4, 8pm, Fridays