Green Scene puts in sprinkler systems, repairs them, starts them up each spring and winterizes them each fall, across Franklin, Brentwood, Spring Hill, Nolensville and Thompson's Station, and in Green Hills, Belle Meade, Forest Hills and Nashville. New systems use Rain Bird and Hunter products and carry a three-year warranty on the installation. All of it comes back to one goal: the amount of water your lawn needs, and no more.
How much water does each lawn grass need?
Roughly an inch a week for all three, with differences that decide how a controller should be set.
| Grass | Water per week | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Tall fescue | About 1 to 1¼ inches | Too much invites brown patch, a fungus that turns up whenever nights stay above 70° and the blades stay wet for 10 hours or more |
| 419 Tifway bermuda | At least 1 inch in the growing season | Drought tolerant, but its color and thickness suffer without water |
| Zoysia | Around 1 inch | Water new lawns in early afternoon and established ones in early morning, so the blades dry; it still catches fungus when overwatered |
Brown patch is mostly a midsummer problem on fescue, and it's the reason a system set to run long, late and every night does more harm than good. Bermuda is on almost every golf course in the country; on a home lawn, a timer gives it the steady inch it wants without excessive waste.
Why a sprinkler system instead of a hose?
Control, mostly. A zoned system sends measured water to the lawn, a different amount to the beds and shrubs, and steady water to a small vegetable garden, each on its own schedule. Our stock-tank garden beds are tied straight into an existing system for exactly that reason. The other gains are the obvious ones: less water wasted, a smaller bill than careless watering runs up, and evenings that don't involve moving a sprinkler around the yard.
New systems go in under a week for most yards, and the installation page covers permits and the backflow rules your water provider sets.
Green Scene is exceptionally reliable...keeping in touch by cell phone or text messages. The Green Scene crew worked very efficiently in completing the installation of our irrigation system in the time frame promised.
Alan M., Franklin
Does it matter who supplies your water?
It does, because the rules for a sprinkler system's backflow device come from the provider. Brentwood has no water plant of its own and buys through Harpeth Valley Utility District and Metro Water Services. Spring Hill's Water Division runs its own treatment plant. Nolensville homes are served by Nolensville College Grove Utility District, and Milcrofton Utility District covers a 94-square-mile stretch of eastern Williamson County. In Nashville it's Metro Water. If you aren't sure which one serves your address, the name is on your water bill.