Irrigation

The Top Choice Austin Landscaping Blog

How to Winterize Your Backflow Preventer

By The Top Choice Team / January 6, 2026

Folks around the country will often shut off and drain their irrigation systems entirely before the winter, but because we rarely get deep freezes, that’s not really necessary in Central Texas. However, we still need to protect any above-ground exposed equipment: pipes, pumps, filters, and backflow preventers! Proper insulation and winterization are especially important this…

How to Winterize your Irrigation System in Austin

By The Top Choice Team / January 6, 2026

Why do we winterize? We want to take care of our irrigation systems. Often times there are breaks in our systems after a long hard winter. Everyone knows that water expands when it freezes – we need to take this into consideration when we are preparing for the cold months. Make sure your system is…

Landscaping in December: The 8 Things Every Austin Homeowner Should Know (Plus a Bonus)

By Nolan Gore / December 9, 2025

Your Guide to Winter Roots, Watering, Weeds, Mulch, Trees & More — Austin, Texas Edition What You’ll Learn in This Guide This December guide will help you understand: If you understand these principles, you’ll prevent 80% of the issues Austin homeowners face each spring. 1. Soil Temps > Air Temps If you only remember one…

Drip Irrigation: The Smarter Way to Water in Central Texas

By Nolan Gore / September 11, 2025

Short Version: Drip irrigation delivers water underground — right to the roots — saving water and boosting plant health. It’s perfect for Central Texas landscapes, especially in mulched beds, slopes, and even those narrow lawn strips by the street. What Is Drip Irrigation? Drip irrigation (also called subsurface drip) uses a network of tubing buried…

What Is Backflow Prevention — And Why Should Homeowners Care?

By The Top Choice Team / September 11, 2025

Short Version: Backflow happens when water flows the wrong way and takes contaminants with it. A backflow prevention device keeps fertilizers, pet waste, pool chemicals, and more out of your drinking water. If you have an irrigation system in Central Texas, this is one of those things you don’t want to ignore. So… What Is…

Types of Grass

By The Top Choice Team / March 17, 2025

Central Texas Grass Though we do not think about it much, our climate has a big impact on our life, and your grass is a big part of your personal climate!  In Austin (the southernmost state capital in the US of A!), we have a lot of benefits from our temperate weather.  Sandals and Shorts…

Preparing Your Irrigation for Spring

By The Top Choice Team / March 7, 2025

Spring is the perfect season to prepare your automatic sprinkler system for effectively watering your lawn and landscape for another year. We suggest looking at your irrigation system at least four times a year. At minimum, one of those should be by a professional. Good times to consider are before starting in spring, before the…

Fall Yard Tips for Texas

By The Top Choice Team / September 17, 2024

Why is Fall so important for my yard?  Fall is is such an important time of year for your yard. Most people think of spring as the time to add plants, flowers, and to make the world a little greener. Fall is a great time to plant – and in Austin – it may even…

Is rain water better for our landscape than irrigation water?

By Nolan Gore / July 30, 2024

It is all just water, right? Turns out – not all water is created equal. Rainwater is actually better for your landscape than irrigation water. Yes – you heard me correctly. Water from the sky is better for your lawn, plants, lawn gnomes and trees than the water from your pipes. Before I explain why…irrigation…

How to retain water in your landscape

By Nolan Gore / June 27, 2024

Despite consistent watering, your grass and plants are likely showing the strain of a long, hot Austin summer. What can you do? Luckily we’ve still got a few tricks up our sleeves to retain water — saving whatever moisture we can so your ground and plants don’t dry up. 1. Don’t waste water: inspect your irrigation…