Entry Garden: Sprinklers Now Flow!

June 2, 2025 Amy Martin

by Amy MartIn

It had been years since the entry garden sprinklers did anything more than gurgle. Dirt and plants had consumed the sprinkler heads. Some had been knocked off by city mowers. The water main box had been crushed by something very large and no water emerged at all anymore. What a mess!

Little by little, the Eastwood garden crew tackled it. I convinced the city to repair the water main box. Suddenly, the water flowed! A Parks irrigation tech made a stab at repairing parts of the system, but then got called away to other projects.

We’d invested some serious bucks into the garden’s new young plants, which require water to get established. Shlepping a hose to the water box, attaching it, watering plants, unattaching it, and schlepping it back multiple times a week got tiresome quickly. As the heat of the year bore down upon us, we knew a solution was needed.

Enter the Eastwood Water Wizards! When we realized that Parks’ water technicians were focused on Fair Park for the foreseeable future, it became clear the solution was up to us. Sharon Holmes, Keith Marcom, and Francis Shaner applied their clever brains to the problem, while I dug up more rosinweed roots.

Sprinkler heads were found, excavated, and cleaned. Extenders were installed to get the water spray above big plants. Valves were tweaked. A watering schedule was arranged, with Keith, Francis, and Melissa Martinez on the beat. Baby plants are now happy.

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Look what they found! It’s the remnants of a sprinkler head.

Figuring out what water fixture was needed to water the plants in front of the brick sign.

Francis Shaner found a pop-up sprayer head that will cover a thin, wide area.

He installed an extender that will get the water over some tall plants.

A lot of these plants were donated by Sharon Holmes from her garden, saving ENA a bunch of money. When most of it’s in bloom, we’ll offer a tour so everyone can know what these plants (mostly natives) are.

The lantana patch, one of the holdovers from the prior garden.

This hibiscus (one of two) will get big and bloom pink flowers with starburst red centers most of the summer. It’s budding already! Your donations made this possible. Donate here (indicate it’s for the entry garden).

While on the topic of gardens, the raised bed off Lake Gardens where Whitehaven was blocked off is now mostly shaded. The chast tree is hanging in there, but the other plants gave up. Now it primarily grows pecan saplings. But if these are allowed to mature, the large trees will probably destroy the brick.

Isn’t there a landscaper in the neighborhood who could tackle this small raised-bed project? Simply some shrubs to fill it out and an annual yanking of the pecan saplings, courtesy of the large tree overhanging the garden.