Get a slick autowatering system right from your tap

No big installation needed – time your sprinklers with a hose upgrade

Having a lush, pretty garden to chill out in over the summer months is lovely, but that requires a whole load of work. At least, it used to. On p83 we have a shed full of gadgets and tools to take the effort out of tending your garden, but here we’re going in- depth on one great product that can help out pretty much everyone, and with only a couple of months installation time: the Hozelock Cloud Controller.

The Cloud Controller box screws onto your garden tap, then you attach your garden hose to it. This is basically an extra valve that can be opened or closed by instructions from a wireless hub. Connect the hub to your router and, hey presto, your hose can now be turned on/off remotely from an app on your phone.

The point of this is not, as we assumed, to infuriate then soak someone who’s trying to water the garden manually with the hose. You can set a schedule for the Cloud Controller to follow, including what time it should begin watering and for how long. So if you hook your hose up to a sprinkler head, or whatever other item you use to get your plants watered properly (see the next page for some picks), you can set it and forget it, knowing that your plants will get the hydration they need.

Well, we say forget it, but the app is a little smarter than that... If it’s going to rain for a few days, the app will forewarn you of the change in weather. You can then choose to dial back the amount of watering, with just a few taps of your phone. The same goes for extra hot spells, with the app warning you ahead of time so that you can adjust the watering duration accordingly. You can also pause the watering schedule at any time, in case you’re sitting in the garden, relaxing with an issue of T3, and suddenly remember that the sprinklers are about to give you an unwanted shower.

Ultimately, the Hozelock Cloud Controller is much cheaper to install than a full sprinkler system and can save you a lot of effort trying to keep your lawn healthy and nourished. One notable caveat: while a single Cloud Controller covers multiple areas of a garden with a hose splitter, you won’t get individual control of those areas. You can add zonal control using this system, though (see left). For extra details about the system, visit hozelock.com