Cutting Hedge designs and installs professional automatic irrigation systems across London and Surrey. From a simple two-zone tap system to a multi-zone decoder installation across a large estate, every system is designed around your garden's zones, flow and water pressure — so the right amount of water reaches the right place at the right time.
Why a professionally designed irrigation system matters
A well-designed irrigation system keeps lawns, borders, pots and beds healthy through dry spells without you standing out with a hose. Because it delivers the right amount of water to the right place at the right time — usually early morning or overnight to reduce evaporation — it uses less water than hand watering and produces healthier, more resilient plants. It also protects your investment in new turf, planting and landscaping during the critical establishment period.
Multi-core irrigation controllers
A multi-core controller is the conventional, reliable way to run an automatic watering system. A single multi-core cable runs from the controller to each solenoid valve, with one core switching each zone and a shared common return. It's simple, robust and easy to service — the standard choice for most residential gardens with up to around twelve zones. We install professional Hunter and Rain Bird multi-core controllers, mounted indoors, in a weatherproof outdoor cabinet or in a below-ground valve box.
Decoder irrigation systems for larger gardens
For larger London gardens, estates and commercial sites a decoder system is often the better choice. Instead of a separate cable to every valve, a single two-core cable is buried alongside the main pipe, with a small decoder fitted at each solenoid valve. The controller sends a coded signal down the cable and only the addressed decoder opens its valve. This dramatically reduces the amount of cable buried across a garden, makes zoning simpler and keeps the installation tidy — ideal where long cable runs, many zones or a tidy finish matter. We fit Hunter ACC and ICC decoder controllers and can design the zoning around how your garden is used.
Sprinklers matched to every area
Cutting Hedge watering solutions use a range of sprinklers suited to commercial and domestic gardens. Pop-up sprinklers disappear below the lawn when not in use, drip lines deliver water directly to the root zone of borders, pots and hedges with virtually no evaporation, and micro-sprays handle beds and ground cover. When choosing a sprinkler we look at garden size, radius, flow and water pressure, then link every zone under one controller so the whole garden is watered automatically.
Smart Wi-Fi controllers
Where remote scheduling is wanted we fit Wi-Fi controllers such as Hunter Hydrawise. They adjust watering automatically to live local weather, can be controlled and monitored from a phone, and flag leaks or failed zones by email. A rain or soil moisture sensor can be added so the system never waters when the garden already has enough — saving water and protecting plants from over-watering.
Battery vs electric controllers
There are two types of controller for smaller systems. Battery-powered controllers are mainly for one- and two-zone systems and connect straight to a tap, with no electrician needed. Electric controllers require an outdoor socket and are the most reliable means of control, allowing more than two zones to be connected so every part of your garden is watered. We advise which is right for your setup at the design visit.
Irrigation for newly laid turf
Laying a new lawn can be a stressful time, especially if you have to water a large area. Cutting Hedge can install pop-up sprinklers, solenoid valves and tubing all below the surface of your new turf, watered automatically from a controller. A rain sensor can be connected so watering only takes place when needed, giving your new lawn the best possible start.
Rainwater harvesting integration
During times of drought which often occur in high summer it's important to make sure plants, lawns and pots get water. Cutting Hedge rainwater harvesting systems collect rainwater from your roof and store it in tanks above or below ground, then feed your irrigation system — a safe solution for water supply during hosepipe restrictions, and a real reduction in mains water use.
Hosepipe ban-friendly irrigation
When a temporary hosepipe ban is announced, most domestic watering by hand-held hose is stopped — but a properly installed drip irrigation system is treated very differently. Under the water companies' drought plans, drip irrigation that waters the root zone of plants directly (with no run-off, no sprinkler and no misting) is generally exempt from hosepipe restrictions, because it uses a fraction of the water that a sprinkler does. Cutting Hedge designs and installs drip systems that meet these conditions, so your borders, beds, pots and hedges keep being watered automatically through a ban while your neighbours are out with watering cans. It's the most reliable way to protect newly planted stock and mature planting through a hot, dry London summer.
Installing drip lines
Drip line is the heart of ban-friendly irrigation. We lay porous or pressure-compensating drip pipe along the soil surface or just beneath the mulch in beds and borders, threaded through pots and window boxes, and run along the base of hedges and climbers. Each emitter releases a slow, precise trickle straight to the root zone, so virtually no water is lost to evaporation, wind or run-off. We zone the drip line under the same controller as any pop-up lawn sprinklers, fit a filter and pressure regulator at the tap, and connect it to a rain or soil moisture sensor so the system only waters when the garden genuinely needs it. The result is a discreet, low-pressure setup that keeps planting healthy through the driest spells — and keeps working when hand watering isn't allowed.
Servicing, repairs & winterisation
We recommend a spring start-up check, a mid-season adjustment and an autumn winterisation for every system. Servicing catches leaking valves, blocked nozzles, failed decoders and controller faults early, keeps watering efficient and prevents frozen-pipe damage over winter. We repair and maintain systems we did not install, including those originally fitted by Cutting Edge Irrigation Systems, our sister company.
Design-led
Every system is designed around your garden's zones, flow and water pressure — not an off-the-shelf kit.
Correct components
Pop-up sprinklers for lawns, drip lines for borders and pots, micro-sprays for beds — matched to each area.
Smart Wi-Fi controllers
Hunter Hydrawise controllers adjust watering to live weather and can be controlled from a phone.
Rain & moisture sensors
Sensors prevent watering when the garden already has enough water.
Servicing & repairs
Spring start-ups, mid-season checks, winterisation and repairs for our systems and existing installations.
Rainwater-ready
Systems can be fed from a rainwater harvesting tank to keep gardens watered during restrictions.
Decoder vs multi-core: which irrigation system?
Most London gardens are best served by a conventional multi-core controller — one reliable, easy-to-service cable running to each valve. For larger gardens, estates and commercial sites a decoder system cuts the amount of cable buried across the garden by sending coded signals down a single two-core wire, with a small decoder at each valve. Cutting Hedge designs both, using professional Hunter and Rain Bird components, and advises which is right for your garden at the free design visit.
Multi-core controller
- • Dedicated wire to each valve, shared common return
- • Simple, robust and easy to fault-find
- • Ideal for most residential gardens up to ~12 zones
- • Hunter & Rain Bird controllers fitted as standard
Decoder system
- • Single two-core cable, decoder at each valve
- • Far less cable buried across the garden
- • Scales cleanly to many zones and large sites
- • Hunter ACC / ICC decoder controllers fitted
Pair your irrigation with rainwater harvesting
Store rainwater from your roof in an underground or above-ground tank and use it to feed your irrigation system. It keeps the garden watered through dry spells and hosepipe restrictions, and lowers mains water use.
Explore rainwater harvesting →Where we work
We design, install and service irrigation systems across West and South West London and into Surrey, including Ealing, Chiswick, Richmond, Kew, Barnes, East Sheen, Hammersmith, Twickenham, Putney, Kingston Upon Thames and Wimbledon.
Irrigation Cost Guide
What a garden irrigation system costs in London.
When & How to Water
Best practice for watering a London garden.
Frequently asked questions
Practical answers from the Cutting Hedge team.
