Behind the scenes of The Tropical Paradise - the Wiener Dog Highway

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One of the most frustrating things about figuring out garden design, and engineering, is that all of the *behind the scenes* stuff is usually pretty carefully hidden. I mean, that's the point - you want to show off a beautiful garden, not watering systems, etc.

Here at The Tropical Paradise, the *Wiener Dog Highway* gives me access to the plants and also the watering systems. It's a space only a couple of feet wide at the most, and is regularly patrolled by Macintosh, the good little wiener dog.

Here where the watering system begins, you can see the dual system, which is the misting system and the low-pressure watering system. Both are on battery-operated timers, which I adjust based on the season. It's summer now, so the misters come on every six hours for fifteen minutes, and the water comes on every 48 hours for 15 minutes.

Yes, you can see this *behind the scenes* stuff here, but only if you look for it. And all gardens need to have it. This area remains dry (you don't want water at the base of your house!) and accessible. I walk along it on a regular basis. But the regular patrol, by Macintosh, the good little wiener dog, is more often than that!

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