"Martin Pentreath"wrote
I've decided to grasp the nettle this year and put in an automatic
watering system, mainly to keep things ticking over when I'm away
without having to bother anyone else.

It's a small urban garden: small lawn (about 5m x 3m) surrounded by
beds with some pots and planters on the patio (and possibly some
window boxes to be included). Anyway, I've just had a look online at
the Gardena "Micro Drip" irrigation system (which seems quite
expensive). Any comments - does its quality justify the expense, or
can I do it better cheaper?

I expect you could save quite a lot by doing it yourself, buying the hose
you need, connectors and drippers etc. A friend who was away a lot on
location did it and it worked well.
See...
http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/1.html
--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK