Andy,

Get three bids from reputable contractors with histories verifiable with the better business bureau and are licensed. The proposal will be the best prices available in your local area at that time. Let each know you are getting three bids. Do not be in a rush no matter what they tell you.

Make a general list of all the major items you will want to have. Draw a diagram to scale of your yard and garden and place irrigation heads on it to get the coverage you need. Approximate 12 foot radius for lawn heads and one foot spacing for drip holes or emitters. Look up on the internet or take a trip to the irrigation or hardware store and price the items out for major brands. These are retail prices while your bidders will be using contractor prices. Once you have that info we can help you critique the information to help you with your decision. You could hire a landscape architect to do a plan for you and price it out as an Architect Estimate. You can use one controller for both lawn and garden as long as it has an independent control for each zone or more than one program. I would not do the liquid fertilizer for the garden. Any thing injected in the drip system will tend to clog it over time with salts and/or organic bacteria growth. All major brands sell different level of controllers with differing levels of features and flexibility. Most are all reliable. Read consumer evaluations. Cost could be roughly around $5,000. Your description would is of a more elaborate layout and system. Not including the planting material. About 30% material and 70% labor. Good luck JMHO Aloha

Lehua,

Thanks for the info. What I'm particularly interested in are manufacturers and model numbers - if all 3 bids use "Really Crappy Co" controllers, I would just be basing my purchase on the best price, but not not best hardware.

Any other thoughts?

Andrew