Plants and flowers bring cheer and enjoyment to people the world over. Whether they grow in your yard, containers or hanging baskets -- plants and flowers need sunshine, nutrients and water.

How to water hanging baskets.

It's a time-consuming task to water hanging baskets. You must take the basket down and water them with a hose or watering can, or water them while hanging using a hose extension made for watering hanging baskets. Then you must store the hose away.

There's an easier way. Install a watering setup that gets water automatically to the root of each hanging plan in the exact amount the plant needs -- when it needs it.

How to install a drip system to water hanging baskets

You need a device that attaches to the faucet in order to reduce the water pressure to the lower pressure needed for a drip system. You also need enough irrigation tubing to run from your faucet device to your trellis, and short lengths of quarter-inch tubing attached to emitters that deliver drips of water to each one of your hanging baskets in exactly the right amount.

Suppose you have 6 hanging baskets suspended from hooks on a trellis near your patio. Run tubing from a faucet device to the trellis. Attach it to the trellis post. Run in up the post and along the horizontal lentil or rafter from which the plants are suspended.

For each hanging basket, run quarter-inch tubing from the connecting tube to the root area of each plant zone and attach a emitter.

How to control your watering setup

There are three ways you can turn the water on and off:

1. Manually. Go to the water faucet and turn in on and off on the schedule you desire.
2. Digital timer. Install a battery operated timer between your faucet device and your faucet. You can program it to come on and off as you desire -- for example, every other day.
3. Insteon home automation. Set up an Insteon network and add an Insteon sprinkler controller. This method takes a bit more work than the previous methods -- you need to install a 24-volt power supply for the sprinkler controller, a 24-volt valve in a valve box, and run underground wires from the controller to the valve.. Once you get it set up you can control it via your web-enabled smartphone. You can also use this type of setup to water your tomatoes via smartphone.

Insteon has become the home automation network of choice for the do-it-yourselfer. It is affordable, easy to install, and offers many automated applications for household tasks.

If you're just starting your home automation network, I suggest you start with remote lamp control. You only need a controller and several plug-in lamp switches. With Internet service, a route and an Insteon-compatible app loaded on your web-enabled smartphone, you are ready to control your lamps from just about anywhere. You can add irrigation and other applications as you are ready. You can even water your tomatoes from your smartphone.

If you have not installed an Insteon home automation network, take a look. Why not use today's technology to make home living safer, more convenient and more enjoyable?