The four settings (circular, semi-circular, square or rectangular spray pattern) are easily changed with a twist of the bright orange dial at the head.

As the name suggests, the pro has two modes: fine spray and jet. The modes are diametrically opposed along the swing arm and can be switched by turning the grey grips at the input end. Make sure you hold the grey spray bar when adjusting and switching between the modes, as it swivels about a bit. Both give pretty decent coverage of up to 230 sq m, depending on your hose pressure. Unless you have a large garden, you may find that a rotary sprinkler wastes water, watering fences or even your neighbour’s garden. Rectangular Oscillating Sprinkler Unlike the pro, the aquazoom allows you to change the power with a little dial at the hose end (though you could probably just do that at the tap, surely?). Much like other rectangular sprinklers, you can restrict the oscillator with two orange pinchy sliders to fine-tune your watering area to fit your garden to set the range (3-18m, depending on pressure). The longitudinal spray width can also be set flexibly between 3m and 14m at either end, with two independent sliders. They’re also useful if you have low water pressure, as the cover a small area and don’t require as much force to spray water as moving sprinklers. Pop Up SprinklerThere are three main types of garden sprinkler, each available in a range of different sizes. Your choice will usually be governed by the area you want to cover. A rotating sprinkler will generally have some adjustable spray settings. You may be able to alter the rotation speed and power. However, you can’t generally change the spray patterns much. Given that most of us have rectangular gardens, these rectangular sprinklers can limit water wastage too.

An adjustable spray pattern – buying a sprinkler with plenty of adjustable settings will save you money in the long run. You can customise the settings for your garden to avoid wasting water. Oscillating sprinklers are a pretty safe bet, and as long as you don’t have really low water pressure, or a very large lawn, you should be ok, and this is one of the reasons we chose the Karcher sprinkler for our best overall oscillator.When buying a rectangular sprinkler, opt for a model that offers an area coverage of at least 200 m² . Realistically, most sprinklers fall short of their advertised area coverage – unless you have excellent water pressure – but 200 m² is a good indication of their power. These sprinklers will generally be able to spread water up to 20- 25 metres. The water connection has a rust-free metal filter that prevents dirt particles from entering the oscillating sprinkler and it can be removed so that you can clean it off easily under a tap. The spray nozzles can be wiped of limescale residue with your finger. Even among the best and most adjustable sprinklers, there are others that stand out, and for us it was the Karcher oscillating sprinkler pictured below . It just gives you so many options, including turning off individual jets. Weight and stability The Gardena OS140 pop-up sprinkler is our choice for the best in this category, bringing the reliability that this brand is known for, and a healthy dose of style to go with it. Watering performance is good (but not amazing) with average water pressure, and the build quality is among the best out of all the products we tested.

But what if my water pressure isn’t high?”, you ask. Well, this sprinkler will still be able to water the garden, but you may have to re-position it several times for better water distribution. Some of the best garden sprinklers have adjustable settings, so you can customise their coverage on a case by case basis. It’s useful to have a sprinkler that allows you to choose how many jets are on , as this makes it possible to change the width it covers. Equally, being able to turn the sprinkler off without turning off the tap is a real plus. Unlike the sprinklers above, these do not oscillate or move. Most stationary sprinklers have two spray patterns: full or part circle. A garden sprinkler can save you time and effort, as well as water and money. However, it’s important to find the best lawn sprinkler to suit your specific garden. For gardeners who like to play around with settings and get them just right, it’s worth nothing that this sprinkler can’t be switched off from the unit itself.

The sprinkler head sits below the ground until the sprinkler is turned on. It then ‘pops up’ to start watering. Even so, even with limited pressure, this rectangular sprinkler can reach further than some competitors because it has smaller holes which drive up the pressure inside the unit. Like several of the best garden sprinklers, you can adjust the oscillation and water flow of this Costwise sprinkler. In fact, it’s possible to separately adjust the left and right nozzles to get the exact spray pattern for your space. Fed up with watering your paths and wasting water? No more!