I've been hand-watering this year to conserve water, so that's why it takes so long. I think the worst is over, as far as water billing periods and the need for conservation are concerned, so now i'll go back to my earlier habit of setting sprinklers in several spots at once each day.
I've never had a drip system, mainly because I move things around in my garden so frequently, and because of the very reasons you've stated: "missing emitters, broken lines, clogged lines, etc." The people in my neighborhood with drip systems seem to spend much too much time fussing with their systems. And the gophers are a big problem in this instance too. They bite through the lines regularly.
I love to play the "favorite 10" game. In fact, there's another thread in the forum that might be useful to you.
The thread "grafted roses" in
Roses forum
I noticed that many of the roses in my first and second "top-10" lists in that thread are virtually impossible to find these days, so here's an amended one:
Charisma
Paradise
Jean Giono
Pompon Flower Circus
Koko Loco
Pomponella Fairy Tale
Dark Night
South Africa
Pegasus
Rosie O'Donnell
