We’ve all seen it: sprinkler systems needlessly watering lawns during a heavy rainfall or activating as guests arrive at a home for a dinner party.

No matter how diligent we are about setting up a logical irrigation schedule, those lawn sprinklers often catch homeowners off guard, dispensing water when they’d prefer them to stay off. Then there’s the flip-side, when after a long spell of dry weather your clients' lawns are thirstier for a drink than normal and they’d like the water systems to irrigate more frequently.

Fiddling with the timers of an irrigation controller requires a trip out to the garage and a consultation with the owner’s manual. Many manufacturers of lawn irrigation system have simplified the setup by creating easy-to-understand smartphone apps, but now there’s an even easier, completely hands-free way to take control of a sprinkler system—by using your voice.

GreenIQ has made its smart irrigation controller, the Smart Garden Hub, compatible with Amazon Echo, which means homeowners can call out, “Alexa, stop irrigation,” to step out to check the mail without getting drenched. In addition to issuing voice command to start and stop irrigation cycles, words uttered to Alexa can have the Smart Garden Hub read back water savings and water consumption.

“We’re excited to offer homeowners this next level of convenience through Amazon Echo,” says Odi Dahan, founder and CEO of GreenIQ. “Our goal is to make gardening as seamless and efficient as possible and with the Alexa voice assistant users can control their outdoor space from the comfort of the couch or bed.”

Accessories for Smart Garden Hub include a soil moisture sensor from Parrot’s Flower Power and PlantLink, and GreenIQ’s Flow Meter that monitors water consumption.

Retailing for $199, the Smart Garden Hub, 6-Zone, Wi-Fi irrigation controller is also available directly to consumers online at The Home Depot or through GreenIQ.