A drip irrigation system can be automated just as easily as a lawn-sprinkling system. In fact, in many cases a drip system and lawn-sprinkling system can be controlled using the same timer. If you have sprinkler heads spraying water on shrubs and trees, you're probably wasting water, and unnecessarily increasing plant disease pressure. You may want to talk with a landscaper or irrigation contractor to find out if some of these wasteful portions of your irrigation system can be retrofitted with drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is also a good alternative for people who are simply sick of watering plants by hand.
Inexpensive timers are available that can be attached directly to a garden faucet or hose.
Most drip irrigation systems are simple, and easy to install. If you have a row of plants that need water simply attach a drip tape or a soaker hose onto your timer. If you have trees and shrubs, use a drip tube with trickle emitters for each plant. These same trickle emitters can even be used to water potted plants. If you have a flower bed, try the micro-spray heads.