Watering at the plant base is good practice for new plantings. If you have a border, or larger area of new plantings, this can be done easily with a soaker hose (let it trickle for about 15-20 minutes a day). If you have one new plant among already established ones, consider hand watering to ensure you don't over water the existing plants. Avoid blasting water on the base of the plant as you can easily erode the newly packed soil around the root ball and the plant can't absorb run off, so it's a lose all around. Slow and deep is the name of the game. 

Container flowers and plants need the same care for new installations. They too need to be watered every day until established and then can likely move to an every-other day schedule during the growing season. Not sure if your container needs water? Just stick your finger in the soil, if it's dry, water. If it's wet, give the pot time to absorb the water in the soil. Note: Terra cotta pots may need more regular watering as they're porous which is great to allow water to pass through the pot to avoid problems like root rot, but also means you may need to water more. 

You can also tell if a plant needs more water by looking at it; are the leaves drying up? Curling, wilting or turning brown? If so, that's a telltale sign your plant is not getting enough water. By the way, these signs apply to already established plants as well.

We recommend watering in the early morning to allow plants to take in all of the water. If you water in the heat of the day, some will evaporate either from the heat of the day, or on our ever-present north Texas winds. A layer of mulch is also recommended to help keep soil retain water and enable more even absorption.