Well… what a wet start to the new year!
If your garden is looking a little like these photos or worse, there is definitely an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.
After a really hard downpour, your garden may benefit from some sort of drainage system.
A garden land drain, soakaway, or other type of drainage may easily eliminate standing water and keep your garden from turning into a swampy marsh. In addition to preventing moisture issues within your property, proper drainage can also stop masonry and brickwork from being harmed.
This might be caused by either compacted clay soil or a solid sub base underneath the surface of the wet/boggy soil.
Another prime example, is where excess surface water has been directed from a higher level due to the elevation of the land.
It is extremely common, that whenever modern housing developments build an adjacent property on a higher land level, water will naturally find an escape route to the lower level.
Both situations can be solved effectively by installing additional drainage to your garden/property. There are various forms of drainage that can be easily installed to move the water away from your problematic areas that will eliminate a costly repair bill.
Perforated french drains are an example of a remedy that can be incorporated into your lawn to divert the direction of the water flow.
Another common example of drainage failure that can occur is, having puddling around your property. The remedy for this is to install an ACO drain will rectify such an issue and prevent water from coming close to the walls and breaching the damp proof course.
Here is our List of Common Causes of Poor Drainage
Your garden may not be adequately draining water for a variety of reasons. Here are a few of the most typical reasons why your yard looks swampy:
Your garden’s surface is uneven, which causes more water to collect in puddles.
The water table (natural groundwater level) beneath your garden is too high to allow for simple drainage.
Your garden is located at the foot of a hill or is elevated lower than the nearby properties.
A driveway, patio, or other impervious surface in your landscape prevents water from draining properly.
A drainage system in your neighbour’s garden directs water into your property.
Your home’s guttering is either clogged or disconnected from a drainage system. Some outbuildings, such as sheds and greenhouses, may not have any guttering at all.
After prolonged or intense rains, underground springs may have altered the direction of their water flow.
When your home was constructed, subsoil and topsoil may have been combined, resulting in compacted soil that obstructs simple water drainage.
Perhaps a clay layer that retains water was present when your home and yard were constructed. In the UK, this is commonplace.
A home addition, a swimming pool, or another construction with foundations deep enough to divert water may have been constructed by you or your neighbours.
Failure to address each of these issues at the earliest time possible, could cause boggy patches in your garden, which will eventually ruin the beauty of your lawn. If puddling around your house is not dealt with, you run the risk of breaching the dpc and allowing damp inside your home.
Conclusion
It is not impossible to restore a flooded garden, nor should it be expensive. However, it can work wonders for your garden’s beauty when it rains heavily or continuously. Only a little bit of meticulous planning is required; the cause of the flooding and the severity of the issue will determine the solution.
You could believe that digging ditches or putting up pipe drainage is too much work for areas that only sometimes or slightly flood. By choosing the appropriate plants in these situations, you can help prevent excess water from harming your garden.
In reality, planting vegetation suited to your soil type is one of the simplest and most affordable garden drainage remedies. For instance, some Hydrangea species are excellent for controlling wet soils, whereas plants like Geranium and Fuchsia will do well in gardens with clay soil.
Installing a rain barrel to collect water from any outbuildings is another option. The guttering system for your home is already in place, but what about your shed or greenhouse? Gutter installation on outbuildings is often easy, and after the gutters are installed, the downspouts should be directed to overflow barrels. This is a fantastic solution to prevent garden floods as well as give you access to additional water during the drier months.
Gardens of Distinction can help you with all your garden drainage needs. We cover landscaping Solihull as well as Warwick, Leamington Spa and Stratford upon Avon, so please contact us for some help and advice or arrange a consultation straight away.