Tips on How To Achieve Better Landscape Drainage

We all want our yards to flourish, and it is a no brainer that water is an essential part of this as it supports plant life. 

However, more water does not necessarily translate to greener plants as there is a threshold needed for them to survive. 

The soil structure is complex and if your yard does not have good drainage, water will log the plants and give a good breeding ground for fungus and mold among other things. 

It’s essential to improve your yard’s drainage and ensure that as much as your plants get the water they need, they also get proper aeration and not get choked by excessive stagnant water. 

Landscape Solutions to Improve Your Drainage

Do Not Disrupt Natural Drainage Paths

A long time ago, before landscapers became mainstream, people used to farm on pieces of land without tweaking the soil structure. 

Naturally, your yard has a drainage system that makes it possible for plants to thrive. 

Before you take measures to improve the yard drainage, do not disrupt the natural ones. Let them run free as these are what nature prescribed for that yard. 

Avoid obstructing runoff drainage paths with high gardens and berms. 

Your yard should have a gentle slope that drains water to a specific root and if you block it, then water will have nowhere to go leading to flooded gardens.

Ground runoffs play a considerable role in a garden’s drainage system and inspect some of these natural ridges and remove any object or vegetation that could block the flow of water.

When designing the garden, try hard to do it around the drainage structure so that you do not end up affecting these natural lines.

Proper irrigation is essential can make the water flow smoothly as well. Having a landscape irrigation system will likely lessen any issues that can occur in your yard’s drainage. 

Boost Natural Drainage Paths 

In some cases, your natural drainage path might not be perfect due to the soil structure and poor landscape design. 

A good example is a place with clay soil which has a poor capillarity and thus holds water. 

Here’s how to deal with a clogged landscape drain.

Here, you cannot rely on the natural drainage lines and you should consider installing a couple of artificial drainage systems to supplement the main one. 

Here are some options to consider:

Ditches

Ditches are a fundamental way of redirecting water from your yard. Dig several ones apart and make them at least 1 meter deep. 

They should be dug on the lower end of the lawn and consider using a trenching machine for uniformity and to maintain the aesthetics of the yard. 

French ditches are another option and they are made by filling up a simple ditch with gravel and then topping it up with membranes that allow water in.

Pipes

If the natural drainage is in a dire state, you can use piped ones. Installing them requires you to lay perforated pipes on trenches that have been made firm. 

Cover these pipes with some layer of gravel. Note that you need the help of a professional to install these drainage pipes as they need to be placed strategically for them to work effectively.

Harvest Water If Possible

If you do not want to let the water go away, you can put measures to harvest it and utilize it for other purposes. 

To do this, you will have to install water storage well below the ground. 

One advantage of this method is that the water you collect can be used to water your plants later on when there are no rains. 

One critical aspect to watch out when constructing a water harvesting system is to prevent debris and soil from getting into the reservoir. 

This debris will accumulate in the reservoir, and after some time, it will reduce the capacity of the container and thus limit you on the amount of water that can be collected. 

Once again, remember to consult a landscape drainage expert for the design and implementation of these projects.

Rain Gardens

At times, you should consider implementing natural solutions to your yard drainage problem. 

This is because the problem might be attributed to the natural land structure, and the best way is to live around the drainage issue and find how to make your garden still look good with it. 

There are several options as your landscaper will advise you and one notable one is a native garden made up of plants that thrive in soggy options. 

Such a garden will soak up a lot of water as they are used to grow in such habitats and will create a suitable thriving place for birds, frogs, and insects that depend on these plants.

Extend Your Scope

When working on your soil drainage, it is easy to focus on the planting bed and forget about the other parts of your garden. 

Some of the measures mentioned above should not be focused on the area where you want to plant only. 

The corrugated drain, PVC drainage systems, and downspouts should be structured in such a way that they enhance the entire yard. 

It is common to see yards with drainage problems that are severe in specific parts of the whole area. 

This way, implementing these solutions in these parts is fundamental to solving the issue.  

A landscaper will help to design a whole solution that will improve the overall drainage matter depending on how water is held in the garden.

Managing Your Drainage Wisely

Your garden drainage is a crucial thing that determines how your plants thrive. 

Do not be tempted to jump into quick solutions for a drainage problem even if you find water lagging in a specific part of the yard. 

The matter might go deeper than what you think and before you even begin implementing the solution, it helps to determine a couple of things first. Where is the water coming from? Is it coming from the neighbor’s yard or your roof? 

Some of these questions need to be answered as they help an expert to come up with the perfect solution for your yard. 

Rushing into temporary fixes will only waste your money and resources and be sure to take a patient and well thought out approach.

For yard drainage improvement projects, reach out to Big Easy Landscaping and we’ll be happy to help.