Tips to fix garden drainage

Having a garden drain in good condition to be effective is essential to keep our garden dry and our house in optimal conditions. A flooded garden can cause landscaping problems that can ruin our backyard. A landscape with poor drainage can also direct water into structural parts of the house, which can attract pests, rot, fungus and mold, and even damage the structural foundation of the house.

In order to have a dry garden with its drainage working in optimal conditions, it is necessary to effectively drain the flooded areas of the garden and prevent the water from moving towards the foundation of the house. So here are some tips to drain it:

1. Add Extensions to Downspouts: Downspouts typically run up the sides and corners of a house and are there to carry water coming off the roof of the foundation and house. Sometimes a pipe extension is added to direct the water even further from the base.

2. Replacing soft flooded gardens with hard gardens: If you find too many muddy puddles around the house or parts of the lawn that just won't grow anymore, you can consider replacing this type of garden with gravel, stones or even concrete. These encourage even drainage and don't turn into puddles.

3. Install a rain barrel: instead of letting the water run down and end up in puddles on the lawn, you can take advantage of it by collecting rainwater. By reconfiguring the downspout, the water can be directed to the barrel to collect water and through hydraulic hoses this same water can be used in the gardens.

4. Lawn aeration: This is a standard practice that helps keep the lawn in perfect condition and encourages better drainage, making the lawn less compact. Aeration creates small holes in the lawn to bring in more air, nutrients, and water. Instead of pooling water and pooling, aeration will direct the water into thousands of tiny holes to drain properly.

5. Install a French drain system – This is an inexpensive way to manage surface water flow. To build a French drain, a trench filled with permeable materials such as gravel needs to be dug on top of a perforated PVC hydraulic pipe. The water will flow down into the ground, through the gravel, and into the pipe, redirecting the water elsewhere.

6. Install a gutter: This solution works if water flows into the house or collects around the driveway, patio, or concrete walkway. This is a narrow trench cut into the asphalt where a long drainage channel is installed. When the water hits the grate and falls into the gutter drain, the excess water is sent away from the house.

7. Build a creek bed: Instead of digging pipes into the ground, excess water can be turned into a fountain. A wide variety of rocks, river stones, and gravel can be used to build a stream bed that can serve as a channel to carry rainwater away from the house. Even when not in use, a stream makes a beautiful landscaping feature and can also be decorated with plants.

8. Install a dry well: A dry well is simply a well that is installed underground and acts as a water collection point. It works to slowly distribute the water underground into the surrounding soil. This is a great solution for managing large amounts of water.