How to Manage Excess Water in Your Landscape

Plants need water to survive, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Too much water can lead to standing pools, overly wet lawns and garden beds, and even compacted soil that no longer has enough oxygen pores to support plant life.

Whether you’re dealing with periodic flooding or a naturally wet microclimate, these ideas will help your natural rainfall be an asset rather than a liability.

Keep Things Moving

Prevent water from pooling by moving it through the garden. You can either filter the water into the earth or drain it to a stormwater system. Draining water on-site rather than relying on storm drain systems has a number of benefits.

It keeps accumulated water from overwhelming the storm drain system. It also minimizes the number of pollutants from water running off roofs and other built structures, which otherwise would end up in the water system, including local streams and rivers.

Note: Incorporating on-site drainage is becoming more mainstream in the landscaping community. Some local council even mandate draining most or all of a home’s water on-site.

1. Add a drain system. Installing a drain in a low spot in your yard will send excess water underground. While you can simply let the water drain directly into the soil or a dry well, installing a French drain is a classic approach that will both drain the water and move it through your landscape.

With a French drain, a surface-level grate connects to perforated piping that is set in a belowground-level ditch. The water moves along the piping, and the holes allow it to filter into the soil on either side of the ditch. The ditch is covered with gravel or rocks to conceal the pipes and aid in filtering water.

2. Install an above ground drainage channel. Also known as a bioswale. Keeping the water above ground helps prevent soil erosion; exposing runoff water to sunlight, known as “daylighting,” helps improve water quality as well.

A more natural-looking option is to add a swale — a shallow, planted depression that runs through a landscape, often across a slope. Swales move water, but they also slow it down and allow it to percolate back into the ground to improve water quality.

3. Add amendments. Too much water in the soil can lead to problems with diseases, fungus and root rot. Regularly incorporating organic materials, such as compost and manure, helps loosen the soil and encourages water to drain rather than sit. If you can add earthworms, nature’s natural tunnellers, to the mix, so much the better.

Digging to place amendments into the soil as well as aerating it regularly also loosens it up. Avoid digging when things are very wet, especially if you have clay soil, as you can compact the soil rather than open it up.

Other materials to incorporate include vermiculite, perlite and possibly sand. These can have pluses and minuses, so check with local nurseries for recommendations for your soil conditions.

4. Bring in mulch. Mulching can benefit any garden. While it might seem counterintuitive for wet areas, as it’s often associated with preventing moisture loss, mulching will slow down the absorption of water into the soil. It also can attract beneficial insects, especially earthworms.

5. Let the sun shine. While trees are great garden assets, deep shade in an already wet garden can just encourage damp conditions. Rather than remove all your trees, call in a professional to do judicious pruning to open up your overstory. Not only will you get more sunshine, which will aid in drying up the soil, but your trees will thank you.

6. Add Elevation

Sometimes the best way to improve soil drainage for planting beds or to avoid compacting soil in very wet spots is to alter your approach. Rather than fighting your soil type and constantly adding amendments, rise above it with berms or raised beds.

7. Incorporate raised beds. A raised bed is a more structured way to bring better soil into your garden. The multilayered raised bed seen here, in the Portland area, offers plenty of gardening space while also helping set off the sweeping view.

8. Step things down. For hillier sites, a series of garden terraces may be the way to go. Stair-stepping the water down the slope will help prevent erosion. It will also give you a way to showcase your prized plants.

9. Turn to hardscape. For some particularly wet spots, it might make more sense to turn to hardscape rather than garden beds. If getting across the yard to a particular area is a challenge when things are wet, consider adding a path.

A paver path is a low-key but effective option. Gravel or decomposed granite drains more quickly and is an eco-friendlier option than patios or bricks.

10. Choose the Right Plants

Fit your plantings to your conditions. No matter how much you alter your garden to encourage drainage, opting for plants that thrive in your conditions will result in a beautiful space that is also far less work.

Plenty of plants love extra moisture or even thrive with wet feet. Some even want to be in a bog or pond full time. Options range from annuals and perennial bulbs and shrubs to ferns, grasses and trees.

Start by talking with local landscape designers or nursery personnel about the best choices for your soil and growing conditions. They can even help assess soil pH and drainage.

11. Embrace natives. If you live in a rain-prone climate, chances are good that the local native plants are already adapted to your soil conditions. Focusing on native plants will give you a head start on a beautiful garden that is also easy to care for.

Check with local landscape designers, nurseries and extension offices for good native plant choices for your location.

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This article via Marianne Lipanovich does not constitute advice; readers should seek independent and personalised counsel from an appropriate trusted adviser that specialises in property, a tax accountant and property or interior design specialist.