After heavy rain, many gardens are flooded. Your garden is under water, what should you do? Are you wondering how you can drain your outdoor area with simple measures? Then read on because here we show some of the most common solutions!
Foto: Great_bru / envato elements
Fill the soil if the garden is flooded
If you have a garden where the topography encourages waterlogging, this can usually be remedied by leveling the site and filling the soil. Is your garden flooded after rain? Wait for the property to dry out and then take action! However, it is not enough to simply fill the holes: the water must be able to drain away.
For this purpose, the plot should be sloped slightly towards a drainage ditch or the general drainage system of the settlement, but in such a way that no house or other buildings come into the way of the water. You don’t want the swamp to get to the foundation, do you? It is more correct and effective to combine this measure with the installation of a drainage system on the property itself. In most cases this is easier than it seems.
Garden is under water, what to do: drainage
Foto: Bespaliy / shutterstock
A drainage system is a system that ensures the drainage and redistribution of liquids on the property. Under natural conditions, water outflow occurs through sandy and loose soils, as well as through the beds of streams and rivers. Yes, streams are natural drains. However, when natural drainage of a site is made difficult by topography and soil conditions, we can create an artificial system to facilitate drainage.
What do we know about water from physics? It is liquid and fills the empty space. We take advantage of these properties by creating a drainage system. Essentially we will be creating voids and slopes that will allow the fluid to flow where we need it.
Create your own pond outdoors
Photo: Anuta1988 / envato elements
The main advantage of a wet site is that it is very easy to create a picturesque pond on it: you do not have to worry about whether it will fill with water or dry out in the hot season, and you do not need to install a pump to it to fill.
A beautifully landscaped pond is an ornament of the site, a place of pleasant relaxation on hot days – and at the same time it performs a quite useful function by collecting excess water from the site. Also, place it in the lowest part of the property – or the wettest part (usually the deepest).
Garden is under water: dig drainage well
Photo: nikhil-p-chandane / unsplash
Such a well allows you to collect excess liquid on the site (and then use it for irrigation). It is built at the deepest point of the property and is approximately 2-3 meters deep and 0.8-1.5 meters in diameter. The walls of the drainage well can be lined with foil, lined with stones or simply covered with clay.
Two welded bottomless barrels that are buried in the ground are also often used, or concrete rings are used for wells. For safety, you can provide the structure with a reliable cover or make a high above-ground part, like a conventional well. In order to use the collected water for irrigation, a pump must be installed.
Over time, mud forms in the well, which is an excellent fertilizer. If you decide to take this action, you must complete all the details with the relevant authorities in advance. The first thing to do is to examine the groundwater level.
Plants are dehumidifying perennials and trees
Foto: dorey_kronick / envato elements
In addition to building and excavating a drainage system, trees and shrubs can help drain the property. Many trees have a high water requirement and actively evaporate water through their leaves. These are plants with a large leaf surface that consume a lot of moisture during the growing season.
The following species can be planted for drainage (they often grow in wet areas in nature):
Birch Maple Alder Elm Ash Chestnut Willow Cherry
Suitable shrubs are:
Bladder spar rowan snowball
They will not fundamentally solve the problem of a heavily waterlogged area, but they will absorb and consume a large amount of moisture.
Also read: What to do if the garden is under water? Preventive measures & tips in the event of flooding