How to tackle drainage in a garden – say goodbye to puddles and waterlogging

garden design

Drainage in a garden is so important. There is nothing worse than having a beautiful patio laid and water pooling in one spot. Or a lawn that gets water logged. Or a drain that floods. Tackling drainage in a garden is one of the benefits you get when you use a proper qualified landscaper. Having been a professional landscaper for 15 years I am all too familiar with rogue traders that have ‘knocked out’ a patio for a bit of cash in hand only to leave the garden owner with a patio that pools. On one occasion we were called to a site where the patio run off was draining into the neighbours garden by running under the fence.

Do be careful where you are sending excess water to, local bylaws usually prohibit adding water from gardens to sewers or storm drains.

Drainage on a patio

Three things to consider when laying a patio

  • The Damp Proof Coursing
  • The run off
  • Types of Drain

Many types of drain you can use on a patio. I really like this acco style grate drain from Lateral Design Studio. Both functional and decorative it is a break away from regular drainage systems.

Level access drain from Lateral Design

Drainage on a lawn

Several things you can do:

Drainage in beds

Add in a good organic matter such a manure to loosen up the soil. Composted manure, bark chips and compost all help to provide structure to the soil. Worked into the soil will improve soil quality no end. Digging the beds over also helps. breaking up the earth, particularly heavy clay, allows oxygen to flow in. Of course, raised beds are a brilliant way to improve drainage if you have really problematic soils

Plants to help with wet soil

If you have an area of your garden that is particularly soggy, you could always consider planting thirsty plants. These will be a low cost, effective solution to the problem. Sometimes these plants will not work alongside other plants where they suck all the moisture out so ill, so They make the best planted alone in blocks. Plan is to consider our

  • Bamboo
  • Eucalyptus
  • Cornus
  • Hydrangea
  • Zantacesdia
  • Iris

If you need any advice regarding drainage in your garden it is a good idea to discuss with a locally approved contractor from either BALI or the HTA. If you are in London or the South East you are more than welcome to contact our Senior Landscaper Matt on matt@earthdesigns.co.uk