Get Your Garden Ready for the Rainy Season
Avoid damage to your home and yard by improving soil permeability, redirecting rainwater and planting strategically
Lauren Dunec Hoang
November 10, 2016
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and... More
Water brings life to gardens, but when rainfall causes puddles to linger on lawns, pool on pathways or seep into basements, it can be too much of a good thing. Whether you live in a year-round wet climate or the rainy season throws into light the drainage issues of your plot, chances are your garden could benefit from some water redirection. Here are seven solutions for increasing water absorption and putting excess runoff to use in your landscape.
How to tell if you have a drainage problem. A flooded front walkway is a pretty clear indication your landscape isn’t draining successfully, but other drainage issues can be more difficult to spot. In these instances it can be useful to hire a professional.
If water is puddling and draining especially slowly in your garden after moderate rainfall or typical irrigation, when you know the soil cannot be completely sodden, then your soil may not be absorbing water efficiently. Compacted soils and soils with a higher portion of clay drain more slowly than soils with more silt or loam.
Not sure which type of soil you have? Do a soil test yourself.
If water is puddling and draining especially slowly in your garden after moderate rainfall or typical irrigation, when you know the soil cannot be completely sodden, then your soil may not be absorbing water efficiently. Compacted soils and soils with a higher portion of clay drain more slowly than soils with more silt or loam.
Not sure which type of soil you have? Do a soil test yourself.
7 Ways to Improve Drainage
1. Amend your soil. For compacted soils, digging in organic material and breaking up any compacted areas improves soil texture and drainage. Well-amended soil essentially acts like a more effective sponge: The soil has an increased capacity to retain needed moisture, but gaps between soil particles allow excess water to drain through.
Some people will recommend additives such as gypsum mineral salts to help break up heavy clay soils, but for most home gardens, adding a good dose of organic compost is equally effective at improving soil structure.
1. Amend your soil. For compacted soils, digging in organic material and breaking up any compacted areas improves soil texture and drainage. Well-amended soil essentially acts like a more effective sponge: The soil has an increased capacity to retain needed moisture, but gaps between soil particles allow excess water to drain through.
Some people will recommend additives such as gypsum mineral salts to help break up heavy clay soils, but for most home gardens, adding a good dose of organic compost is equally effective at improving soil structure.
2. Use permeable surfaces for pathways and patios. In areas with frequent heavy rainfall, the more areas of your garden that can absorb water and have it sink straight into the soil, the better. For walkways and patios, look for materials that allow water to percolate through, such as gravel, wood chips or widely spaced flagstone. You can also install a permeable driveway to drain stormwater.
In this Seattle garden, a pathway of impermeable cut stone pavers is interspersed with sections of path made up of permeable gravel to help increase water absorption.
Learn more about installing a walkway of pavers and gravel
In this Seattle garden, a pathway of impermeable cut stone pavers is interspersed with sections of path made up of permeable gravel to help increase water absorption.
Learn more about installing a walkway of pavers and gravel
3. Plant a rain garden. Plant a slightly sunken area with water-loving rushes, shrubs, trees and perennials. Rain gardens can be large areas designed to absorb a lot of runoff, or they can be pocket-sized plantings of bog and streambed plants sited in an area of the garden that stays consistently moist.
How to Site and Size a Rain Garden for Your Landscape
How to Site and Size a Rain Garden for Your Landscape
4. Dig a swale. Channel excess water runoff from the roof or other poorly draining surfaces to the garden where it can be absorbed. You don’t want to redirect unwanted runoff to neighboring properties or straight into the storm drain. Instead, send it to perennial beds or garden areas, such as a rain garden, designed to absorb excess water.
Swales are shallow ditches that don’t just move water, they also act as infiltration basins, depending on whether your soil drains well. Excess water can be safely channeled away from the home while also percolating into the soil, cleaning itself and deeply irrigating plants as it returns to the ground.
See how to move water through your landscape with a swale
See how to move water through your landscape with a swale
5. Add a French drain. If a channel on its own isn’t enough to divert excess water away from your home, consider installing a French drain, possibly in conjunction with a swale. At their most basic, French drains are sloped, gravel-packed channels that run away from the home. More permanent installations involve pipes set in the gravel channel and an impervious lining to increase the amount of water flow away from the building.
In this sloped property in Atlanta, a French drain placed below the roof eaves catches runoff from the roof and channels it through PVC pipes set in a sloped gravel channel to a rain garden on the property.
6. Store rainwater. Rather than diverting water from downspouts into a swale or rain garden, set up a catchment vessel to store excess water for future dry spells. This is particularly useful for gardeners in regions with dry seasons. Hook up a hose to the catchment container, and you’ll be able to use rainwater to irrigate your kitchen garden or perennial beds. Rain barrels come in many shapes and sizes, and can often make attractive additions to the landscape.
Watch now: How to Install a Rain Barrel
Watch now: How to Install a Rain Barrel
7. Install raised beds. In gardens with poor drainage, sometimes the easiest way to create a habitat suitable for growing edibles is to add raised beds. Raising the soil level and filling the beds with a quick-draining soil mix and organic compost can be a solution for sloped lots or gardens with poor soil or compacted soil. Most vegetables and all Mediterranean herbs thrive in well-draining soil.
More
To Manage Stormwater Sustainably, Understand Your Site
See other ways to save water around your home and garden
More
To Manage Stormwater Sustainably, Understand Your Site
See other ways to save water around your home and garden
Related Stories
Porches
Porch of the Week: Catching a Breeze in Austin, Texas
By Becky Harris
The new screened-in space has a beautiful fireplace as a focal point and includes lounging and dining spaces
Full Story
Before and Afters
Before and After: 4 Landscapes That Bring Resort Style Home
Stunning fire pits, luxurious pools, elegant entertaining zones and other relaxing spots give these yards vacation vibes
Full Story
Before and Afters
Before and After: 3 Exuberant, Wildlife-Friendly Landscapes
By Elena Vega
Ho-hum expanses give way to colorful meadow-inspired gardens that encourage butterflies, birds and bees to stay awhile
Full Story
Landscape Design
7 Key Features to Include in Your New Landscape Design
By Kate Burt
Looking to create a gorgeous outdoor space that suits your home and lifestyle? Start by considering these options
Full Story
Events
Outdoor Flooring, Turf and Tile Products for 2024
By Julie Sheer
See the latest materials for patios, decks and yards displayed at the recent Surfaces trade show
Full Story
Saving Water
10 Gardens That Capture and Drain Water With Style
Landscape pros design beautiful and hardworking gardens that effectively drain and manage rainwater and runoff
Full Story
Before and Afters
Yard of the Week: Ranch Home Opens Up to Indoor-Outdoor Living
A home and landscape makeover near Denver creates harmony and connection between interior and exterior spaces
Full Story
Patios
15 Outdoor Spaces That Rock Permeable Paving
These patios, paths and driveways showcase beautiful and integrated drainage solutions
Full Story
Outbuildings
Family Gatherings in Argentina Inspire a Pavilion and Guesthouse
By Becky Harris
A new yard adds room for hosting, swimming and bringing part of one homeowner’s culture to her family’s Seattle home
Full Story
Gardening Guides
What Will We Want in Our Landscapes in 2024?
Discover seven trends that landscape designers predict homeowners will be bringing into their outdoor spaces this year
Full Story
To conserve a precious comodity, water, we must have more articles like this, with 'how to' added. A rain garden is a must for all homes, most all will have a drainage problem or just conserve the water and lessen run off. Master Gardener speaking
Not good to use rainwater off a non-metal roof to water plants youj will eat from. Please read up on this before installing a rainbarrel for this use.