Today, I’m going to write about a recent service call I made to a client. He called me asking to take a look at his garden and said… “Bring your wellies!”
Alright, it had rained heavily in the previous days, but today it wasn’t raining, so this request didn’t exactly bring good vibes! Hehe.
With my pair of boots in hand, here I go! The garden was at the back of the house, and as soon as I stepped in, I nearly left one of my boots behind! You know that kind of soil that just wants to suck your shoes in? It was like that.
That specific area looked like a swamp, and there was another part that resembled a pond.
“Hmmm, we’ve got a serious drainage problem here!” I muttered under my breath… The owner, standing behind me with a slight smile on his face as he watched me struggling with my stuck boot, let out a chuckle and said, “No kidding, Sherlock!”
He explained that he had already consulted two professionals, but their solutions didn’t quite appeal to him and were very expensive.
The solutions were already on the table, so I thought, let me try something different and see what happens. Using the shovel as a walking stick, I made my way around, investigating a bit.
The soil was very heavy, full of water… I dug a few holes to better understand how everything was functioning. Nothing happened! Literally, nothing! The water just stayed there, staring back at me. Right there, in the middle of it all, it was clear that the spot that looked like a pond was, of course, the lowest part of the terrain.
Well, I needed something more practical! After some thinking, I decided to mix a bit of compost with sand to make the soil lighter and less compact. It helped, but not significantly. Then, I dug something like a trench, filled it with stones from the garden itself, and tried to guide the water to another area.
That worked quite well…….perhaps the combination of efforts was paying off! The water was dispersing across most of the terrain and flowing towards a specific area on the left.
All of this would be better done with a proper drainage system, which he should consider installing soon, with pipes and such. Another measure I took was to raise two of his plant beds. Essentially, what I did was increase the amount of soil available for the water. The plants that had their roots waterlogged also appreciated the change, as they got a bit of breathing room by being raised higher.
Finally, remember I mentioned that the water was now flowing better but still heading to the left side of the terrain (in smaller amounts, but still going that way)? So, I suggested planting some plants that love a soggy soil, like:
plants that love soggy soil and helps with drainage
- Turtleheads
- Swamp milkweeds
- Lobelia cardinalis
- Cannas
For now, everything’s fine! I’ve already received an update from the owners, who are very happy, and the water is flowing as desired without leaving the place looking like a swamp.
The plants are holding up well, and everyone’s happy! 🙂
