Frequent rains, as well as the snow and ice, may cause many moisture issues around your home—including your yard. Excess moisture can wreak havoc on your landscaping. You may even be noticing problems in your yard this year due to the exceptionally heavy rains Tulsa has had since early spring.
Fortunately, a good drainage system can preserve the life of your greenery and flowers, protecting the investment you’ve made to have a beautiful, welcoming yard. At ProActive Landscaping, our team of expert Tulsa, OK area landscapers design great drainage solutions that protect and preserve your landscaping.
Here are some of our favorite drainage tips, plus a quick look at why drainage matters so much to your grass and flowers.
How Improper Drainage Affects Your Yard
A lot of headaches can result if moisture doesn’t properly drain away from your yard. Among the issues you can expect:
- Standing water can last and last, attracting pests and inviting mosquitoes to breed.
- Water may pool around the lawn, damaging grass and making it unsightly.
- Mud doesn’t dry out, making it more likely to be tracked onto sidewalks, up steps, and into the house.
- Wet grass can’t be mowed, leaving you with areas that can’t be promptly tended.
- Soil may erode, causing sinkholes in the lawn and uprooting flowers and bushes.
- Shrubs and flowers end up overwatered, killing them.
And of course, too much moisture around your home can also result in leaks or foundation damage. All in all, it’s much smarter—and more protective for your Tulsa, OK home and landscaping—to invest in a proper drainage system.
So, what do you do to address your drainage issues and preserve the beauty and longevity of your landscaping? These 7 tips can help:
1. Address Gutters and Irrigation
If you’re seeing puddles in your yard, check the gutters. Cracked gutters may fail to direct water away from your home, leading to pools of water in flower beds and around your foundation.
Also, check the downspouts. Often, the problem is simply that your downspouts aren’t long enough to move rain away from your foundation. Or they may be pointed in the wrong direction, causing puddling.
And be sure your irrigation system is working properly. If it’s not, a professional landscaper can repair the irrigation system and install better drainage.
What to do:
- Point downspouts in a different direction to aim water away from landscaping.
- Add a downspout extender long enough to ensure water doesn’t pool in flower beds.
- Repair or replace broken gutters.
2. Install Underground Drainpipes
Installing underground drainage allows you to gather and direct water where you want it to go, while also hiding the drainage from the eyes of your guests.
What to do:
- Dig a gradually sloping trench from where water is currently puddling to a lower area of your yard.
- Lay PVC drainpipe and a plastic catch basin to direct water to your runoff location.
- Hide the drainpipe with gravel, soil, decorative hardscaping, or plants.
3. Make a Creek Bed
Another way to take control of how water flows through your front yard and back yard is to create an intentional, beautiful water channel. If you design it well, the creek bed will look attractive whether full or dry.
What to do:
- Create a shallow drainage ditch to lead water away from landscaping,
- Line the ditch carefully with stones to promote water flow.
- Add elements of visual interest, such as boulders, outdoor lighting, or plants.
4. Create a Rain Garden
For homeowners with a large, low point in the yard that gathers water, a natural solution may be in order—a rain garden filled with water-loving plants. Rain gardens prevent erosion and are all-natural, making them good for the environment.
What to do:
- Create creek bed channels to direct water to your yard’s low area.
- Use plants that do well with a lot of moisture, such as daylilies, irises, and sedge.
- Consult with a professional landscaper to ensure the rain garden’s design is effective and long-lasting.
5. Add a French Drain
Versatile and effective, a French drain sends water into a large area to improve drainage and prevent pooling. It creates a way for water to sink into the soil without needing a specific outlet.
What to do:
- Dig a trench throughout the entire area where water can safely be drained.
- Insert a perforated pipeline sheathed with a fabric sock to prevent clogs.
- Install drains where needed to direct moisture into the drainpipe.
6. Build a Dry Well
A dry well is a large hole filled with gravel, which helps to gather heavy rain and give it time to seep slowly into the ground without damaging your lawn or eroding your soil.
What to do:
- Dig a hole large enough to collect the first 10-15 minutes’ worth of heavy rain.
- Obtain a dry well barrel—they’re commercially available and usually easy to assemble.
- Install the barrel in the ground, surrounded with gravel to allow slow drainage.
- Again, it’s a great idea to consult a landscaper for advice on how to maximize your results from a dry well.
7. Work with a Professional Landscaping Team
Water drainage is something that needs to be done right to protect your landscaping and ensure your outdoor spaces look beautiful year-round—ideally without a lot of effort and maintenance required. Professional landscapers can make the process easy by:
- Inspecting every area of your yard to assess any issues
- Determining the best solution for your situation
- Creating a landscape design that makes your home stand out
Protect Your Tulsa Landscaping with Smart, Lasting Drainage Solutions
Every homeowner deserves landscaping that looks beautiful, flourishes in the Oklahoma climate, and makes you the envy of your neighbors. Our team of landscaping experts love creating and installing landscaping designs that give you the outdoor spaces you want, including lovely lighting, decorative hardscaping, and other innovative solutions that make your landscaping stand out.
To get started on the landscaping of your dreams, simply contact us for a free consultation and quote.
