Top Tips For Improving Garden Drainage - Total Pipeline Systems

Is there anything worse than seeing your summertime hard work turn into a muddy swamp? Plants wilting from too much water and heavy rainfall? Grass squelching or oozing water when you walk on it?

Whilst there’s not much we can do about the cold and wet weather, steps can be taken to improve garden drainage issues.

Here Total Pipeline Systems share a few tips to improve the drainage in your garden – including simple things like growing more plants, installing land drains, and investing in a drainage system.

7 ways to improve drainage in your garden

1.Grow more shrubs

Possibly one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to improve garden drainage is to add more plants. The more plants you have, the more water they need to feed them and help them grow, whilst preventing the ground from flooding.

Here in the UK, we receive more than our fair share of wet weather, and growing plants that thrive in soggier conditions will be a real boon.

2.Use bark chippings

There are various absorbent materials on the market today, including bark, which can hold and absorb moisture from surfaces effectively. It creates a permeable surface and allows water to infiltrate, eliminating the risk of your garden becoming waterlogged.

Bark prevents weed growth and can be used to insulate your flower beds in the colder months. When compared with other products, this also costs less and is easier to install.

3.Invest in a drainage system

If your garden is in an unfavourable position, such as on a hill or in a valley, the water from your neighbour’s garden will eventually make its way into yours. When this happens, the ground becomes heavily saturated and makes drainage difficult.

Having a channel drainage system (i.e. an attenuation system or soakaway crate) installed professionally could help to improve drainage by holding the excess water and carefully dispersing it back into the ground. Ultimately, this will prevent waterlogging and provide strength and support for the soil.

4.Improve soil drainage

If your grass is prone to pooling, especially after heavy rain, you may consider improving the permeability of your soil to assist with garden drainage.

There are a number of ways you can improve soil and waste drainage, such as mixing compost with your soil to help the water drain more easily, or lining the ground or planters with drainage cells. These can hold excess rainwater and transport groundwater away from boggy areas in the wetter months of the year.

5.Install land drains

Do you need an efficient solution for collecting surface water to prevent your garden from becoming swamped? If so, land drains could be exactly what you need to improve your garden drainage.

Laid in trenches beneath the ground, the perforations on the drainpipe allow the water from the surface to percolate, and then the pipe transports it to a more suitable dispersal point.

6.Always check water features for leaks

It may seem silly, but an incorrectly installed water fountain, garden pond, or swimming pool could result in water flooding your garden – even if the feature isn’t in your garden!

With that said, if your garden is waterlogged, it’s worth checking your installations and asking your neighbours to double-check theirs, too. If you spot any leaks or issues with your garden furniture or design features, it’s in your best interests to get them fixed as soon as possible.

7.Check guttering and downpipes are fitted properly

Though frequently overlooked, you’d be surprised how many people have guttering installed correctly and leave the downpipe to spout water into the garden.

Heavy downpours can increase water flow, and the rain from the roof of your house will be poured onto an area of the garden. However, connecting the downpipe to the channel drain with the appropriate fittings could alleviate garden drainage issues pretty quickly.

Get in touch

If you would like to know more about improving your garden drainage or the different products we stock online, here at Total Pipes, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Always on hand to help, we would love to hear from you. Simply give us a call on 01254 382 000 or email sales@totalpipes.co.uk, and we’ll get back to you.