Many people feel that it’s important to spend time in their yards. In fact, a survey conducted by the National Association of Landscape Professionals found that 75% of people in the United States feel that the yard is an important place to spend time in. Considering that, it’s important to watch out for areas in your yard that need to be fixed. With that in mind, here is more information about low spots and three ways to prevent them.
The Many Problems Created by Low Spots
Low spots are areas in a yard where water collects. While this might not seem like an initial problem, low spots can wreak havoc inside of both a yard and your home. Low spots can begin killing your grass, creating ugly spots in your yard. In addition, low spots often cause people and pets to drag mud into your home. Considering that, here are three ways to prevent low spots in your yard.
Install a Drainage System
One of the easiest ways to eliminate low spots in your yard is to install a type of drainage system. You’ll want to ensure that you’ve contacted a gravel delivery service before beginning this task. To begin creating a drainage system, you’ll want to take a large pipe and cut holes in it. Next, you’ll need to bury this pipe and surround it with drainage gravel. You might wonder when to use drainage gravel while building a French drain? This will be immediately after placing your perforated pipe into the ground.
It’s understandable to wonder what is drainage gravel? This type of gravel is available in various sizes. Typically, drainage rock is used for filling retaining walls and acting as a water barrier. Knowing when to use drainage gravel can help ensure all low spot problems are taken care of in your yard.
Creek Beds Work Well for Draining Water
If you want to create a stunning yard feature while solving standing water problems, consider creating a creek bed of your own. For this project, you’ll need an area of your water where water can be directed to. You might build a creek bed that either is channeled away from low spots. On the other hand, the same creek bed could be used to channel water down to what is known as a rain garden.
You’ll want to ensure that you have plenty of landscaping rocks and drainage gravel ready for this project. To begin, start digging the path for your creek bed. After digging, this will be when to use drainage gravel. The gravel will act as a sort of retaining wall for flowing water, directing it where to go.
After laying down the gravel, you can add extra decorations to your bed with landscaping rocks. In fact, statistics gathered from the 2017 Houzz Landscape Trends study found that 38% of homeowners are upgrading their outdoor spaces with either gravel or crushed rock.
Create a Rain Garden of Your Own
Lastly, you can consider placing a rain garden in your yard. Rain gardens are often seen as an easier fix to low spots in your yard. This is because you’re simply building a garden around your main low spot.
To choose plants for this garden, ensure you’ve chosen ones that love receiving water. Choosing the wrong plants could cause them to quickly die. While this won’t take care of low spots, it does create an appealing area out of what was once a bothersome eyesore. Statistics show that landscaping can increase the resale value of a home by 14%. This means that your water garden could actually increase the value of your property.
To summarize, low spots are a problem that many homeowners must deal with. Considering that, there are ways to fix problems caused by low spots. Many of the previously mentioned low spot fixes can be accomplished quickly by having gravel delivered to your home. In addition, these experts can help inform you of how and when to use drainage gravel. This helps to drastically cut down the time and effort needed to fix low spots in your yard.
