Draiange solution in a small garden

Posts

• raisingirl Posts: 7,093

  May 2021

  I've seen worse 
  
  If it was me, I'd abandon the lawn idea but if you're determined to have a lawn then you're going to have to work hard for a few years to improve the soil in the surrounding beds to take the run off better. French drains are only helpful if there's somewhere to discharge them. Soakaways don't work if the soil doesn't soak away - as you've found.
  
  I'd raise the beds in the greenhouse much higher. Ideally, as I said, raise the beds in the garden and create semi-permeable paths with a surface you can walk on when it's wet and don't bother with a lawn. If you must have a lawn, then possibly mound the beds slightly and plant things that don't mind sitting with wet feet all winter, but that's going to be harder to maintain. if you've room to plant a few trees and large shrubs, then, in the long run, they will help open out the subsoil

  Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
  
  “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 

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• Greenbird Posts: 237

  May 2021 edited May 2021

  One of the few areas I feel qualified to speak on, due to owning several new build houses.
  
  Developers usually offer a 'snagging' package for up to 2 years after purchase. This includes garden. If you check with neighbors regarding drainage issue in their gardens, you could collectively kick up enough fuss for the developer to sort it out if they're still on site. It happened on my estate (unfortunately, I had already done it myself by that point) and the gardens had far worse drainage issue than yours.
  
  This would involve digging out a lot of the clay, improving drainage and replacing with purchased top soil. It's a messy, stressful and expensive job. I hired a mini digger for approx. £250 for the weekend, and filled 3 skips. Bulk bags of top soil don't go far either, so that worked out considerably more.
  
  I see you've already planted a decent amount of plants that are looking healthy, plus got your greenhouse up, so digging up your garden is likely a non starter (it's shame you didn't notice the issue whilst you still had a blank canvas)
  
  Second method I've found success with, is improving the soil with a large amount of organic matter. I personally find that this does two things, improves soil structure and encourages soil organisms to get to work on all that lifeless, compact clay the developers had left me with. I'll hazard a guess that you hardly saw an earthworm when you first started planting, a population increase would likely coincide with improved soil and drainage (it always has for me). Not that earthworms are singlehandedly working the clay, but they'd be a visible representation of the millions of organisms beneath the soil, bouncing back and doing their job. 
  
  I agree with planting shrubs and trees so their roots open the soil, in this regard - for people with heavy clay soil, dandelions on our lawns, with their long tap roots are our friends. They can be easily managed later.
  
  To improve soil quality, I collected several bins worth of horse manure from a family members paddock, bulk bags of the cheapest bark chip and bulk bags of compost. I thoroughly dug into the soil, then continued to mulch regularly after (especially during the summer else the clay goes rock solid). A year later the soil was much better and the draining issues had gone. 
  
  You may have some tell you to add sand. I'd normally very hesitant to go down that route, but adding sand/grit to the area around your greenhouse may be something worth exploring.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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