Waterlogged soil borders, newly landscaped garden

Hi Everyone

I am new to this forum and would value some advice. Ive set the scene of my query below but if you just want to jump to the issue I’m having please go to the Capital letters, the MAIN ISSUE

We moved into a small new build estate with a medium size garden 18 months ago. We did nothing for 12 months to get a feel for the aspect and then took the plunge and got someone in to do the garden. neither of us are now in good health to be able to attempt the work needed.

We noticed that water tended to lay to the one side of the garden and that the lawn dried out in the middle. there were lots of crane fly larvae so some of the issues may have been this. A lot of neighbours have had lawn problems and some on the lower part of the site have had water logging. it’s a semi rural area with a high water table I think there was reference to aquifier area in the planning notes.

We chose to put a pathway where most of the water pooled and had the new lawn area raised on several inches of top soil. The new lawn appears to be ok at the moment but it’s early days, we had 2, 3 and 4 foot borders dug out and top soil put in to a foot, the new top soil looked very good. the guys doing the job said the existing soil was pretty compacted when they were digging out the borders, the top layers didn’t seem too bad so that was a surprise to us.

THE MAIN ISSUE, The job is finished and I’m looking forward to planting in the spring, however, in the last 2 weeks with all the rain in the uk the borders, which are all filled with 12 inches of new topsoil currently have no plants in, appear to be water logging, water is pooling on the top. I hoed the top layers today and some areas are sticky and muddy.

I’m wondering if adding compost or manure will help with drainage or if the compacted soil below top soil is the issue and we should probably had gone with raised beds?

I know the weather has been excessively wet and rainfall heavy but I’m now wondering if we need to do something now so that we can improve? The soil layers when the landscaper guys dug down showed a considerable amount of sand is in there too but further down. No doubt this is builders sand and will present other issues but one thing at a time there was no builders rubble as the site was a field for cattle before but I’m guessing all the compaction is from the building work.

The ‘original’ soil does not have clay, we live on a slight slope but in the middle of the slope so we aren’t at the end of a ‘run’ for water to pool so to speak.

Any advice gratefully received and apologies for the essay

 

Welcome to the forum @Foxglove58 !

I have never had to deal with flooding but I am sure someone else here qith experience will pop on to help you.

 

Thank you CanadianLori, I hope so, just not sure what to do for the best

 

Welcome to the forum @Foxglove58

Is it possible to add a picture of your garden to you reply, just so that we can see what the area looks like?

 

I'd dig a hole, a foot deep and see how long it takes to fill up, if it doesn't fill up; fill it with water and see how long it takes to drain.
It would really help to have your location in this case.
Are you towards the bottom of a valley? With chalk hills around? Maybe south of a line from the Humber to the Severn Estuary.

 

As the landscapers dug out borders from compacted soil, it sounds as though they created 'pits' filled with good soil. These are now filling up with rainwater which is having difficulty escaping. I know this scenario well, as if I don't dig a slit trench on the lower side of a planting hole, I get the same problem. Would it be possible to get them back to arrange some sort of drainage trench at the lowest point of each border?

 

Hi everyone
Thank you for your replies, we are in Shropshire, it’s very hilly around but to my knowledge no chalk, the water does very slowly seem to run away. I’m just a bit nervous about planting and then losing them to waterlogged roots, trying to plan ahead to improve the soil if that’s what would help if you know what I mean.

I don’t have a picture at the moment but will sort one out.
My hubby did dig a hole, I don’t think it was too big though but the water didn’t really drain away but we have had rain nearly every day at the moment.

 

Hi Noisette47, that’s a good thought thank you.

 

Hi all, bit later than planned but here are a couple of pics as promised, thanks

 

Is your lawn just as wet and muddy? I presume it is laid on the same soil? If the lawn is okay, perhaps the border just needs some plants to start sucking up the moisture from the soil, to stop it from becoming saturated. We have had a large amount of rain recently and at present, you only have gravity to take the water away.

I'm new to this gardening lark, but I'd dig in a load of sand ( probably at least 8 to 12 inches deep ) and compost before the winter and then plant in the spring. I live in a heavy clay soil area, which can stay wet and sticky. I added a load of sand and compost and it made a difference.

 

Hi ArmyAirForce, the lawn is holding up ok at the moment, it’s the borders. it might very well be the lack of plants I hadn’t thought of that. I think adding some organic matter to develop over the coming months may help, I think I will hold off with the sand and can add in some grit at the bottom of the planting when I come to it if drainage hasnt improved, but that sounds a common sense approach thank you.

 

As you've had landscaping being done, it's only natural that there will be compaction, and that can be quite severe. It would help to see a bigger area though. If the soil isn't light, sandy stuff, that makes it more difficult to deal with, simply because sandier soil doesn't compact as readily.
However, if it's quite solid, and therefore not draining well, it's also likely to be more clay based, which is better for most plants, but needs some amending first. If you fork it over a bit to loosen it up first, then add loads of organic matter - ie rotted manure, compost, leaf mould etc, that will do the job, and you'd be able to plant in spring. The manure in particular, is the best addition. If you still had problems at a later date with drainage, it would suggest something else lower down is causing it, and that can be a variety of things.
Don't bother with grit or sand - the sand would need to be the right sort anyway because the wrong type will make the problem worse, and in any case - you'd need tons of either of them to make any appreciable difference, even in a small area. That's fine if you have very deep pockets, but organic matter will improve the soil all the time, and benefit plants far more anyway.
It will also depend on what you intend to plant as to how quickly you can get them into the borders/beds. Anything woody - ie trees, shrubs or hedging, will cope more readily with heavier soil, but if you want perennials or annuals, the drianage and soil structure is more important, so they'd be better planted in later spring or even summer. It also depends on the size of the plant too. Small ones will be too vulnerable to plant over late winter/early spring, whereas mature ones in larger pots will be easier to establish.
Once the soil is in decent shape, the moisture levels will reduce as the plants take it up, and again, the woodier plants will absorb more. Evergreens can help in wetter conditions because the rain doesn't get in so easily, but that can be a negative in much drier areas.
Then it's a case of seeing what thrives, and that mainly depends on your general climate and conditions.

 

Thanks very much Fairy Girl, plenty of good advice from everyone.