Swamp

Hi Guys - this is my first post & I need help please

My lawn slopes and after rain, it's the Sahara at one end and Florida Swamps at the other. I paid proffessionals to install a drainage tube and gravel etc but it's still quite bad.
I seem to remember being told (ages ago) that I need to take a fork, poke it to the hilt, wriggle it until the holes are the size of my fingers and fill them with rough sand.
Is this right?
Will it help?
If so - How far apart should I make them?
Is there any particular time of year I should do it?

PLEASE be gentle with me :ntwrth:and don't start getting technical as I'm very new to all this green stuff (but starting to enjoy it!):gnthb:

Cheers
Paul

 

Thanks Loofah.
Anyone else got any ideas please?

 

Take advantage of it being swampy and damp and plant the sort of plants that like those conditions?

 

Welcome Paul.

I know it's a hassle, (having already had your garden dug up), but you're clearly not satisfied and are going to be frustrated by it for as long as you live there, so - my first action would be to contact the company that carried out the work, tell them it's not satisfactory and that either they come back to put it right, or I'd be having remedial work done and sending them the bill. If you've paid good money to have a drainage system installed and it isn't draining properly then there's something wrong - presumably it was thoroughly tested it before they left?

If you are prepared to put up with it, you could plant to suit the conditions as has already been suggested, alternatively you could buy a lawn aerator tool or, if you've a large area, you can also hire them from places like HSS http://www.hss.com/?p=62313. It'll cost you about £15 for a weekend or around £25 for a week.

 

I would like sussexgardener says, make a feature of the swamp end. It would encourage lots of wildlife into the garden.

If your garden doesn't have many plants, and just grass, I would suggest plant things that are described as bog plants, things like gunnera.

I'm guessing that you are on a clay soil, then I would add course sand/grit, and it would help with the drainage.

Where as putting drainage into the garden is the only option in some cases, the water still needs to go somewhere, which is often a problem, and can cause another problem somewhere else.
A photo or two would be an idea, then we can get a grasp on the aspect of the land, etc.
Hope this Helps!

 

If the lawn/swamp is at the bottom of a slope, it is possible that there is nowhere lower for water to drain. In which case, the making a feature out of it idea seems the best plan, and gunnera will certainly do the job.

 

You guys are great! :yho:
Thanks for the photo suggestion.
I suppose that with there being a patio and one side and flags running the full length of the lawn's "swamp" end, the water has nowhere to go.:(
The drainage tubes (should) flow through a hole beneath a manhole cover that is convieniently placed in a corner (under the bushes in the photo).
If you're all not getting too bored :ywn: is there anything anyone can add please?
Paul Haslam

 

Yes, add a few interesting plants that thrive in water logged soil!

 

I'm guessing the last photo is taken from the dry end of the garden. I would agree with sussexgardener, and plant some bog type plants. I would create a bed to the side of the wall of the raised patio area, shown in photo two. I'd start off small, but with the intention to bring it along the front of the path that runs around the house, in years to come.

Plants that I would consider, I'm guessing from the photos, you don't get great amounts of sun in the garden, so I'd look towards shady/semi-shady plants when I was selecting. Have a look here its a nursery that I found by doing a quick google, which seem to give an idea on what can be used. You can take ideas from there and make a planting plan to suit your own needs. I would say that you need to try and inject colour into that space, and that can be done by either leaf colour/shape or by flowers.

Hope this Helps!

 

Cheers Matesk-l
Can't wait for it to stop raining so I can follow your suggestions.:thmb:

 

Hi there, you say that there is a manhole, is this on top of a soak away? Did the contractors dig a soak away... when You take the top off, has the manhole got water in it, when it rains, can you see water running into the manhole from to underground drainage pipes. It has not rained that much this summer (as far a I know), has the lower area been a swamp all year. Are you in a Swampy area, i.e, is there a swamp next door to your garden.

My B in Law dug up his garden and installed his own plastic drainage pipes and ducted them into a ready dug drainage ditch at the back of his garden...it worked really well.

If it is really not working right, I would at least call the firm back again and at least explain the problem to them.

Cheers

 

Thanks for all the advice but in the end, I've decided to become an M.P. - that way, I can simply get someone to build a moat, and have the tax payer settle the bill :hehe:

 

Is it possible that the manhole is serving no purpose, due to being completely blocked (or the pipes from it being blocked). Many round our way are blocked (because our council that is happy to take our tax money off us is less happy about actually spending it on public stuff). If we get a good downpour round here the roads immediately flood, and you will see the occassional fountain where water is reaching a drain cover where the drain is blocked further downstream, so the torrent of water has no water to go but back up and out of the drain.