Improve drainage + lawn rescue needed

Hi guys, Im a beginner gardener and new around here,

I have a issue in my back garden which suffers from poor drainage due to clay soil.

The lawn is always wet and the soil compacts / damages when you walk on it as you can see, it often gets water logged towards the bottom and stays like that for days in wet weather, not waterlogging on the actual raised beds, but the lawn is raised thus leaving a very thin border all the way around which has some remaining gravel, you cant see it very well in the pic but I have used a half moon edger to re-edge it since the pic was taken, its that bottom end of the thin strip around the lawn which gets water logged, that wall on the bottom of the raised bed doesnt help with the drainage either as the water has no where to go.

Since the pic I have given that very thin strip of border all the way around the lawn a good clean, by removing all the sticky muddy clay yesterday, which wasn't allowing the water to drain and was just floating over it and accumulating at the bottom, I have also airated the entire lawn by spiking deep holes in it, was very difficult to do as it has never been spiked by myself and the clay was hard to work into with the fork..

Now the help I need is, shall I fill these holes with very sharp sand ? Also the thin strip all the way around the lawn, shall i fill this with sharp sand too along with more gravel?

Also I have no idea what that is in the bottom corner where the wood strips are, is that a sink hole?, I had a peep and is full of stones, I wonder if that is some sort of a gutter which may be blocked with leaves / clay soil.. ? There are two holes with a circular 'plastic tube thing' with a diameter of approx 8cm that lead into it but no idea what purpose this all serves..

I moved into this house few years ago and the problem has been getting worse every year..

Im very concerned now as the bottom end of the lawn is also water logging.

I improved the drainage slighly on the raised borders by adding plenty of manure and compost, to allow me to plant my shrubs, however this is a more serious issue which I need as much help with as possible.

Thanks !

ps - I will post another pic tomorrow showing you how it gets waterlogged, dont have it to hand right now.

 

sorry pic here, waterlogged pic tomorrow

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner Geek2Garden. Your garden is hemmed in on all sides by concrete which isn't going to help your water situation especially as your soil is clay. If you can remove at least one of the walls round your lawn it may help with drainage. It sound as if someone has put some sort of drainage in - in the past to alleviate the problem, the possible sink hole. The pipes leading to it may run across the garden to act as drainage.

I'm not an expert on these sort of issues, but there are other threads here in the 'Lawns' section that deal with the issues you have and will be of some help. Also take a look at Mr. Grinch's thread in 'Garden Projects' who has exactly the same problem, you can follow how he's dealing with it.

Meanwhile yes, getting some sand or grit into the lawn will help. Also do the same with your borders, it will help to open up the soil. It's a long time since I've gardened on clay and my present garden has the opposite problem, it's sandy so doesn't hold any nutrients or water. Unfortunately we have to battle against the odds with the soil we have and try to improve it over time. Good luck!

 

The neightbour opposite my garden suggests there may be a drain under them wooden strips which could have failed as his garden area in that corner is also not draining water.. something I wonder if true, will need to get a drain specialist to look at this ?

Also the fence which splits our gardens doesnt have any fence footing and since those 3 panels of fencing that split us need replacing, he is suggesting putting fence footing in, concrete in soil then fence sitting on top of it, like the side of my garden..current situation is the fence sits on the soil line , I wonder why the people who designed the garden in this way didnt put the footings in, is it so water from the raised bed drains freely?? Will footings mean my bed on the bottom will also get water logged as its creating a cage ? Getting stressed and my lack of knowledge doesn't help

Oh you cant tell by the pic but my lawn is not level, it slopes down on a angle,

 

Hello and welcome.

From the picture, it looks like your on a slight slope, but your house is not at the bottom of the hill, which is good. Does that sound about right?

I'm guessing now, but I bet the thing under the wooden planks in the corner was put there by a previous owner, and was an attempt to solve this very problem, by providing somewhere for water running down into your garden to go to.

You mentioned an 8 cm pipe in there. Can you tell from the direction of the end of the pipe which way it is likely to be heading? Could it be heading straight under your lawn, being a 'field drain' (perforated pipe buried under the ground to allow water to escape). If so, then very likely it is blocked. They only last a few years before they bung up with sediment and have to be dug up and cleaned or replaced.

Personally, on such a small area, I wouldn't bother with anything so elaborate. I'd just knock out a brick from the retaining wall at the bottom corner, so that the wall is not holding water in. Then seeing as the lawn is seriously struggling anyway, I'd just pour half a tonne of sharp sand/grit on top of it, even it all off, then wait to see if any of the existing grass climbs through or not. Then I'd just sow over it.

I must throw in a disclaimer here though. I'm not a lawn expert. I've recovered a couple of knackered lawns, and redone one from scratch, all successfully, but my ways are not exactly orthodox.