Depending on where you live in Australia, flooding may or may not be a problem for you. However, if it tends to rain more often than not, you might find you need to get creative with your landscaping options. Failure to take care of flooding and water flow can result in a soggy yard that you use less than you would like.
Check out this helpful advice, we put together with Wild Realtor, below
Locate the Problem
Before you go and buy everything you need for your landscaping task, find out why and how you have a problem with flooding in the first place. Typically, flooding occurs when the earth can’t absorb any more water, with nowhere to drain. It then moves to the lowest point in your property – the place where you need to install drainage. Sometimes, flooding can occur with heavy rain in a short space of time. It falls quicker than your soil can absorb it.
Find Out if Your Property is Prone
Flooding can be a once-off occurrence, or your property could be prone to it. Common signs your property is likely to flood are include a sloping lawn, stains around your home’s cladding, a missing top gutter system, and water pooling on your driveway.
Divert Water
When you begin to alter your landscaping, think about where water typically floods and take action. The last thing you want is for it to end up right in the area you’ve just turned into a barbecue nook! Install a spouting system that helps to divert the water away from your house. You may also like to include downspout extenders to draw it away.
Use It To Your Advantage
Does your property flood in the same place all the time? If you can’t fix it, work with it. Create a rain garden in this area. Add flood-proof plants, dig out the turf, install an overflow and berm, and add mulch with native grasses. Before you know it, your previously-flooded lawn is a beautiful rain garden that looks the part.
Be Ready for It
If you can’t beat it, be ready for it. Alongside putting excellent drainage systems in place during landscaping, prepare yourself for the onslaught of water when bad weather arrives. Install rain barrels which you can then use for watering your garden in dry conditions, and add more plants to your garden that enjoy the wet conditions. Finally, add mulch to existing plants to stop them from floating away on overly-wet days!
Being smart with your landscaping decisions can make all the difference to how you deal with flooding on your property. Consult a landscaping expert before you get to work.
