Help needed! Boggy Garden

[rootsandwings89]

We bought a house 2 years ago, the garden is very big and slopes down away from the house. We thought it was a good thing with 2 children and a dog.

However.

The mud is very clay-like and every winter has surface water (this showed as very unlikely in the surveys). The more it is used in the summer, the worst it seems to be in the winter - we’re talking a good third of the garden being under water and can’t let the dog out because it’s so boggy. In the summer it’s fine. I've attached a photo with the worst parts highlighted.

We are desperate to improve the garden but are also trying to pay off debt and save to move house in a few years.

Has anyone else been in a similar position? Any tip or advice what to do would be really appreciated!

The more it is used in the summer, the worst it seems to be in the winter because the clay soil is being compacted so water can’t get through it.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/waterlogging

Ours was the same and we built a French drain all down one edge it worked a treat. No issues in the 3 years since

Although this is hated on MN many people around us have fake grass, or slabs/gravel in their gardens as the houses are built on bog land. It's that or never use the garden for the reasons you describe. Most try improving the drainage first, but it makes no discernable difference.
Despite the vitriol that not having turf receives on here, there are other ways to support nature, planting bushes, plants and trees for example.

Thank you. Can I ask if building a French drain was very expensive? And how long did it take?

We are so sick of the garden we would definitely consider turf (fake grass) if it's easier/cheaper than sorting draining, but would it still not flood with the ground being hard to drain underneath? Or do you mean do both?

Fake grass is absolutely awful for nature. There is no way to 'support nature' that makes up for buying and laying plastic grass.

Building it was really easy (straightforward) but hard (digging) we did it ourselves.
I think we spent about £300 on materials?

We wouldn't have done fake grass as we hate it and suspected it would have flooded just the same. None of our neighbour's have gone for it as well thought the problem was the slight slope and boggy clay soil so pointless spending £££ on astroturf

We did it over a weekend

Not if the ground underneath is prepared properly. Drainage pits/trenches are dug, then sand laid, followed by hard-core and finally the 'grass' on top.

I think that's an extreme viewpoint. All I was saying is that there are ways to support nature if a garden doesn't have natural turf (not necessarily fake grass).
It's very easy to judge others' choices when you aren't faced with the same dilemma yourself (to use your garden or just look at it from inside the house).

One of the best things to improve soil structure and drainage is grass and shrubs.

People covering swathes of land in plastic and concrete are causing water issues.

😂😂😂 at that being an “extreme” viewpoint.

OP plant some shrubs and mix in loam soil. We have clay soil but lots of shrubs and trees means the soil isn’t as compacted. We never have issues with the lawn water logging.

This. The only house on our row with issues is the astroturfed one. The rest of us have plants and shrubs and no issues despite the soil being so clay heavy, the area is famous for brick making.

I was referring to the statement,'There's no way to 'support nature' that makes up for buying and laying plastic grass', which suggests having fake grass is an irredeemable sin.

OP asked for suggestions, I gave a couple of ideas based on what people around us have done. She's free to choose, or continue to live with a boggy garden the family can't use, or the resulting manky kids, pets and house.

Well put me in the extreme camp then as I agree with Lightswerve. I’d go further and say astroturf should be banned in domestic gardens for the effects it has on wildlife and water run off.

I do think AstroTurf will be banned. I think as it's gaining in popularity through the years and the effects of people starting to replace and bin their old plastic (I think it lasts a decade or so?) will make it more obvious how terrible it is.

OP if I was you I'd get professional advice on improving your soil - incorporating more organic matter and clever planting will really help. You'd be solving the problem rather than patching it and get a garden you love.

Agree that astroturf will likely make the problem worse, even with drainage.

Add as much drainage as you can - like one poster said above, you can read up, watch YouTube and DIY to save on costs (and will probably do a better job!).

Add a good mix of shrubs to improve drainage, dig really deep when planting and add lots of gravel before they go in. Their roots will take up water in winter, although bear in mind most go dormant so there's always a couple of months where plants/trees are taking up less water.

Add some paths - again you can do this yourself - in areas where footfall is heavy. This will reduce people walking on other parts of the lawn, in turn reducing the chance of soil being compacted in those areas.

Aerate the soil every autumn, you can do this by walking around with spiked shoes! Basically, making little holes all over the surface of the lawn to aid drainage / stop the ground getting so compacted.

Try growing a mixed lawn: encourage moss, clover, wildflowers and other non-grassy plants (that you can still mow), as the mix of plants stops grass forming big, impenetrable 'mats' of roots underneath the surface, which isn't great for drainage. It's harder to do on clay soil but any diversity in your lawn is a good thing. Again, can be done entirely DIY (as I did mine this way!). Lots of free advice and videos on how to do this (can be done in small sections, you don't have to dig up your whole lawn in one go).

Consider growing seasonal flowers in the lawn itself, like snowdrops, primrose, daffs, crocus etc. They tolerate wet, shady lawns and more importantly grow in winter - so will take up some water, and provide a bit of colour. If you leave their leaves to die back in spring you can mow as normal the rest of the year.

Growing them either side of your new 'paths' also means people will more likely stick to the paths in winter months and not trample/compact the soil, so it's a win-win.

Good luck - I had a shady, boggy garden for years so feel your pain :)

Although this is hated on MN I keep seeing this as if it’s a complete demolishing of whatever view is being put forward, as if MN is an odd subgroup of people with batshit views. Makes me wonder why people saying such things want to be on MN in the first place.

There are good reasons, both ecological and practical, for the majority of the views on this thread being against astroturf.