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stuart_fraser47

North facing garden on clay soil

Stuart Fraser
7 months ago

I've just extended the rear of my property into our North facing back garden. Our soil is heavy clay and the rear of the house is always really wet. It's not clear if the water is coming from above or above and below, but the rear of the house is never dry.


What would be the best possible rear paving / decking / something else solution to help manage the drainage on my site and give me a usable garden?


Thanks, Stuart

Comments (3)

  • Sonia
    7 months ago

    You can improve clay soil by adding good quality topsoil and grit by digging it in. One bonus of clay is it is nutritious to plants. The Royal Horticultural Society has lots of info on improving clay soil on their website which may be of interest to you. www.rhs.org.uk.

    Stuart Fraser thanked Sonia
  • PRO
    The Rooted Concept Garden Designs
    7 months ago

    Hi Stuart,

    When you say 'rear of the house is always wet' do you mean inside your new extension or the grounds of your garden?

    In my professional opinion, heavy clay soil in shade (North facing) is enough to cause wet grounds. In addition to this, the fact that you had a rear extension done recently might have increased this problem even more due to ground compression (machinery and high footfall during the works) - I see this very frequently. As Sonia pointed out, the RHS has a lot of tips on how to condition clay soil.In your case, incorporating long compost (visible straw) would not only condition the soil, but also help to aerate it and decompact it. When I work with heavy clay gardens, I usually do a combination of selecting plants that can cope with such soil (they do exist, and in your case, they would have to cope with shade as well) to go on the ground with placing in raised beds where I have more freedom on the plant selection (as they bypass the drainage problem). In terms of the paved areas, the preparation and sub bases need to be well done for your type of soil, and I would also focus on permeable paving as much as possible to put less drainage preassure on the beds.

    I would be very happy to help you with this with an online based design service (or in person depending on where you live). Please have a look at my website and get in touch if interested.

    www.therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk

    All the best,

    Deborah

    deborahbiasoli@gmail.com

    Stuart Fraser thanked The Rooted Concept Garden Designs
  • Stuart Fraser
    Original Author
    7 months ago
    last modified: 7 months ago

    Thank you (both) for your well thought out responses. I agree that compaction may be a major contributor to our problems after the building works. The garden receives very heavy footfall and so compaction and moisture are a major problem close to the house. Even in the height of summer, the ground at the back of the house remains muddy and wet.


    My feeling is that I need to manage drainage on site as much as possible (the ground is on a slope across the garden) and possibly create a composite deck across the back of the house to minimise footfall, coupled with a broad path along one side of the lawn or down the middle.


    Best wishes,


    Stuart

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