Drainage solution: Raingarden

This tiny back yard had a drainage problem that caused water to pool between the hot tub and the leyland cypress hedge. We could not regrade to drain the water to the front yard without killing trees. The owner, who traveled a lot, did not want a pump that might fail while she was out of town. Our solution was to create a " rain garden " a.k.a. " bioswale " ... a place where water would collect then slowly percolate into the subsoil. A simple explanation would be that we excavated the area deeper then filled it with gravel and plants. In actuality, everything was very carefully planned including the choice of plant material so that we had plants that could survive the conditions varying from very wet to sometimes dry. The client loved that the plants chosen were native, sustainable, flowering and also brought in lots of song birds, hummingbirds and butterflies to enliven the garden. This solution has been proven thru 8 years of unpredictable Atlanta weather. Photographer: Danna Cain, Home & Garden Design, Inc.