Waterlogged lawn

floyd

Something like a dwarf eucalyptus would work (large parts of San Diego were swamps before they planted eucalyptus trees to dry it out). Have you tried using a tine to punch holes in the soil? Sometimes if the soil is compacted the water cant drain freely so it pools which kills the grass so its a catch 22. Canada green grass seed is very resilient to most adverse weather so that might help to get it started.
Dwarf willow trees are also available that will grow to approx 6 feet tall, they are called Salix caprea 'Kilmarnock'

lolly5648

Thanks floyd for your advice: yes we have aerated the lawn, which didnt do much. I didnt know about a dwarf eucalyptus will have a look at that and also for the Salix caprea Kilmarnock which sounds interesting.

I have thought about the Canada green seed but havent found anyone who has used it so am not sure about the results - you can't always believe the ads!

floyd

We have had some luck with Canada green in some shady spots that get very wet so it might work fingers crossed

vader1_2

Hey there lolly 5648, I too suffer from a very wet lawn. My local garden centre recommended the Salix variety of trees to try and ease this problem.
I am currently in the process of trying to raise the level of my lawn. Most of the year my garden is v.wet. I have put some decking down which I know will lose eliminate some of the lawn but at least I will be able to use that part of the garden during the wetter months.
My sympathies are with you.

lolly5648

Thanks vader1, our lawn has already been raised and sadly that didnt help. I am off to the garden centre this week to look at trees.

Good luck with your decking

Lord_Gardener

lolly5648 wrote: »

Our lawn gets very waterlogged (something to do with the local stables diverting a stream) and is mostly moss. We scarify and put down more seed each year but never have a good lawn.

A couple of neighbours have willow trees which seem to make their lawns drier but our garden is only 50' long so the roots could damage the house.

Are there such things as dwarf willows or other plants that would soak up the water?

I have a client who called me in to solve a similar problem. We discussed putting in drainage - which will improve the waterlogged problem - but a cheaper option was found! I discovered that a local farmer had diverted a water course to improve the quality of his 'land' when converting from pasture to crop growing in an adjacent field. This caused the water to flood my clients garden! The farmer being unreasonable was threatened with court action and soon unblocked the dam. My clients lawn has since returned to a lush green lawn after a couple of years. NB the farmer finally put in drainage to solve his problem - he should have done this first time round! My advice is to check out the stables before spending any money.

lolly5648

Thanks Lord Gardener. This was done about 5-6 years ago when the council gave permission for the stables to expand. A lot of people complained to the council but nothing happened. The stables owner denied having done anything to the water course and by the time the council got round to investigating they said there was no proof - Barnet council are not known for fighting individual's rights.

paulsm

help , I sewd? a new lawn last summer , previously it was gravel with a plastic sheet under , the grass did well in taking and was lovely until the rains thiswinter now the grass is a bit yellowy and parts of the lawn are quite wet , the soil should be sandy underneath as I live near the sea so I dont think it is clay , I have tried spiking it with a lawn airer but it is still quite wet in places , any ideas?

Rummer

Sorry not much help from me but I would be interested to hear suggestions as my front lawn frequently floods!

tanith

Just a thought but how close to the sea do you live? My sister in Wales used to get flooded in low lying parts of her land when it was a high tide... the water would seep up from below even though she was a good 1/4 mile from the sea.. if it is that could explain the yellowing grass.. ask your neighbours if you are not sure about it they will know if they have lived there long...