This corner on our drive is a slight slope and gets badly washed away during the rains as most of the water that falls off the roof rolls down the hill from the front and 2 sides of the house.
I re-enforced the ground with some termite soil but after 1 rain you can see the extent of the erosion:
2 inches deep at the deepest point
6 inches wide at the widest point.
So, I started working out how to divert the water from flowing down this slope.
Step One: Observation – where is the water coming from.
This water that flows down the slope is actually the result of an overflowing gutter and can be prevented by getting up a ladder and unblocking the gutter.
This water that comes from the far side and the front of the house is the water that I will divert to a rain garden on the front lawn.
“Digging in the rain, just digging in the rain…….!” Digging a trench to divert the rain to the lawn.
I used the soil that I dug out to create a berm (small wall) to hold the water to allow it to sink into the ground instead of flowing away.
That was todays work, next up is to get a metal grid made to cover the drain so that cars can drive over it. Then I’ll dig the rain garden a bit deeper and get planting. Now, what to plant?!! Bananas, maybe?! Bit of research needed…….
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This is interesting! I see you are into lots of water management already. well done! Banana is good, spinach, water leaf and other vegetables may also do well in that sort of habitat
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Hi Bukola, thank you so much for your tips! I have planted some lemongrass and will add a banana tree tomorrow as I have one here. I’ll look out for the other plants you mention – although I will have to fence the rain garden first so the wandering goats don’t eat them all!! Thanks so much, Katharine
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