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The lawn at the front of my house slopes down to where it meets with my neighbours half. Running down one side of it and in front of the garage is a border.

In one of the photos you can see the end of border. The border at this end is really wet and boggy and it stinks when it's particularly wet. Where the border and the grass meet, the grass is incredibly wet and boggy.

Does anyone have any advice to improve the drainage of both? I would also like to put some plants in the border but I'm not sure what would thrive in this wet area.

For info, it gets sun from midday and we're in the north of England so it's typically rainy.

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Here is a photo from the road to show the drop. enter image description here

Danny
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  • I live in the UK, so I know you get a fair bit of rain up in the north compared to here, but its not torrential year round. How wet is this area year round? Does it ever dry out? Because I'm just wondering if there's a leak in the sewer or water supply or drains somewhere that's causing a problem... where's the sewer run? Any blocked gutters or down pipes anywhere overflowing? Is your house a new build? – Bamboo Sep 17 '17 at 19:19
  • I agree with Bamboo. I would get in touch with the city sewer department to find a way to check the pipes. Standing water with lots of organic matter will stink with the anaerobic decomposition. I'd like to know the slopes...is it lower on the other side of the drive? That water needs to drain somewhere regardless where it is coming from. They have nifty machines to auger beneath your drive to put a drain under the driveway. Looks new and driveways become dams without forethought and knowledge by your contractor. – stormy Sep 17 '17 at 19:55
  • Just an aside; your lawn is being scalped when the wheels are in those ruts. Always change your direction of mowing. Diagonals work well. After you fix this problem we can talk about your lawn if you want...or just look up all the lawn questions on our site. We have a TON of information...don't cut any lower than 3 inches, 3.5 is best. – stormy Sep 17 '17 at 20:00
  • If you could make a sketch of your front yard and send at least 3 or 4 elevations done with a transit I could definitely help far better. My first inclination is the install of the driveway becoming a dam. Your lawn nor any bed will ever be healthy until this drainage issue is solved. Could you do one more thing for both of us? Please call your city's sewer facility (which you should anyway) and ask if they make mulch from human poo? Fantastic stuff. You could simply dump this on your beds, forget about pulling weeds and absolutely wonderful for soil and weeds and plants! Gorgeous. – stormy Sep 17 '17 at 22:42
  • ...does not smell, in fact, smells wonderful, totally different chemistry after decomposition using sawdust. If clients didn't want to use this I told them to find someone else I am not kidding! Was never a problem. Needs to be reapplied every other year but your landscape will thank you!! Let me know, okay? I have found it is not a normal product yet it is fantastic for our landscapes. Forget bark chips!! I am concerned about what they are doing to dispose of our poo otherwise. What I've found is not good...So nice to be able to give back?! – stormy Sep 17 '17 at 22:46
  • The ground never really dries out unless we have a long spell of warm weather. I believe the drains/sewer does run under this part of the garden toward the block paved road you can see in one of the pictures. – Danny Sep 18 '17 at 10:29
  • @stormy the ruts in the grass are where the mower is sinking into it, they 'puff' back up after an hour or so - it doesn't matter on the direction of cut, the ruts are created at that end of the garden simply because the grass is so wet and boggy. – Danny Sep 18 '17 at 10:31
  • Welp, too high on the other side of the driveway. I'll go make an answer...time for a 'dry well'. How much of your lawn around that boggy corner is wet? Do get in touch with the utility people FIRST. I'll go and explain the dry well in my answer. – stormy Sep 18 '17 at 20:07
  • Could you send a larger picture of that area, perhaps one from the road as well? A dry well is cheap and easy to do. How much of your lawn is soaked? Do you have automatic irrigation? Turn it off if you do and that might be the problem as well, a broken head or pipe? How long have you noticed this? Was it always like this? Are you using a hydrostatic mower? A regular home owner mower or a riding mower? When you have slopes it is easier to follow contours. Take that mower, on a dry day, and do diagonals or even straight up. This sogginess must be continuous for your area! – stormy Sep 18 '17 at 20:22
  • ...I apologize, I go off on tangents and can not help myself. How thick is your thatch? Do you bag your clippings? Do you core aerate once per year? Fertilizer, pH test of soil then lime if necessary? Lots of water usually means a low pH. You look like you live in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle here in the states! Lovely driveway! Pavers are perfect. Pressure washer every other year. That drain in your driveway...is that a low spot or high? Careful to not allow your back wheels to spin on the driveway or the grass for that matter when you do diagonals and perpendiculars. – stormy Sep 18 '17 at 20:27
  • ...and your lawns lines are wonderfully straight... – stormy Sep 18 '17 at 20:29
  • The grass and border is boggy from about halfway down the garage a d about halfway to the road. Are you able to access this link for larger photos? https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dod1ioXuNJRDfnzN2 thatch isn't so bad, mainly moss. The drain is roughly halfway up the road. Clippings are bagged and not cored, ever. – Danny Sep 18 '17 at 21:33
  • Good to collect clippings. Cores I am talking about aeration where you pull plugs of sod and soil out of the lawn, leaving these plugs right where they fell. Once per year. Easiest chore of all lawn chores. Rent with your neighbors...do as many passes as possible, once per year. What are you using for fertilizer? 4X per season is normal for synthetic brands, 2 to 3 times for the organic extended release fertilizers. Balanced and formulated for the '4' seasons of spring, summer and fall. Check out and give me info on the questions, a photo or two more so that I am better able to tell... – stormy Sep 19 '17 at 02:03
  • ...where to put that dry well and possibly 'french' drains. That corner is the soggiest point of all on your property and your neighbor's? Have you called the city utility department? Do you have automated irrigation? – stormy Sep 19 '17 at 02:05

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