Garden Design - Water and Drainage - Introduction

Water and Drainage

It’s impossible to read a seed catalog, garden magazine or book about plants without encountering the subject of drainage. It is always a critical element that affects how a plant adjusts to the place it is grown. The definition of drainage is the movement of water through the soil. Water moving quickly through the soil means that drainage is good or fast. This type of soil is referred to as well-drained. When water moves very slowly, drainage is poor.

This doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden in a poorly drained area. But your choices of plants will have to be limited to species that grow well in in wet soil conditions. There are ways to improve drainage (which we will discuss in further entries). When the soil is very fast-draining and sandy in arid desert regions, one can still support a variety of plants. But again, you must choose plants that adapt to low levels of soil moisture. We will go further into this are as well in the following articles:



Improving Poor Drainage, leveling out low-lying areas, amending tight clay soil, using raised beds, contouring the site, creating a dry creek bed, making a bog garden, installing a French drain, how to test for drainage, and the effects of poor drainage.

At Leaves and Petals we have plants to satisfy both dry/arid and wet conditions. Visit us and check out our vast assortment.

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