Drainage ditch landscaping ideas are a must for you to explore if you are concerned about your garden during the rainy season, or you may be afraid that it will get swamped if it rains too heavily and you are searching for ways to rid of this rain problem permanently.
The challenging part is the question of whether you can landscape around a drainage ditch and can you add plants and greenery around it.
To answer this, we have compiled a list of landscape ideas that you can apply to the drainage ditch in your garden to disguise it, decorate it, or even make it a showcase in your garden, so keep reading if you want to know more!
Contents
List of the Best Drainage Ditch Landscape Ideas
You don’t have to worry any further, as we present to you the best drainage ditch landscape ideas:
– Plant Pots
Some great planter ideas that you can add to the creek are planters shaped like animals, critters, or even some characters from a childhood favorite movie. The choices are endless. Imagine having a planter shaped like one of the characters from your go-to Disney movie sitting on the creek bed of the drainage ditch with a little plant in it. Such a dream!
– Decoration
There are unlimited choices and such little space, so the best idea would be to narrow down your ideas on covering a drainage ditch and decide on a theme that matches the rest of your garden.
– Stepping Stone on the Sides
They provide you somewhere to step during the rainy season when you want to water your plants and keep you from getting your clothes and shoes dirty.
There are multiple routes you can take when incorporating these into the rock drainage landscape, you can use flat stone slabs or marble slabs as a stepping stone, or if you have a specific design in mind, you can purchase them from a store.
– Footbridges
Not only are they an adorable addition to your ditch landscape, but they are also great if you have pets like a cat or dog on the property as they can help them cross the ditch more easily.
A footbridge over the drainage ditch in your garden can add that extravagance you might want in your garden. They come in various styles, designs and colors, so you can match them to your garden theme and then add them to your garden accordingly.
– Flowers Beds
You can also add flower beds next to your drainage ditch to add that splash of color and decorate the ditch along the way. These flower beds also help use up some of the water collected by the water drainage system.
– Wall
Rock walls are highly important, especially when water is getting drained from the drainage ditch to the underground. The wall controls the amount of water that enters the ground, as too much direct water at once can cause solid erosion and if it gets redirected towards the road, it can damage the roads as well.
– Stairs
Building stairs from the rock drainage ditch is also a superb idea for those who can maintain it well. It adds to the wow factor of your garden and makes something as ordinary as a drainage ditch, extraordinary.
When making a staircase out of a ditch, the first thing that is required is higher ground, but the disadvantage of that is that then you can’t add gravel for the slope, as it gets pushed down with the water. The best solution is to use natural paving material or use larger stone slabs as steps.
A dry well can be created at the end of the staircase, which is like a large sprinkler that holds the water and slowly releases it for the plants to absorb.
– Lawn Edging
If your garden is on a slope that ends with your lawn, then you might have faced the problem of run-off water ruining your lawn and making it difficult to maintain several times. If it is so, you can make a dry creek bed at the end of the garden with pebbles in the middle and larger stones on the outside which will keep the run-off from flowing to your lawn and ruining the grass.
– Rock Ditch
If you’ve been thinking, about how to make a drainage ditch on my property at a low cost, then this is your answer. This is the cheapest way as it requires almost no effort or labor. Isn’t it best when you can tend to your garden completely on your own?
You will only need a ditch and some sea rocks. You may dig the ditch up on your own using a spade and preferably between two gardens so that the water can collect in them from the sides. This is a method that is used by many people, even farmers because of its convenience and low price.
– Lights
The brighter the garden, the prettier it will look at night, right? You can add garden lights that run on battery around the ditch to add a little more personality to the landscape design and to help make the ditch accessible and visible in the dark. The lights will also help you tend to the ditch at night in case of any emergency.
– French Drains
If your garden or ditch has a lot of standing water after it rains, you might need to start thinking about the possibility of building a french drain, as building them is the same as building a normal drainage ditch in the backyard.
You build a graded trench and line it with filter landscape fabric. Then you fill the basin with pea gravel and surrender it by a permeable drainage pipe. It is then further covered with filter cloth and river rocks.
– Stepping Stone Inside the Drain
This is another cool idea for the drainage system, especially among the front yard drainage ditch landscaping ideas. With this, you can create a walkway where water can collect on the catch basin and the steps will provide a dry area to walk over.
– Water Feature
Turning your ditch into a water fountain is a great idea for a drainage ditch in front of house. It can be great adding to the landscape of the front yard.
The water source is a facility that will make even a gloomy, wet day a little more exciting. The ditch is created in a way that all the water collects in one single spot and when enough water is accumulated, then it is a perfect spot for a fountain.
– Commercial Grates
Commercial grates can be found as simple covers or channel trenches. This comes in most handy if your driveway or yard is on a level with your garden, as they collect the drain water and push it down.
– Landscaping Rocks To Create a Fountain
Who doesn’t want a fountain in their home? They are fun, exciting and never get you bored. You can landscape your drainage ditch in such a way that it also creates a fountain during downspout after heavy rain and also function as a drainage ditch.
– Disguise
Even after all the ways to elevate the look of your drainage ditch, if you are still not satisfied, you can disguise and hide this drainage using large plants that will cover the ditch and any onlookers wouldn’t know the ditch is even there. This is also a great option if you are lazy and don’t want to decorate.
– Rain Garden
This is an area that has a slope where water gets collected. This area has native plants growing in it and many people specifically build these for this purpose. You can create these rain gardens in your garden in the drainage ditch, as it is a win-win situation since you also get to grow healthy plants and keep your draining system looking pretty.
Table With The Drain Ditch Landscape Ideas and Features
| Drainage Ditch Landscape Ideas | Prominent Features |
| Plant Pots | Creative planters with your favorite flowers |
| Decoration | Waterproof decoration or figurines |
| Stepping Stone on the Sides | Flat stone or marble slabs |
| Footbridges | Footbridge with the design, style and color according to the theme of your garden |
| Flowers Beds | Colorful flowers to bring a splash of color to your garden |
| Wall | A wall made out of rocks to control the flow of water |
| Stairs | Large stone slabs or natural paving materials as steps |
| Lawn Edging | Dry creek at the end of the garden with pebbles in the middle and larger stones on the outside |
| Rock Ditch | A ditch, between two gardens, surrounded by sea rocks |
| Lights | Garden lights that run on battery |
| French Drains | Graded trench filled with pea gravel and lined with filter fabric and river rocks |
| Stepping Stone Inside the Drain | A walkway with a water collection facility |
| Water Feature | Water accumulation facility – possibly a fountain |
| Commercial Grate | Simple covers or channel trenches |
| Landscaping Rocks To Create a Fountain | Drainage ditch that doubles as a fountain in case of heavy rains |
| Disguise | Hidden drainage ditch using large plants |
| Rain Garden | A slope which collects water and grows native plants |
Conclusion
Too much water can be just as much the cause of death of your plants as too less water. Here’s the summary to what we covered regarding drainage systems in the article:
- Drainage systems are highly important for your garden, no matter if they are decorated or not, as they keep your plants safe and healthy.
- There are several innovative, creative, and smart methods for introducing a drainage ditch to your landscape.
- You can customize your drainage ditch as per your liking – you can either go overboard by creating a fountain out of the ditch or you can keep it disguised if that is what you prefer.
- Plant pots, stepping stones, waterproof decorations, flower beds, and garden lights can convert any ordinary boring drainage ditch into something straight out of a movie!
Hope you find these methods useful!
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