How I Turned My Water-Flooded Basement Crisis into a Drainage Design Adventure

As a new homeowner there was one big issue that became very clear the very first day I stepped into my new property, and that issue was water.

I quickly discovered that water was flowing right past the drainage ditch in the front, straight off my neighbors driveway down mine and flooding my basement. Not only was the drainage ditch not catching any water, it had been planted with grass. The user experience part of me broke. Who wants to try and mow a steep ditch once a week in the summer?

First I got my neighbors blessing and started to redesign the land around the drainage ditch. No research had to be done here, cause unlike people, water always follows the flow of least resistance. I just had to find all the friction points and discover if they were within my means to remove.

Tree root chunk I removed

The process ended up being this:

• Remove the grass and all its roots as much as possible

• During this I removed about a wheelbarrow full of different sized rocks I've saved for future projects

• Lay cardboard on the area for 8 weeks to help reduce weed growth

• Added garden lime to help future plant growth

• Mulch

• Figure out how to keep it from eroding again

Being at the end of the street and the lowest point I know erosion is bound to happen. However there are ways to reduce the upkeep. I decided to go with planting a perennial flower garden while keeping the center clear so it can direct the water flow thru the ditch and past my home but keep the clay soil in place.

At first I went deep diving in what native plants do well in full sun and on hills and kept getting the same answers. It reminded me in my work where you always get the same ideas: The "Do a limited time event to increase DAU" kind of answers you get asking chat GPT. Since I plan on being here for the long haul I decided that this first year, is my experimental year. So instead of planting just vinca or phlox like all the sites told me to, I did that and more.

Currently there are: Phlox, echinacea, canna lilies, trumpet flower, plumbago, hollyhock, mallow, hibiscus, catmint, and a variety of bulbing flowers that bloom at different times

We are currently now in the first summer of this design and so far, while it looks a mess, it is working great. Water is flowing, reducing my flooding, though I do have a few more projects to complete to help resolve the issue completely.

With watching what flowers and plants thrive thru the growing season next year I plan to have a more strategic asthetic design to implement to make next years not just functional but beautiful.