We receive a large amount of calls about drainage solutions - especially in a place like Chattanooga, TN or "Hill City" as some people call it! Here in Chattanooga, you all know, when it rains... it pours. All that rain runs off the mountains and hills, and the problem many folks have is, it collects right at the foundation of their house! That's when we get a call.

Earthscapes is a lawn care specialist. As you all know, we design and install landscapes, we maintain landscapes, and what we're writing about today - we reroute water through your landscapes. The challenge that many homeowners present to us is to reroute water off their property, but to also make it beautiful. Challenge accepted!

_{French Drain}

The French Drain is one of the more common drainage solutions. The basic idea is to dig a trench along the new route where the water should drain off the homeowner's property. Then Earthscapes will install a drain in the lawn where the water seems to collect the most. Now instead of forming a puddle in the lawn, it is emptied into the drain and directed underground inside a perforated pipe where it exits at the low point of the yard. The reason why most homeowners would choose a French Drain over any other solutions? It's virtually invisible once it is installed.

_{Dry Creek}

A dry creek is one of the 2nd most popular homeowner drainage solutions among Chattanooga homeowners. One of the main benefits of the the dry creek as a drainage solution is its natural beauty. It is meant to emulate a natural creek, and Earthscapes oftentimes uses creeks that were formed by nature as a basis for their dry creek design plans.

The idea of a dry creek is to capture the most natural path that water takes to the lowest point out of your home's yard. Then Earthscapes gets to work on digging out a trench along that natural drainage pathway. Next, we begin laying down a high-quality geotextile (or landscape fabric) along the trench. This prevents weeds from growing up out of your dry creek, but it also forms a water barier so that excess water continues to flow out of the homeowner's yard. Finally, Earthscapes adds beauty to the substance of the dry creek. Many homeowners choose to have a few native plants planted throughout the dry creek. We, then layer in the top layer of large and small rocks, just as you would see in a naturally formed creek.

Homeowners choose the dry creek because it integrates seemlessly with their landscape. In fact, it serves as an excellent place to install garden beds along the sides of the dry creek.

_{Rain Garden}

A rain garden is not as common, but at Earthscapes, we think rain gardens are the best kept secret! Here's the basic idea: direct all of the excess rain water toward 1 point in your lawn and install a bunch of native super soakers! Rain gardens are preferred by some homeowners for their sustainability, beauty, effectiveness, and to support the local wildlife by bringing in more native plant.

In other words, a rain garden is not meant to re-route water off of your lawn, but to collect it and serve it to a collection of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers. In the end, homeowners will have a drainage solution that looks beautiful, but also provides value to native wildlife.

At Earthscapes, we're happy to help homeowners decide the right drainage solution for them! Feelfree to give us a call and we'll be happy to help you on your way to an elegant and effective solution for you.