Winter Drainage Care Prevents Soggy Spring Woes

Before winter rain and snow - the spring melt that follows - arrive, it's time to solve drainage problems that might have surfaced last winter, clean up any mess left by last year's water, and create an attractive new yard that will help prevent property damage in the future.

Solving Yard Drainage Problems

The problem most often can be tackled by a landscape professional to determine the best solution. This usually includes grading of the property to divert water away from the house, underground and surface drains, and sometimes removal of obstructions such as a poorly sloped patio.

Sometimes terracing helps control a slope's drainage, also giving you planting beds that are nicer looking and easier to maintain than a hillside.

A badly poured concrete patio can be replaced with properly installed attractively designed, colored, textured and/or multi-leveled surfaces to create a much more appealing place in the yard to gather with friends and family.

Proper planting of shrubs and trees that help to control erosion can be selected with aesthetics in mind to give you a colorful, low maintenance yard as well.

Having a Beautiful Yard During the Cold Months

Fall is actually the best time of year to plant because it's the best growing season. Winter is the time of year to transplant when shrubs and trees are dormant. Before, or by the time, fall is in full swing, you need to develop landscape design to make changes in your yard.

A quick lift can be provided with several plantings. Some of the following plants are good suggestions:

• Euryops pectinatus is a bright yellow flowering evergreen shrub that will bloom all year round, right on through the winter. It needs a warm, sunny spot and 3 to 4 feet of space to grow.

• Cercis occidentalis (Western Redbud) provides interest all year. In spring it is covered with magenta flowers; in the summer bright blue-green foliage combined with magenta seed pods; in the fall the tree turns light yellow or red and in winter the bare branches are beautifully patterned and especially pretty when lit at night. The Western Redbud thrives in a dry location after watering the first two years.

• Scaevola (Mauve Clusters or Blue Fan Flower) is a great ground cover. Its tight growth and low mounding habit really keeps the weeds out. Its rich, small, evergreen leaves display a mass of tiny purple flowers January through November. Hollies come in so many varieties as ground covers, shrubs and also trees. Most are evergreen, rich in color with bright red berries and wonderful for decorating your home at Christmas.

Of course, nothing is prettier than a camellia to display lots of winter flower color. They come in an array of colors and sizes, but do need some afternoon shade in a hot summer climate.

Another Outdoor Feature

Another feature that provides hours of family fun would be the addition of a fire pit. It can be constructed by a landscape contractor or purchased inexpensively at a home outlet store. It's great to huddle around a warm outdoor fire on a cold winter evening.

A professionally-designed landscape plan will break down the steps needed to refurbish your yard, from deciding whether to prune, move or eliminate overgrown shrubs to selecting the right plants according to color, growth patterns and maintenance concerns.

Whether you hire professionals to do the installation or intend to do some or all of the work yourself, a plan will keep you on track and save you from wasting time and money on costly mistakes.

To find local home maintenance experts who can help you with your fall and winter landscape projects, visit www.ServiceMagic.com.

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