A beautiful yard is a big part of the enjoyment most homeowners gain from the hard work it takes to maintain such property. Unfortunately, even the most meticulous of homeowners will often notice low spots that become drainage nightmares during moderate to heavy rain.

The good news — a dry creek bed is an easy-to-build landscaping feature that will solve your drainage problem while adding real beauty to your yard.

Low-lying areas are natural drainage avenues for water running through your yard. If you are noticing that grass is struggling to grow or that the drainage route is becoming muddy, a dry creek bed is a great solution, providing the drainage you need without the mud. Designed with a little preplanning, it can also be an aesthetically pleasing addition to your yard, even during dry spells.

Plan/build your dry creek bed

You will need rocks of multiple sizes to get the best drainage and the most natural look for your creek bed. River rock or pebbles are a great choice, along with choosing some larger rocks (16 inches or more in diameter) for variety.

Depending on the location and nature of your drainage issue, you will need to decide whether your creek bed should be in a particular area of your yard with defined edges or if a meandering creek bed with gentle curving edges is better suited to moving the water from point A to point B. Either type of dry creek design will require the following steps:

• Identify the location of any utility lines or sprinklers that may be in the vicinity of your new creek bed and adjust the design of your creek bed accordingly.
• Mark the outline of your creek bed using heavy string, a garden hose, or grass marking paint.
• Remove all grass and vegetation and dig the bed to a depth of 12 inches. Place the dirt along the edges to build them up, following the gentle curves of your stream or maintaining your defined section of yard.
• Tamp bed and cover with weed barrier fabric to prevent weeds and grass.
• Place larger rocks and boulders randomly throughout the creek bed and along the sides to create the edges of your creek bed, taking care to bury them slightly in the dirt at the edges.
• Fill in with multiple sizes of river rocks and pebbles, using larger sizes first and filling with the smallest ones.
• Add plants that will thrive in a wet environment.

Cooler temperatures prior to the ground freezing is a perfect time to begin preliminary excavating for a dry creek bed project. You can even place rocks and fill with pebbles in preparation for spring rain, reserving decisions about decorative plants until the weather is warmer.

If you are considering a dry creek bed to address a drainage problem in your yard or to add an aesthetic focal point, contact our experts for guidance and supplies. Ohio Beauty Cut Stone has a wide variety of appropriate rocks, pebbles and cobblestone to complete a beautiful and functional drainage creek in your yard.