I had my garden landscaped this summer and since September areas of my lawn are constantly wet which is a real problem when cutting it. I asked the gardener did it need draining before he turned a sod and he said "no". He did all of the work himself and therefore would have known full well what type of soil it was but still did not mention the need to drain it. I've mentioned the waterlogging and he admitted that the soil is very heavy and therefore has poor drainage.Am I correct in asserting that the gardener was at fault here for not draining it in the first place? Should he be responsible for putting it right?

I don't fancy the prospect of having the lawn dug up again to drain it. I read recently that using a hollow-tine aerator to extract soil plugs and then top-dressing with a sandy mixture is useful for improving moisture penetration in waterlogged gardens. Has anyone used this method? Can anyone suggest any other way of improving the drainage properties of the soil?