"MSR" wrote in message
...

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could offer any advice on the best solution
for the problem described below.

The problem is that my lawn is degenerating in a muddy swamp. I live
in Warrington and it never snows and never freezes, but it always
rains, so in the past, when everyone else has been building snowmen,
we've been getting trench foot.

My problem is particularly acute as there is a small stream or brook
running along the bottom of the garden. As across most of Cheshire,
the soil is mostly clay, so drainage is a foreign concept to us. Over
the last few years it was a regular thing to have the bottom of the
garden awash with 3 feet of water after a few weeks of heavy rainfall.


Two years ago a I tried to fix the problem permanently by digging
drainage ditches filled with gravel running to a pipe which empties
back into the brook. I then covered the entire lawn area with three
tonnes of sand and sprinkled grass seed over it. A combination of
continuous rain since then (the brief heat wave killed some of it off)
and my three dogs, means that only patches of rather pathetic grass
have returned and while the garden doesn't flood anymore (success!) it
remains a muddy pit for most of the time.

I'm now considering alternatives. I don't care about having a lawn.
It's more hassle than it's worth and I don't do that kind of gardening
anyway. I'm more interested in growing tomatoes and I grow those in
pots on the patio, which is nearly 2 metres above the level of the
lawn. I'm happy to grow bushes, shrubs, small trees etc. on and around
the lawn area instead.

My current idea is to fill up with another few tonnes of sand and lay
some kind of bark mulch over the top in a thick layer. This way the
top surface will hopefully remain dry and the dogs can run about
without coming back inside with feet caked in wet mud!

I'd be very grateful for any comments or alternative ideas.

Thanks

We've used raw wood chips from private arborists and half composted wood
chips from the city at our dogpark with great success. Even after a
substantial rain, a 4"-6" layer of chips has proved durable and clean. The
arborists are happy to dump it for free so they don't have to pay for
disposal.
We do have a well draining substrate underneath, as the land is mostly
limestone rock and sand. Good luck...