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My backyard rain garden project went sideways after a storm last June
I live in Portland and spent three weekends digging a rain garden to catch runoff from my roof. Then a huge storm hit and it overflowed into my neighbor's yard within 20 minutes. The soil I used was too clay-heavy and couldn't drain fast enough. I had to rip it all out, mix in compost and sand, and re-grade the whole thing. Took another two weekends and $85 in extra materials. Has anyone else had rain gardens fail on them and what did you do to fix the drainage?
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lindag333mo ago
Dig out a bigger basin than you think you need. I used a french drain feeding into a dry well after my first attempt turned my yard into a muddy lake. The extra digging is way better than redoing it twice like you already dealt with.
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robin6283mo ago
Read that dry wells need a geotextile sock or they clog fast, @lindag33.
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