I have this 6×20 area between my garage and house and my original plan was to put root barrier down and slope it towards the outward side..but I’m afraid the water will just sit on top of the barrier. It doesn’t get much sunlight. Any advice? Thanks.
by HairyStructure2631
5 Comments
A Native shade garden will help absorb a lot of rain water
Lay several flagstones as a path. In-between the flagstones, plant a shade loving ground cover like Baby Tears. A few small growing shade living shrubs like Sarcocca Sweet Box for structure and scent. Breezeways rock.
Build another Starbucks.
Putting an impermeable sheet between two foundations creates a bathtub effect that traps moisture against your stucco, which is exactly what you don’t want. Skip the plastic. Your primary defense is grading the native soil so it slopes away from both walls, but more importantly, you need to deal with that downspout. It is dumping water right at the footer. Bury a solid 4 inch PVC pipe and run that water completely out of this alley before you put down any surface material.
For the finish, keep it permeable. Since it is shady and narrow, grass is a losing battle. I usually recommend three quarter inch angular gravel with some large flagstone steppers for access. If you want plants, keep them to one side in a sweeping mass of shade lovers like Liriope or ferns rather than spotting them all over. It creates a cleaner line that makes the space feel bigger. You might want to upload this shot to GardenDream to visualize the gravel versus a paver path. It is a good way to check if a planting bed will make the path feel too tight before you haul in materials.
In the long run you’ll wish it was solid concrete