Question: We have a steep roof and the water runs off it like a skier flying down a black diamond run wiping out any landscape plantings. Is there any solution to this drainage problem? Phil, Calumet City, Illinois
Answer: Phil, when it is impossible or difficult to correct the structural defect causing heavy rain to wash off a steep roof onto a bed, damaging plants and eroding the soil, don’t plant under the periodic waterfall or heavy drip, but dig a neat trench a few inches deep and a few inches wide pitched gently towards an area where the water can be absorbed.
Put pebbles or crushed stone in the trench, flush with the top if the fall is not heavy, and an inch or two below the top if there is danger of the pebbles being washed out. Tamp the stone lightly. Plant in front of the trench if the problem area is close to the wall of the house; the planting will conceal it.
If the overhang is considerable, plant behind the trench. If the trench is properly made and filled with graded pebbles of a uniform color, it can be made a decorative border to the bed. Ground covers in the bed can be used to soften it.
by N Grasby 62657
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