Features – Backyard Sidekick

Dry bed creeks will help you fill areas of your lawn or yard that are hit heavily by rainfall. Your home will benefit from a dry creek bed during extreme conditions. This all sounds like a great idea for your home, but how will you go about executing it? Welcome to your step-by-step guide to making a dry creek bed for your home. You can make your dry creek bed in 7 steps. Start by laying out the creek path, then mark the trench sides, then start digging the trench. Next, incorporate the landscape fabric, start placing the rocks and boulders, then finish off by filling in with river rock and trimming the landscape fabric. The process might sound a bit more rigorous than it is, but you’ll get a better idea of how to do each step efficiently in this article. Building a dry creek bed will not only benefit your home from harsh rainfall, but it will add a nice look and aesthetic to the front of your home. Let’s get into more detail on how to get started on yours today! How To Make A Dry Creek Bed A dry creek bed will add instant property value to your home. Not only will make your house and lawn nicer, but it will protect your lawn from the harsh effects of severe rainfall. Your reasoning does not have to be one or the other, but knowing the added benefits and value a dry creek bed will bring your property should motivate you. Homes with an uphill lawn will especially benefit from this installation. Homes with flat lawns might benefit more from a drain. A dry creek will help your lawn stay intact and will prevent your lawn from being muddy and damaged after periods of tough rainfall. The color of the creek bed will also contrast your green grass nicely. Now that you know what a dry creek bed can do for your home, it is time for the “hard part”. Installing a dry creek bed might seem like a hassle, but it is not as hard as it seems. The hardest part is gathering the energy and supplies to do it. So, let’s get into the details, and let’s start making your home better with a new dry creek bed. (source) Layout The Creek Path Establish what part of the lawn you want to start your bed. If you are not sure what part of the lawn would best benefit from it, consider the following things before you start installing. Symmetry with the rest of your homeParts of the lawn that are uphillAvoiding sharp bends or things in your lawn that will clash with water flowOvercrowding your lawn Once you have established the best position for your creek bed, layout the creek path using a garden hose or other front lawn material to mimic what your final product will look like. Curve the hose to give your creek a more natural look but make sure you are working in tandem with any slopes in your yard. Here's a helpful video showing the process of the project to help give you an idea of what's coming so you can better layout the creek path: https://youtu.be/cwWy9L7oql0 Mark Sides of the Trench and Start Digging Now that you have the plan laid out in front of you, use a spray to mark the positioning of each part of the creek bed. This will help you have a reference point for the next part of the process which is digging the actual trench. Before you start digging, you will want to remove the plants and grass that cover the area you marked for digging. Dig down into the soil to your preferred depth. 12 to 18 inches is the recommended amount. Follow the same curve pattern and work with the slope of your lawn. When you are digging, make sure to create a path for the water to naturally flow down towards the bottom of the lawn. This will maximize the efficiency of your creek as well as create a new resource to help keep the rest of your lawn healthy and growing. Your dry creek will turn what would usually be harmful rainfall into an added resource. Adding Landscape Fabric The next part of the process is crucial. You need to cover the trench with 30-year landscape fabric, using top-quality fabric. Using cheap alternatives may damage your lawn further and prevent your creek from working efficiently. Depending on the curvature of your trench, you might be able to get away with using one piece of fabric. If your trench has a lot of curves, you will be best off using multiple pieces of fabric. You can hold the fabric in place by using fabric staples or by letting the rocks and boulders naturally hold them in place. If your location deals with conditions such as severe storms and heavy winds, you will especially want to make sure your fabric is secure. Place the Boulders and Stones The hard part is basically done. Now you get to place the rocks and boulders onto the fabric and watch as your dry creek bed starts to come to fruition. It might take a few tries to figure out what size rock or boulders work best for your creek. When choosing the boulders and rocks for your trench, follow these guidelines. Do not overcrowd your stream pathGet rocks that stack up nicely togetherPut larger rocks on the outsidesSmaller stones look more natural bordering the boulders You can get creative with the placements of your rocks, but make water flow your top priority. You should now start to see your vision more clearly. Use a hose or buckets of water to test out what the best rock formation is for your lawn. If your water flows down the creek efficiently, you will know you’ve found a good formation. Fill In River Rock and Trim Landscape Fabric These are the finishing touches that will make your dry creek bed look natural and clean in front of your home. Any open areas that surround your creek should be covered using gravel or natural rocks. Make sure these rocks leave space within the formation for optimal water flow. This will help you mimic the look of a natural waterfall. Finally, you will want to trim any of the remaining excess fabric along the sides of the creek bed. The fabric is serving its purpose, but it does not add any value to the overall look of the creek bed. Once you have finished the final few steps, give your creek bad one final test and see if your hard work was worth it. Conclusion A dry creek bed is more than just an aesthetic addition to your home. Sure, it looks great, but when installed correctly, its purpose will outshine its look. If you live in areas that experience heavy rainfall several times throughout the year, a dry creek bed will be especially helpful. It might seem like a lot of work, but it is a simple procedure. Layout your pathway and use spray paint to mark the trench sides. Start digging the trench and adding the landscape fabric. Once you’ve laid out the fabric, start placing rocks and boulders along the fabric and then finish off by filling empty spaces with river rock and cutting excess fabric along the edges of the creek bed. Everyone’s lawn is different so consider the variable factors before building your creek bed. Your front lawn will look better and stay healthier. As a bonus, your home will look nicer than it did before and your property value will go up! The process is simple so start analyzing your front lawn and get to work on your dry creek bed today!