Gardens and patches of greenery are popular features in many commercial properties, from malls to hotels and even stores. Gardens make your commercial property look more alive and welcoming, but there’s the ever-present risk of these gardens to flood.
The Repercussions of Flooding
Poorly flood-proofing your yard commercial property’s garden won’t only harm the plants, but it can eventually spill into pathways, parking lots, and other areas of the property, making it both unsightly and a potential slipping hazard, and can deter customers from entering. So if you’re tired of having your establishment’s garden getting flooded or seeing deep puddles of water that make gardening or lounging around your yard inconvenient, then take note of these following tips:
Swales and Grading
Swales are depressions in landscapes that redirects water flow, preventing it from forming a puddle or staying in one spot and spilling over to other parts of the property. When grading your commercial property’s garden area to form these swales, it’s important that the slopes are smartly designed so that water flow can be directed towards drains and not into walkways.
Heavy Mulch and Leaf Mould
Mulch is used on the surface of the soil to improve soil moisture as well as to prevent weeds, improve plant health, and develop the soil’s health and fertility. Mulch can even improve the aesthetic appeal of the area it covers. However, during heavy rainfall, light mulch chips can end up being displaced then block drains which result in flooding. As such, it’s best to use heavy mulch such as hardwood or even manmade mulch to save yourself from cleaning up scattered mulch and the more pressing issue of flooding due to drain blockage. You should also consider adding leaf mould, which is applied annually which helps the soil absorb and retain more water, which won’t only help with plant growth but also help prevent flooding due to poor water absorption.
Clean Your Drains
It’s quite possible that your establishment already has a flood-proof garden area, but over time, trash, mulch, fallen leaves, and other debris can end up blocking the drains and drainage pipes. So it’s best to regularly maintain the drains and pipes surrounding your commercial establishment’s gardens.
Aerate Your Soil
In commercial establishments with gardens where people can visit and walk on, there’s always the risk of the soil becoming compacted due to foot traffic. Poor landscaping practices can also lead to soil compacting. Compacted soil prevents water absorption by allowing water to simply sit on the surface and collect water, which would then end up flooding the garden. So it’s important to aerate your commercial establishment’s garden once in a while to ensure that water can sink into the soil.
Hire a Pro
If you don’t have the tools, manpower, or expertise on how to do these flood prevention measures, or if you simply want the flood-proofing to be done professionally, there are businesses that offer commercial landscaping services in East Cincinnati that can provide excellent landscaping lawn care and also help flood-proof your commercial establishment’s gardens, as well as contractors to help you improve your drainage system.
Conclusion
Although flood prevention for your commercial establishment may have been something you’ve considered when designing the property and the structures on it, flood-proofing may not have crossed your mind when considering your commercial property’s garden. As such, it’s important to flood-proof your garden to prevent it from making your commercial property’s lawn and garden from looking unsightly and unsafe.
