I went through something similar with a rental property near a creek.
Haha, been there with skipping the fabric—thought I was being clever too. Ended up spending a whole weekend pulling weeds and redoing half the job. Another thing I learned the hard way: drainage is king. I underestimated how quickly water pools in flood-prone spots. Now I always slope things slightly away from structures and toss in some gravel underneath for good measure. Extra work upfront, but saves headaches later...
I feel your pain on the weed fabric thing...I tried skipping it once too, thinking "hey, it's just weeds, how bad could it be?" Famous last words. Took me forever to straighten out that mess. 😂
Totally agree about drainage—it's one of those things you don't really appreciate until you're ankle-deep in muddy water, watching your landscaping wash away. I learned pretty quickly that gravel alone wasn't always enough for my yard. Ended up digging a small French drain along the worst spots, just a simple trench lined with gravel and a perforated pipe. I was skeptical at first because it felt like a lot of extra work and expense on a tight budget, but honestly it made such a difference.
Another thing I've found helpful (and cheap!) is planting native plants that thrive in wet conditions around the edges of flood-prone areas. They soak up excess moisture better than you might think. I went to my local nursery and asked for recommendations—they pointed me toward some hardy grasses and shrubs that look nice and actually help with erosion control too. Plus, they're low-maintenance, which is always a win in my book.
One little cautionary tale though: if you do go the gravel route for drainage underneath stuff like patios or walkways, make sure it's coarse gravel rather than pea gravel or fine stuff. I learned that one the hard way too when mine compacted down into basically concrete after a season or two...had to rip it all out and start over again (ugh). Live and learn, right?
Anyway, good luck! Flood-prone areas can definitely be tricky but also kinda rewarding once you figure out how to work with them instead of against them...
You're spot-on about the coarse gravel—I made the same mistake with pea gravel under a walkway, and it turned into a solid slab within a year. Wish I'd known about native plants earlier though...sounds like a smart, budget-friendly solution. Did you find certain grasses or shrubs worked better than others for soaking up water? Might have to look into that for next spring's project. Thanks for sharing your experience, definitely helps knowing I'm not alone in this struggle!
"Did you find certain grasses or shrubs worked better than others for soaking up water?"
Wish I'd asked that question before I turned my backyard into the Great Lakes region last spring... I tried ornamental grasses first—looked amazing but didn't do much for drainage. Switched to native sedges and swamp milkweed (yeah, the name should've tipped me off), and suddenly my yard wasn't auditioning to be a rice paddy anymore. Definitely recommend checking out local wetland plants; they're like nature's little sump pumps, only prettier.
"Switched to native sedges and swamp milkweed (yeah, the name should've tipped me off), and suddenly my yard wasn't auditioning to be a rice paddy anymore."
Wish I'd read this earlier too. Last year, I spent way too much time researching drainage solutions after our basement flooded twice. I initially went with some ornamental grasses because they looked great around our historic home, but like you said, aesthetics didn't equal effectiveness. Eventually, I stumbled onto blue flag iris and cardinal flower—both native wetland plants—and they've been surprisingly effective at soaking up excess water. Have you noticed any difference in how quickly your yard dries out after heavy rains since switching plants? I'm still tweaking things here and there, but it's definitely improved.
