What do Las Vegas and Your Wintertime Yard have in Common?

I doubt your yard looks like this.

I doubt you have neon lights, slot machines, or Elvis impersonators performing in your yard. But it is true that what happens in your wintertime yard, stays in your yard.

What do I mean by that? Hang with me. When it precipitates, the water in your yard has three options:

1. Seep into the soil. The rate at which water perks into your soil depends on your soil type. Sandy soil drains better than red clay, and rad clay drain better than blue clay. 
2. Run off to another location. Lots with more slope will have less standing water due to run off. 
3. Evaporate. Evaporation is caused by heat and happens faster in direct sunlight. 

So, in the winter what happens in your yard stays in your yard - due to a lack of evaporation. Have you noticed that in the winter months, particularly in shady areas, your yard tends to be muddier and soggier. If you would like to get rid of this, your best bet may be an underground drainage system, such as a French drain. 

Two Common Problems - One Common Culprit

Down spout erosion. Standing water in foreground.

The culprit: water.

The problems: erosion and flooding.

This great photo (submitted by a desperate homeowner in Concord, NC) illustrates two different but related water problems. Rain water gushes out of this downspout causing erosion. The gutter water, as well as water from other parts of the yard, gather in this low spot near the driveway to create nice wadding pool.

The result is dead grass, an unusable yard, and a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

This perfect storm can be resolved, however. First of all, in a situation like this it is good to extend the gutter underground to a more desirable location such as a ditch, a storm drain, or a lesser used part of the yard. Next an underground French drain may be recommended to collect water from this area and move it to another location. Finally, regrading the area serve as a way to move surface water to where you want it to go.

This type of project usually requires an excavator and may be too involved for the average DIY'er. If you have erosion or standing water contact Green Frog Waterproofing for a Free Estimate.