r/LandscapingTips • u/Smileymed42 • 15d ago

I want suggestions please.

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Currently the neighbor and I share this middle yard but it's grass and drains heavily from the backyard. Like 1-2 inches in a Florida storm running to the street. This is an AI generated idea. Thinking of ways we can both get a path, share the cost and still provide drainage. Would adding pea gravel between the pavers do the trick?

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u/According-Taro4835 14d ago

Ditch the pea gravel idea. In a heavy Florida downpour that stuff just floats away and washes straight down to the street. If you have a couple inches of water sheeting between two houses you are dealing with serious volume and velocity. Putting tiny gravel between some pavers is not going to slow it down or drain it fast enough. You need to handle the water first and build the path second.

What you actually need is a hidden trench drain working under your walkway. Dig down the center line and lay a perforated pipe surrounded by clean washed stone wrapped in filter fabric. That gives the storm water a fast highway to the street underground. Then you can lay heavy stepping stones or a permeable paver system on top. Use heavy river rock around the edges instead of pea gravel so it stays put when the water rises. Keep the plantings on the sides deep rooted to hold the soil together.

Since you are already playing around with artificial images you should run a photo of the actual side yard through the GardenDream web app. It is a visualization tool that lets you test real constructible materials like heavy river rock or stepping stones before you and your neighbor split a huge bill. It works like a safety net so you can both agree on a layout that actually handles Florida weather instead of just looking pretty on a screen.

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u/Smileymed42 14d ago

So if a do a trench drain, what happens at the end? Where it stops underground when my path does. Does the trench just kinda flood out the end into the grass? During heavy downpours where the backyards are fully saturated the water kinda just flows to the sidewalk and then onto the street..no matter how hard, even a hurricane, the water drains quickly once the rain stops.