Let’s Divert Heavy Rainwater from the House!

Well, it’s Spring again! We had a really rainy Spring a couple of years ago! I don’t know about you, but I never really worried about where the water from our gutter downspouts flowed. Not that I started to worry, but since I had been landscaping around them, I had been paying more attention to those areas. Also, we had just had our gutters cleaned out AND it had been a really rainy Spring!

Here is the view looking southwest over our back fence right before one of our Spring storms that year.

The Table of Contents is for your convenience. Click on the topic to go directly to that section.

Just so you know, this post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I may receive a small commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you.

First downspout – flower garden

Not long after the gutter cleaning, we had a storm with heavy rainfall. I noticed that the flower bed in the front of the house ended up being very muddy. It was then that I knew I needed to address the downspout area.

I had seen people using rocks to divert water from their downspouts and thought that would look nice with the vibe of the landscape around our home. Besides, our soil is very rocky so I have a lot of rocks laying around. Every time I dig a hole to plant flowers and such, I end up with lots of rocks of all sizes. I had so many that I ended up lining both the front and back fence lines and along the house where there are flower beds with rock! What that meant was that I had a lot of rocks to choose from to make river beds.

You can see the pile of rock lining the side of the house in this picture. The ones with soil on them had just come out of the hole I dug to plant this Azalea.

1st rock river bed

Once I made the decision to build a little rock bed, I got to work. Using a small garden shovel, I removed soil to create a dip in the ground where I could place the rocks. To allow the water access away from the enclosed garden bed, I moved one of the bricks that bordered the garden. This would allow the water to be dispersed better.

I scoured the rocks I had lined up against the house and fence and chose a variety of sizes….larger ones for the perimeter and smaller ones for what would be the river bed. I loaded the rocks in my garden wagon and took them to the area where I would be building the rock bed.

After building the bed, I wondered if I had made the area under the downspout wide enough. I guess I’d find out once it rained again.

1st river bed in action

Second downspout – Planter box

During one of our big rainstorms, I saw that the water from the downspout on the corner of the garage created a river around this planter. I was surprised to see how much it flooded! I didn’t have my phone with me or I would have taken a picture. I decided to create a river bed here also.

2nd river bed

To create the rock river bed here, I removed some of the grass on both sides of the planter so I could divert the water to the driveway. I then used a small garden shovel to remove enough soil so I had a concave area to build the bed. I used the same process as I did with River Bed #1. I gathered large & small rocks and brought them to the area in my wagon. Once again, I wasn’t certain that it was wide enough in the area directly under the spout. I hoped, though, that I would be proven wrong like I was with the first bed.

2nd river bed in action

Third downspout

The last downspout I addressed was in the backyard, right outside the door to the garage. A couple of years ago, I put in a bark bed and lined it with cement blocks. At the time, I left the downspout area alone. When it rained, the water poured onto the cement block below the spout and then drained into the bed. Even though I used landscape cloth below the bark, there was never an issue with drainage. Below is a picture of the area before the bark was added and before I leveled the blocks.

3rd river bed

After doing some landscaping in the front yard, I decided to revamp the look of the bark beds in the backyard. I thought the first design was great when I made it, but after living with it for a couple of years, I felt like it was too boxy. Using the same type of bullet bricks that I had used in the front yard, I widened the bed a bit and curved the edges. While I was working on the bed, I thought it would be a good time to add a little rock river. I just love the new look!

3rd river bed in action

Fourth downspout

The last downspout on the house drops water right into the back of this bark bed. I have a plant at the base of the spout that benefits from the rainwater. It also waters the plants in the garden bed on the other side of the fence. Since the water from the spout is doing a good job watering the neighboring plants, I decided it didn’t need a rock river.

Your turn!

If you are like me and haven’t paid much attention to where your rainwater goes….or if you just LOVE the look of these little rock river beds, then it’s your turn to build one (or several) for your place! Leave me a Comment in the section below letting me know if you plan to do this project or have already done it.

If you need supplies

As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a commission if you choose to order through the links below. There is no cost to you when you do so.

Let’s Stay in Touch!

Sign up below for more project ideas!

I’m excited to share more projects with you as well as tips/tricks/freebies! Just enter your email below to become one of my Blog Peeps!

Other Landscape Projects

• Let’s Landscape the Front Yard – Zone 1
• Let’s Landscape the Front Yard – Zone 2
• Let’s Landscape the Front Yard – Zone 3
• Let’s Landscape the Front Yard – Zone 4
• Let’s Create a Rock Garden!
• Let’s Create Water Fountains!
• Let’s Rip Up Some Sod!