how to keep river rock in place on a slope Archives

5 Steps to Make a Dry River Bed

by Natalie | May 24, 2019 | Curb Appeal, Home Renovation

When we bought our house it had been a rental which was bad in the aspect that we had alot of things to fix up, but really good in that we got the house for a killer deal.

The front yard had beenprofessionally landscaped, which was great. However many of the trees and shrubs had overgrown and killed lawn or taken over several feet of pavement.

I really didn’t like that you could see the downspout drain pipe from the front. There was also a vast space of nothing right by the front walk way.

And though I wanted to do this project along with 100 others right away, I knew I had to pace myself.

There were several projects we had to do first out of necessity. You can read more about that from my DIY tab. Some of my favorites, some easy, some labor intensive, each made a dramatic difference to the enjoyment of our home.

inground trampoline

the entryway makeover

loft bed

and

installing a paver edge

Finally it’s time for the dry creek bed pictures, how-to maintenance and all I’ve learned in making it the best.

How to Make a Dry Creek Bed For Drainage

One of the primary reasons for wanting to DIY a dry creek bed was for drainage. I wanted like nothing else to get rid of that big black drain tube.

What I found is the dry creek bed works amazing as a drainage canal for downspouts.

There are a few specific things that will help your dry creek bed work well to drain excess water.

Dry Creek Bed Cost and Materials

To keep the costs low and because I had them on hand. These are the materials I used for a 10 foot stretch.

3 Heavy duty plastic landscape bags

15 Large boulders football sized plus

30 Small boulders fist sized or less

2 bags River rock /pea gravel

First dig a canal in the ground. Make sure it is sloping away from your foundation. I used a level to make sure it was tilting as far as I wanted.

Then lay down the landscape bags. As seen in the picture I started the bag 6 inches up the side of the foundation and held it in place with rocks.

With each new bag I made sure it overlapped by 6 inches with the new bag going underneath the previous bag.

Each bag also had a 1′ to a 1 1/2′ of space on either side of the canal. Here I made sure to push back the landscape rock. Place large, then small boulders and then put the landscape rock back around to cover the plastic.

At the downspout I had a pile of rocks to help hide the plastic and to lead the water away from the house and down the canal.

How to Keep River Rock in Place on a Slope

After the first rain storm I found I had a problem. The water would rush out from the drain pipe so quickly that it would wash away all my river rock as well.

I actually went and studied the river by my house – I’m pretty committed to this dry creek bed by now.

I noticed two things. A natural river has most of its large boulders on the outside edge, followed by smaller boulders and then river rock. A natural river curves and winds and that is where it slows down.

To create this natural slowing process I had to put rocks sticking out into the “river.” It was difficult, because my brain kept saying it should be uniform, but nature is not uniform and looks better with curves and displaced rocks anyhow.

As you can see in the picture below the rocks slow the water enough that even the tree seeds gather and don’t wash all the way down, but the water still moves away from the house.

I strategically placed one rock on one side and then a foot later a rock on the other side so it would hit a rock, show down, hit another rock and slow down more.

I no longer have river rock washing away.

With a view of the whole creek you can also see that I only did two major rocks, strategically placed to slow the water flow.

The rest of the creek curves a bit for aesthetic and water control purposes.

Dry Creek Bed Landscape Plants

When the landscape was originally planned there was no water run to this section. It gets too dry for regular plants to grow, so I tried native plants, as you can kind of see in this picture.

They all died, probably because of my limited plant knowledge.

I tried again with Chick and Hen Succulents and they thrived. First off succulents love rocky terrain for their little roots to wrap around. They also do great with large amounts of water during rainy season. The thick leaves allow them to store up water for dry spells.

Watch your succulents. If the leaves start to get thin, give them a good long drink of water. I have found they can go several weeks in hot dry weather before needing water.

Keep in mind, not all succulents can survive outside in all growing zones. We are zone 5b-7a. I have also successfully grown these in zone 4 where it got pretty cold for 6 months. Check for the particular succulent you are looking to plant before you put it permanently outside.

Depending on your rain fall, hostas would also do well near a dry creek bed. Keep in mind that they like a moderate amount of water and do well in shade.

Dry Creek Bed Maintenance

Once you’ve got the water flow under control and plants that grow well there is not alot of maintenance.

A few times a year I use a leaf blower to blow away any trees seeds, leaves and plant residue.

Every so often I adjust a rock or redistribute river rock that has fallen. In general its a nice, low maintenance landscaping.

It’s added interest to our yard. Provided an attractive way to move rain water away from our house and acts as an occasional balancing exercise for our children. 😊