Building a Dry Creek

Dry creeks are cool!  They add a certain amount of mystery to any garden landscape as the onlooker wonders, is this for water or purely aesthetic?  Dry creeks are an inventive way to add another hardscape element to the garden and once a dry creek is laid there is very little upkeep involved.  A dry creek that is used as a decorative addition to the garden is a great way to steer the eye to what you want to viewer to notice, maybe a sculpture, a bridge, a seating area or a grouping of plants.  But dry creeks can also be extremely functional when used to direct excess water that pools in your yard or for those pesky drainage problems many home owners grapple with.  While dry creeks are largely ornamental they can be quite serviceable during heavy rains when they gurgle to life as an actual stream.

If you incorporate a dry creek in the landscape to solve a drainage problem than you would want the creek to begin at the source of the water run-off like under a gutter or a slope on the property in which water flows causing erosion and drainage issues.  If you are installing a dry creek for purely aesthetic purposes than start from behind a big boulder or plant hiding the beginning point which creates an illusion and makes the viewers use their imaginations.

Aesthetics

Water’s Edge at Mississippi and 9^th Streets has a dry creek that its sole function is to bring viewing pleasure to the garden landscape.  Susan Davis, owner of Water’s Edge, states, “I wanted to show off the granite bridge.  By adding a dry creek we achieved that and it brings a great interest for pedestrians and people driving by.”  The creek begins behind a planting and meanders under the bridge to end at no where in particular; it is created with black smooth river rock to set off the granite bridge.  Davis say’s, “Garden’s are always evolving.  They are never really done and introducing a hardscape is fun architecturally.  It is always there where as the plants die or are removed and shuffled around.  Plus it gives the garden the feel of water without all of the upkeep that water gardens require.”

Steering Water

Sandy and Mark Praeger have integrated dry creeks on their property to help with a drainage problem they had and with the assistance of landscaper’s Mary Olson and George Osborn their water woes are now a distant memory.  Sandy Praeger say’s, “The rock bed is designed to carry the water from  the guttering downspouts away from the house and so far it has worked beautifully.”  Praeger goes on to commend the excellent design schematics involved in solving their water problem, she states, “The bed creek is located at precisely the areas where we were getting some major erosion because of the water running off the roof.  The guttering is newly installed which allowed the design team to take full advantage of where the erosion’s source was and work with the guttering for good drainage.” 

The Praeger’s then softened the creeks appearance by planting Hellibores, Oat Grass, Quaking Grass and other ornamental grasses, lilies, ground cover and other perennials.  They took what could have been an unsavory situation and turned it into an unexpected garden paradise.

Building a Dry Creek

Keep in mind that whether your creek is for steering water or for an artistic hardscape feature that streams meander and are never in a straight line.  Creeks also tend to be wider than they are deep in nature and so should your hand-made creek, this is good news it means less digging!  If you are using the creek for directing water look at how the water naturally flows the next time it rains.  It is always best to work with the water than fight it, but you can maneuver the water anywhere you wish, for instance, to possibly help water the lawn, to funnel into a pond or to perhaps aid in watering a flower bed.  If you are creating a dry creek for visual purposes try to choose an area that looks as if a creek would be there.

Steps:

1. Using string, garden hose or landscapers paint plot out the course in which you want your creek to flow.
2. Dig 6-8 inches deep where you have chosen to lay the creek.  Keep the excess dirt on each side of the creek to help build up the sides rather than hauling it away.
3. Shape the sides of the creek.  Create a natural look by keeping the banks random and not uniform.  Be sure to remove twigs, roots, stones and any other obstacle that arises – they may poke through the landscape fabric. 
4. Lay the landscape fabric or weed cloth.  Be sure to use a solid plastic if the intention is for the creek to carry water.  Keep the fabric in place with rocks, sand or fabric pins or staples.  Be sure to overlap the seams and leave some excess fabric to go over the banks on each side.  Use two layers of fabric for good measure.
5. Add stones, smooth river rock stones are nice in adding to the illusion of an “active” creek.  Rough stones give the creek a look as if it has been dry for some time.  Try to place stones in a way that imitates nature, use various sizes with the heavier stones on the sides of the creek and the smaller stones in the middle so they “flow” down the stream.  Avoid any pattern and at the end of the creek try using fine decomposed granite to create the look of sediments.
6. Anchor the fabric edges with large boulders on the banks to camouflage the fabric.
7. Landscape, this will aid in covering any unsightly fabric and will soften the look of the creek.  Try balancing both sides of the creek with plantings and creating focal points with such plants as large ornamental grasses.  You may possibly decide to choose a color palette, using warm colors (orange, red and yellow) makes a large space feel cozier.  Using cool colors (blue, purple and green) creates a relaxing feeling and the illusion of depth.
8. You may need to add some more stones in a few years after the original rocks have settled.

Needs:

• String, landscapers paint or a garden hose
• Landscapers plastic or weed fabric
• Fabric pins, garden staples or sand
• River rocks and boulders
• Wheelbarrow (transporting rocks)
• Tamping tool
• Shovel
• Gloves