Landscape design in San Diego is a big deal even this time of year. I know we don’t often get much rain here in San Diego but this has been a year to remember. Our rainy season starts Oct 1 and we are already more than 4″ above where we typically would be this time of year and have also already exceeded our average rainfall total for the whole season. Not to mention we just had the rainiest day ever recorded where there wasn’t a place in the county that got less than 1′ in 24 hours.

With all that being said its important not to neglect your landscape during such events. After such heavy rains our soils are saturated and when coupled with strong winds trees can come falling down, consider removing any dead or dying trees that you feel pose a safety concern. Also, look to see if you have any erosion issues and attempt to redirect the runoff in a more positive direction. As always adding rain barrels to downspouts is a great way to benefit from these rain long after they have passed. If you have clay soils which most of us do, look for signs of root rot if plants cannot dry out quickly enough.

Many of these issue can and should be addressed while planning a new landscape but some, unfortunately, need to be addressed long after that stage. Either way, if you are in need of such services please consider contacting a landscape designer or skilled landscape contractor before these issues lead to more costly repairs.