Larsen Landscape | Blog

Landscape Design to Keep Mold From Growing

Assuming that some gardens are desirable, the next question is how to have them next to the house without creating mold issues.  Here are some tips for achieving that:

• Sprinklers should be designed, wherever possible, to spray away from the house, with the sprinkler heads at least six inches away from the foundation.  Larger garden areas might require sprinklers that spray toward the house.  In this case, flat spraying sprinkler nozzles that keep the water low are good.  Six inch and twelve inch pop-up sprinkler heads are available and can be used with flat spraying nozzles to help with coverage where more height is needed.
• Sprinklers should never be designed that spray water up on the walls of the house (you would be amazed how often we see this).
• Once a garden is established, watering should be done every few days, not every day.  This allows the soil to dry out some between watering and is usually better for the plants anyway.
• If you have clay in your soil, adding gypsum several times a year helps to break up the soil and the water can penetrate deeper.  This helps the roots of your plants go deeper as well.  Gypsum is available in most home improvement stores and is simply spread on the soil and watered in.
• In more extreme cases, a French drain can be installed next to the house foundation (this is a perforated drain pipe with a nylon sleeve over it which allows water to enter the pipe and drain away without allowing roots and dirt to clog the pipe – usually some gravel or sand is put around the pipe as well).

• Surface water needs to be drained away so it doesn’t accumulate.  If this cannot be handled by just grading the soil, a drainage system is usually needed.  When we design any new landscape, including patio areas, garden and lawn areas as well as driveways and entryways, drainage is always a primary consideration and is part of the design plan.  This is easy on properties raised above the street and can be a real challenge on very flat properties.  The only exception is a property with very sandy soil that naturally drains fast (water never accumulates on these properties, but they are rare).
• Designing gardens next to the house with plants that do not have a huge water requirement is smart.  Part of this is ensuring that the sprinklers in these areas are on a separate valve so the water can be regulated properly (for instance, if these gardens are on the same line as a lawn, it will tend to get as much water as the lawn).
• The shady side of a house is the most important area to address.  Sun is a natural enemy of mold.

Simi Valley Landscape - Entryway

Here’s to a beautiful home and one that is mold-free as well.