Nestled in the bounds of Windsor Great Park, The Savill Garden has been recognised as one of the finest ornamental gardens in Britain since its creation in the 1930s. Boasting 35 acres of interconnected gardens and woodland, it offers visitors a kaleidoscopic journey through a bountiful selection of rare and beautiful flora.

Despite the diligent maintenance efforts of The Crown Estate however, some sections of the garden have begun to suffer from persistent waterlogging. This not only has a detrimental impact on some of the plant life, but also disrupts visitors and their ability to enjoy the gardens to their fullest. With periods of persistent and prolonged rainfall becoming increasingly common - as well as periods of extended drought - management of natural turf's hydrology is becoming an ever-more crucial centrepiece of proper grounds maintenance. However, the optimal solution sought by The Crown Estate was one that not only mitigated the drainage issues, but one that did so whilst inducing minimal disturbance or disruption to the gardens or their visitors.

With in-house remedial works having proven insufficiently effective, Turfdry were contacted on the basis of their being a true turf specialist, with extensive experience designing and installing high-performance drainage systems for a wide variety of natural turf surfaces with its unique Hydraway Sportsdrain.

Through a series of site visits, surveys, and desk studies, a drainage design strategy was created for the most impacted areas of the gardens. Whilst initial works were focused on the most problematic areas, a broader consideration of the hydrology of the wider site ensures that any investments made now are optimally cost-effective, whilst ensuring the client is able to make better informed decisions regarding long-term budget planning.

The initial installation phase saw the most problematic area of the Savill Garden remedied with a Hydraway Sportsdrain system installed at 2-2.5m variable spacing, with the system outfalling into the gardens' existing ditch network. In addition to providing a substantially increased drainage performance in comparison to conventional drainage systems (with a water intake rate more than 2.5x that of even 100mm diameter plastic pipe), Hydraway has a narrow installation profile thanks to its vertical design, installed in trenches approximately 65mm wide. This means that industry-leading drainage performance is delivered, whilst the disruption to the ground during and after installation is minimised.

Following performance monitoring of the newly installed drainage over the autumn and winter by Garden staff, Turfdry were delighted that the Hydraway Sportsdrain scheme had made transformative improvements to the formerly waterlogged areas, and that expansion of the improvements was planned for summer 2023.

Although the previous year’s works had focussed on the most problematic area of the gardens in terms of waterlogging, the installation in 2023 posed more logistical challenges due to the size and shape of the area in question. Whilst delightful for a pedestrian stroll to admire the beautiful flowers and magnificent trees (one of which was gifted to the late Queen Elizabeth by the Pope), the installation demanded a great deal of care and precision from Turfdry's installation team to ensure no damage was done to the flora.

As with the previous installation, Hydraway Sportsdrain was used for lateral drains, not only due to its superior drainage performance compared to conventional plastic pipe, but also because of the significantly smaller installation profile its unique structure provides, slotting into trenches approximately 65mm wide - thereby offering industry-leading performance, whilst minimising disruption to the surrounding ground. This makes Hydraway a perfect choice for prestigious gardens such as this, where protection of historically and ecologically significant areas is paramount.

With the installation now complete, we look forward to monitoring the system's performance over the winter, whilst thoughts may turn to further expansion of the Hydraway drainage system in 2024.