Hi James, I was wondering if those steps are new concrete steps and if the house was tuckpointed recently before you bought it? The reason I ask is that there appears to be some very recent work done in those areas that you are having problems with (notice the lighter color of the mortar in the joints of the brick surrounded by darker mortar joints in picture 3). Was there settling around the steps and was the footer replaced or were the stairs just re-pointed with new slabs layed for the treads? I also see a long vertical joint that looks like it was caulked near your family room. You may have some deeper settling issues that were camouflaged with some touch ups. I would like to advise you to call a bricklayer in to see if there is a problem that you may need to worry about with the foundation walls. You may have already addressed the issue permanently by diverting the water. But I would advise checking into it with a professional before you do any more work around that section of the house. An estimate will not cost you but you will have some peace of mind before you invest any more time, effort and energy into it.

To determine if drainage is the problem dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill it with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with water and time how long it takes for that water to drain. If the water is gone in an hour or two drainage may be too fast, but if the water is still there after several hours the soil stays too wet too long. A trench, as suggested above, may direct surface water away, if constructed properly, but will do little to help with excessive ground water. Compacted soils can hold too much water but they also restrict the amount of air plant roots can get, and plant roots do need air. Organic matter can help uncompact soils and can help with air exchange those plant roots need as well as promote better drainage.

I make my raised beds out of sandbags, and it seems to work really well for me. I'm so clueless with tools and wood that I'm not sure which end of the hammer you hit things with, so that wasn't an option; and I can't afford stone, so bags of sand turned out to be the way to go, for me. I was lucky enough to get all the bags (already filled!) for free the first year, from the soil testing lab at the engineering firm I work for. (That hasn't worked out as well in the last few years because I need so many bags at a time, but the bags only cost about 15-25 cents each, and a pick-up truck load of whatever sand is cheapest at the landscaping facility to fill them with is only 11 dollars). I use the 15" by 27" white polypropylene UV-treated sand bags with tie strings attached. They hold up pretty well for me, usually a year or more. Eventually, they start ripping (probably because I sit down on them to weed so often, and I'm not skinny :), and I dump out the sand that was in the bag, mix it with some compost, and toss it in the veggie beds. The beds honestly don't turn out as tacky-looking as they sound. (I wish I had a camera!) Stacked 2 bags high like I have them, in a half over-lapping brick pattern; and because the bags are plain white, it just kind of looks like big pieces of fieldstone, especially with the mulch all around the beds in the paths. If you wanted to try something similar, check your local phone book for geotechnical engineering firms, paving companies, concrete plants, commercial borrow pits and rock mines and quarries. Also your local branch office of the US Dept. of Transportation. All those places have full sand and rock sampling bags laying around all the time, and usually just heave them into dumpsters. They also usually also have stockpiles of various kinds of dirt: and all that black, organic, grass & wood debris-filled dirt that concrete and paving contractors PAY to haul off their job sites and have disposed of is free gardener's gold.

Shawntiah, what a pretty name. Welcome to the forum. There are some very knowledgable rosarians here to answer questions. I'm not one of them, but I'll tell you what I do because I have the same problem. Drainage is terrible in hard packed clay soil. And, when it does drain off, it leaves a sticky, glue-like mud that will pull your shoes right off your feet. I dig very large planting holes (at least 2'x2' for own root bands and larger for potted 3 gal. roses) and back fill with some of the native soil, compost and a few handfuls of perlite or vermiculite and/or pine fines - the kind you buy for bunny cages. But, the most important thing is a deep hole so water can drain away from the rose roots. Heavy clay soil isn't all bad. It retains moisture during hot, dry spells, and it usually has more nutrients. But, for that, we pay a price of poor drainage. You have some beautiful roses and it sounds like you know what you're doing. I hope deeper holes will solve your problem sufficiently. Natural pine straw mulch is what the Biltmore uses in their extensive rose gardens and from that I think you must be in the south. Just keep it away from the canes when it's soggy and the temps start to rise, so all that moisture doesn't cause canker.