Ok, I'm planning out the Spring gardening projects and most of them include
some serious rework. Everything we do will have an eye towards wildlife
refuge -- we're in the city, so we really want to get anything we can for
shelter & food. Zone 6a is the area.

We have some spots with poor drainage in the back yard. In one case, there
is a retaining wall behind our lot but lots on either side of us simply have
the dirt ramped up -- so water runs around the side of retaining wall and
makes a nice little creek along the fenceline. Now, in all honesty,
this "creek" is only bad when it rains heavily -- it's just the path that
run-off takes from the church's driveway behind the retaining wall. When it
isn't raining, the area remains damp (good ole clay soil) but after a bit it
dries right up.

I'd like to find some plants to put back there that will soak up the surface
water and help hold soil in place. Since it's right at the fence line,
shrubs would be great. The area is treed in so sunlight is dappled, with
direct sun for most of the afternoon as the sun passes over.

The second case is actually the middle of the yard -- the surrounding area
will be dry but the center will be damp. The whole thing is a hill but this
area seems to hold water longer. We have a Red Bud that's about 7 years old
there (still pretty small) as well as a Sunburst Locust that's about the
same age (and also small). The area has grass (mostly crabgrass, but hey --
it works). Any thoughts on how to help soak up the water will be welcomed.

I'm also looking for some inexpensive ground cover suggestions. We have an
area that is somewhat sparsely filled in with crabgrass and weeds. I'm
thinking of hitting it with some Round-Up or burning the plants out (may
just cut them really low and cover with newspaper, haven't decided) then
planting all fresh. The area is also treed in but it gets some sun as the
afternoon sun passes over the house. An agressive groundcover would be good
here -- I'll probably erect a few small raised beds to set the area off a
bit.

Lastly, I have a spot that previously had a crumbling stone wall. I'm
thinking of just creating a small grade here rather than putting the wall
back up. I figure grade it back a bit, run some stones along it to set it
off, then add plants and stones for accent. I'll need some "rooty" plants
to make sure the soil stays in place during heavy rains. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!

James