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#1
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plants that like waterlogged clay!
I have recently taken over a large neglected garden - about an acre with mainly grass, brambles & nettles. I have only ever had a patio garden before, so it's all very new to me. The soil here is acidic clay & when it rains, some lower lying areas of the garden end up about 4 inches under water. I had wanted to put in a border along my boundary fence, but this is in one of the waterlogged bits of the garden.
Do I need to look out for special kinds of plants that will cope with these conditions? Could anyone suggest any?? I should point out that this same bit of ground was baked hard all summer, so the waterlogging is only a winter problem. Any suggestions gratefully received Sally |
#2
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"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message ... The message from bramble towers contains these words: I have recently taken over a large neglected garden - about an acre with mainly grass, brambles & nettles. I have only ever had a patio garden before, so it's all very new to me. The soil here is acidic clay & when it rains, some lower lying areas of the garden end up about 4 inches under water. I had wanted to put in a border along my boundary fence, but this is in one of the waterlogged bits of the garden. Do I need to look out for special kinds of plants that will cope with these conditions? Could anyone suggest any?? I should point out that this same bit of ground was baked hard all summer, so the waterlogging is only a winter problem. It's probably still soggy deeper down. I have a place like that which I'm developing as a bog garden, using big bold plants that revel in wet conditions. Here's a selection (but there are LOADS more; try Beth Chatto's book called The Damp Garden). Gunnera, rodgersia, iris sibirica, variegated bullrush, drumstick primula, Himalayan cowslip, iris ensata, phormium, pampas grass, hemerocallis, hostas, ferns. For hedges you could add hornbeam & alder. -- Anton |
#3
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anton muttered:
"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message ... The message from bramble towers contains these words: I have recently taken over a large neglected garden - about an acre with mainly grass, brambles & nettles. I have only ever had a patio garden before, so it's all very new to me. The soil here is acidic clay & when it rains, some lower lying areas of the garden end up about 4 inches under water. I had wanted to put in a border along my boundary fence, but this is in one of the waterlogged bits of the garden. Do I need to look out for special kinds of plants that will cope with these conditions? Could anyone suggest any?? I should point out that this same bit of ground was baked hard all summer, so the waterlogging is only a winter problem. It's probably still soggy deeper down. I have a place like that which I'm developing as a bog garden, using big bold plants that revel in wet conditions. Here's a selection (but there are LOADS more; try Beth Chatto's book called The Damp Garden). Gunnera, rodgersia, iris sibirica, variegated bullrush, drumstick primula, Himalayan cowslip, iris ensata, phormium, pampas grass, hemerocallis, hostas, ferns. For hedges you could add hornbeam & alder. We've got the same and find that vibernums of all kinds do very well our hostas were also pretty impressive and the roses have been brilliant this year also apparently pears like it so we are going to have cordoned pears around the veg garden, but you could do the same on the fence. To make the soil a bit easier to work I'd recommend digging in a couple of tons of leafmold/manure and grit *before* you plant a thing and leave it for the winter to break the soil up. I didn't do this and I promise weeding around establishing plants in clay is *hell*. |
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