Hello,
We've recently moved to a brand new house - which means, of course, that
there's nothing in the garden. It's level, but that's about it. The house is
built on old school playing fields and so the soil appears to be OK.
All is well except for one corner, in the part of the garden I have ear
marked for vegetables. It is extremely poorly drained and normally has some
standing water if it's rained in the last few days. I've put some raspberry
canes in that general area but have avoided the waterlogged area. What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a willow tree,
but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there but I have a
limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it is and dig a
pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best avoided. Any
thoughts?
cheers
dan

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...
Hello,
We've recently moved to a brand new house - which means, of course, that
there's nothing in the garden. It's level, but that's about it. The house
is built on old school playing fields and so the soil appears to be OK.
All is well except for one corner, in the part of the garden I have ear
marked for vegetables. It is extremely poorly drained and normally has
some standing water if it's rained in the last few days. I've put some
raspberry canes in that general area but have avoided the waterlogged
area. What plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a
willow tree, but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there
but I have a limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it
is and dig a pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best
avoided. Any thoughts?
cheers
dan


In a couple of years that toddler will be a small child that will likely
(with the right encouragement) take great interest in the wildlife in and
around a pond (the local kids are often asking to see my pond, feed the
fish, or bringing frogs round etc) . I suggest you wait for that, the time
will fly by.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...
Hello,
We've recently moved to a brand new house - which means, of course, that
there's nothing in the garden. It's level, but that's about it. The house
is
built on old school playing fields and so the soil appears to be OK.
All is well except for one corner, in the part of the garden I have ear
marked for vegetables. It is extremely poorly drained and normally has
some
standing water if it's rained in the last few days. I've put some
raspberry
canes in that general area but have avoided the waterlogged area. What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a willow
tree,
but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there but I have a
limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it is and dig a
pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best avoided. Any
thoughts?
cheers
dan


A bog garden perhaps? Will attract all sorts of wildlife. Do you know if
the patch dries out in summertime though?

In article , Dan Welch
writes
Hello,
We've recently moved to a brand new house - which means, of course, that
there's nothing in the garden. It's level, but that's about it. The house is
built on old school playing fields and so the soil appears to be OK.
All is well except for one corner, in the part of the garden I have ear
marked for vegetables. It is extremely poorly drained and normally has some
standing water if it's rained in the last few days. I've put some raspberry
canes in that general area but have avoided the waterlogged area.

Wait till the summer - it may be just a winter problem, in which case
you can grow veg on it in the summer and just ignore it in the winter.

Rhubarb seems fairly tolerant of a damp situation, though not too sure
about whether it likes standing water.

Or you could build a raised bed on it and grow shallow rooted things -
ie most veg.

What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a willow tree,
but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there but I have a
limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it is and dig a
pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best avoided. Any
thoughts?

Look at the bog garden section of your local nursery. Marsh marigolds,
Geum rivale, ragged robin are some of the things I have in a similar
situation. If it doesn't dry out in the summer, a bog garden can be very
attractive - quite a few urglers would be pleased to have the chance.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Kay wrote:
In article , Dan
Welch
writes
[...]
What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a
willow tree, but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow
there but I have a limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept
the
site as it is and dig a pond there, but we have a toddler so
that's
something best avoided. Any thoughts?

Look at the bog garden section of your local nursery. Marsh
marigolds,
Geum rivale, ragged robin are some of the things I have in a
similar
situation. If it doesn't dry out in the summer, a bog garden can be
very attractive - quite a few urglers would be pleased to have the
chance.

And remember a pond can be drown-proof. You can fill it with stones
to just below water-level, and nearly all pond-life will be perfectly
happy. As the little one gets bigger, you can take stones out and
make room for fish.

Mike.

And remember a pond can be drown-proof. You can fill it with stones
to just below water-level, and nearly all pond-life will be perfectly
happy. As the little one gets bigger, you can take stones out and
make room for fish.

Too right. So sad every time we hear of a kiddie being drowned in a garden
pond. Another method is to fix steel grillwork just below the water surface.
A child could stand on it but not fall through., so you could have all the
benefits of a fishpond without the hazard.
DaveK.

"Tumbleweed" wrote in message
...

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...
Hello,

[..]

In a couple of years that toddler will be a small child that will likely
(with the right encouragement) take great interest in the wildlife in and
around a pond (the local kids are often asking to see my pond, feed the
fish, or bringing frogs round etc) . I suggest you wait for that, the time
will fly by.

--
Tumbleweed

Thanks for that - I used to work for the National Rivers Authority (as was)
and could identify a caddis fly larva at a hundred paces so I'm looking
forward to when she's old enough to go grubbing around under rocks and in
streams and the like... that is a few years on from now though and I don't
want a permanently wet patch in the garden until then. But a pond would be a
definite plus point... cats would eat the frogs though!
cheers
dan

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Dan Welch
writes
Hello,

[..]

Wait till the summer - it may be just a winter problem, in which case
you can grow veg on it in the summer and just ignore it in the winter.

Rhubarb seems fairly tolerant of a damp situation, though not too sure
about whether it likes standing water.

Or you could build a raised bed on it and grow shallow rooted things -
ie most veg.

It will be interesting to see what it's like in the summer... it's very
noticeably wetter than the rest of the garden now, but how that will compare
when the weather's warmer I don't know. Hell, it might be the only part of
the garden that can grow anything if we have another hot summer...



What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a willow
tree,
but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there but I have a
limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it is and dig a
pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best avoided. Any
thoughts?

Look at the bog garden section of your local nursery. Marsh marigolds,
Geum rivale, ragged robin are some of the things I have in a similar
situation. If it doesn't dry out in the summer, a bog garden can be very
attractive - quite a few urglers would be pleased to have the chance.
--
Kay

That's not a bad idea. I will hold that as a last resort, I'm trying to
separate the lawn / flowerbed part of the garden from the vegetable patch,
but it sounds like an interest project. Thanks to all who suggested
something similar.
Cheers!

dan

"davek" wrote in message
...

And remember a pond can be drown-proof. You can fill it with stones
to just below water-level, and nearly all pond-life will be perfectly
happy. As the little one gets bigger, you can take stones out and
make room for fish.

Too right. So sad every time we hear of a kiddie being drowned in a garden
pond. Another method is to fix steel grillwork just below the water
surface. A child could stand on it but not fall through., so you could
have all the benefits of a fishpond without the hazard.
DaveK.

Thanks Dave and Mike. I like the idea but I will be nervous about having a
pond until she's a good bit older even though they can be reasonably well
child proofed. I want to be able to sit on a summer's afternoon with a g 'n'
t in the shade as she hares around on the lawn chasing the cat without
worrying about hearing (or worse, not hearing) a splash!
I hadn't thought about sub-surface grillwork... wouldn't that take a lot of
cleaning to stop it getting choked with algae?
Thanks again to all in urg for the helpful comments.
cheers
dan

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...
Hello,
We've recently moved to a brand new house - which means, of course, that
there's nothing in the garden. It's level, but that's about it. The house
is
built on old school playing fields and so the soil appears to be OK.
All is well except for one corner, in the part of the garden I have ear
marked for vegetables. It is extremely poorly drained and normally has
some
standing water if it's rained in the last few days. I've put some
raspberry
canes in that general area but have avoided the waterlogged area. What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a willow
tree,
but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there but I have a
limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it is and dig a
pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best avoided. Any
thoughts?

Nobody seems to have suggested digging down into the wet patch to find out
what kind of subsoil you have (e.g. builders plastic) which may explain why
this particular spot is wet.

If you want to grow vegetables then one option is to dig a 'soak away' to
improve the drainange.

If you are on an old school playing field then there could be almost
anything under there e.g. established land drains which have become
displaced/blocked at one spot, so other areas are draining into it and
forming a wet spot.

If only one spot in the garden is poorly drained, unless it is the low spot
in the garden, there could be something unusual going on in that spot.

Just reminded me of where I used to live.
Across the road the back gardens had a diagonal ridge at the far end running
across several gardens. This was apparently the bank of an old stream, which
had been filled in when they built the houses along the street. [I assume
the near bank had been removed and levelled into the lawn area].
After heavy rain, the area of the original stream bed used to flood.

Probably useful to have some idea of the cause of flooding before deciding
your strategy.

Cheers
Dave R

"Dan Welch" wrote in
:

It is extremely poorly
drained and normally has some standing water if it's rained in the
last few days. I've put some raspberry canes in that general area but
have avoided the waterlogged area. What plants really like very wet
soil?

Have been doing some research into this for my sister, who has a very damp
field and wishes for a fruit orchard.

At the moment we are thinking Quinces - Cydonia oblonga. Gives you your
fruit and likes wet soil, if you have space for it?

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

"David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...
Hello,
We've recently moved to a brand new house - which means, of course, that
there's nothing in the garden. It's level, but that's about it. The house
is
built on old school playing fields and so the soil appears to be OK.
All is well except for one corner, in the part of the garden I have ear
marked for vegetables. It is extremely poorly drained and normally has
some
standing water if it's rained in the last few days. I've put some
raspberry
canes in that general area but have avoided the waterlogged area. What
plants really like very wet soil? I think that I could plant a willow
tree,
but that's not ideal. Watercress would probably grow there but I have a
limited capacity for that! I'd love to accept the site as it is and dig a
pond there, but we have a toddler so that's something best avoided. Any
thoughts?

Nobody seems to have suggested digging down into the wet patch to find out
what kind of subsoil you have (e.g. builders plastic) which may explain
why
this particular spot is wet.

If you want to grow vegetables then one option is to dig a 'soak away' to
improve the drainange.

If you are on an old school playing field then there could be almost
anything under there e.g. established land drains which have become
displaced/blocked at one spot, so other areas are draining into it and
forming a wet spot.

If only one spot in the garden is poorly drained, unless it is the low
spot
in the garden, there could be something unusual going on in that spot.

Just reminded me of where I used to live.
Across the road the back gardens had a diagonal ridge at the far end
running
across several gardens. This was apparently the bank of an old stream,
which
had been filled in when they built the houses along the street. [I assume
the near bank had been removed and levelled into the lawn area].
After heavy rain, the area of the original stream bed used to flood.

Probably useful to have some idea of the cause of flooding before deciding
your strategy.

Cheers
Dave R


Interesting - if slightly disturbing - thoughts there Dave. Thanks! I think
before doing anything drastic I might take your advice and have a bit of a
dig, see what I find... there was nothing on the drainage survey pre
purchase, but they can be a bit 'approximate' in my experience.
cheers
dan

"Victoria Clare" wrote in message
. 206...
"Dan Welch" wrote in
:

It is extremely poorly
drained and normally has some standing water if it's rained in the
last few days. I've put some raspberry canes in that general area but
have avoided the waterlogged area. What plants really like very wet
soil?

Have been doing some research into this for my sister, who has a very damp
field and wishes for a fruit orchard.

At the moment we are thinking Quinces - Cydonia oblonga. Gives you your
fruit and likes wet soil, if you have space for it?

Victoria

I'm not really sure about what a quince *is* so I'll have to do some
research - but it sounds like it might be an answer...
thanks!
cheers
dan

Dan Welch wrote:
[...]
I'm not really sure about what a quince *is* so I'll have to do
some
research - but it sounds like it might be an answer...
thanks!

The great Christopher Lloyd did an informative quince piece in the
Guardian Magazine very recently -- see if it's still there on
www.guardian.co.uk

He mentioned what I've found out too, that you only ever want far
fewer than one tree will produce. You can't eat them like apples, and
we don't all have insatiable appetites for quince jelly or apple pies
flavoured with quince. Iranian and Turkish cookery makes excellent
use of them in several different dishes, both sweet and savoury,
though.

Looks pretty in bloom and in fruit, of course. If it's of interest,
the fruit gave its name, marmelo, to marmalade. Might be the basis
for an interesting country wine, as the scent is lovely.

I planted one in a soggy spot in West Wales, and it survived, but
never amounted to much, so I think there's a limit to the amount of
ground-water it can use comfortably.

Mike.

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...

"David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...

"Dan Welch" wrote in message
...
Hello,
snip
If you are on an old school playing field then there could be almost
anything under there e.g. established land drains which have become
displaced/blocked at one spot, so other areas are draining into it and
forming a wet spot.
snip
Interesting - if slightly disturbing - thoughts there Dave. Thanks! I
think
before doing anything drastic I might take your advice and have a bit of a
dig, see what I find... there was nothing on the drainage survey pre
purchase, but they can be a bit 'approximate' in my experience.
cheers
dan

Just to make sure I made myself clear....

....what I mean by land drains is the method of digging a trench, lining it
with gravel, putting in clay pipes with small gaps between pipe ends, then
covering the whole thing with more gravel, then filling the trench back in
with earth.
This helps to drain water away to the lower part of a field and into a
ditch.
Useful for improving slow draining soil in fields.

Can be straight runs, or a herring bone pattern.

When large areas (such as a field) are broken up into housing units it is
possible for these drains to be interrupted by foundations etc. and end up
draining water from uphill into the foundations.
Can also be disrupted just by general digging, and if a drainage run is
blocked then you could see a wet area such as you describe.

Not sure if this would show up on a drainage survey - I assume you are
talking about the survey that checks the soil pipes and waste water drainage
from the house and guttering.

If you had a more generalised survey of the grounds (not just the house)
then get your surveyor back :-)

Cheers
Dave R