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Have you sat looking at the bottom portion of your garden disappearing under a few inches of water as the rain falls & wondering what you can do to make the best of a bad job? You could either spend money on improving drainage so that your roses will flourish or bite the bullet & embrace the best qualities of boggy or saturated ground & plant those species that will welcome the water lapping around their root bowl.
If you study marginal planting in nature you will see several landmark species of tree that will flourish in the wettest of soil conditions. Willows (genus - Salix) are the commonest & most atmospheric & they love waterside positions. The best of them include Salix alba var. vitellina 'Britzensis', with lovely winter bark colour & Salix babylonica 'Tortuosa' – the twisted or Dragon’s Claw willow. Beware though as willows can be invasive root wise, especially if they are near to drains, & are prone to cracking if positioned in an exposed position. For some real class in wet ground you should look no further than the bamboo genus Phyllostachys. This large group of bamboos are not overly invasive if you keep tabs on the new shoots in the spring & cut them back if they stray in the wrong direction. Some species can reach up to 5m in damp sheltered ground, so you should choose carefully. Biggest of all is Phyllostachys aureosuculatus with canes up to 75mm across, definitely one for the bigger garden. Golden canes are provided by Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillonis’ or P. vivax aureocallis both of which will grow to 3m & will lighten a damp shady corner. The classic black bamboo p. nigra comes on several forms with two of the best being P. nigra f. punctata or the cultivar ‘Boryana. Other tall bamboos to look for include (deep breath…) Semiarundinaria fastuosa, Himalayacalamus falconeri & Pseudosasa japonica (those Linnaean scholars do like to give bamboos tongue twisters for names…). Smaller bamboos that will thrive in these conditions & are worthy of attention are the golden variegated Pleioblastus auricomis & Shibataea kumasasa, which has attractive zebra striped shoots in summer.
On the smaller shrub scene, the dogwoods will grow well, & provide stunning winter colour across a whole portion of the spectrum from yellow to almost purple. The genus is Cornus & the following cultivars will be good value for money. 'Flaviramea' is bright green, ‘Siberica’ is red, ‘Midwinter Fire’, orange / yellow, & ‘Kessselringii’ dark red / purple. Specimens should be stooled (cut to 150mm) in spring to promote better winter colour.
Ferns are a blessing for the damp shady spaces in the garden. The Victorians built special Ferneries that were designed exclusively for this most textural family of plants. Osmunda regalis (the Royal Fern) is by far & away the best fern here & can grow to 1.5m in the optimum conditions. Matteuccia struthiopteris is also known as the Shuttlecock Fern & when planted in a swathe provides a fabulous array of fronds that enhances any planting
Big leaves are the staple of the bog garden. Massive & not for the faint hearted is Gunnera manicata. Growing to 3m high with leaves that can grow to 2.5m across you can see that it would swamp the smaller garden but in the more stately acre it is an impressive beast. Darmera peltata has leaves to 500mm across & stunning autumn colour so is worthwhile in a restricted area, unlike Petatsites japonicus which is similar but much more invasive & with no autumn highlight. Rheum or ornamental rhubarb is also worth a look.
For flower in boggy conditions your choice is wide & varied & I would recommend the following genus highly:
Primula or primrose has the candelabra flowered bulleyana species producing orange / yellow flowers that are striking in a mass planting, with the Star Trek looking Primula viallii adding the weird & wonderful.
Inulas range from the manageable Inula hookeri to the bigger & more impressive Inula magnifica, but they are all in my top draw.
Irises really take the prize & you can pretty much take your pick from the daintily flowered Iris siberica, the bold flag waving border Irises like ‘Kent Pride’ through to the magical Iris ensata species.
Astilbes are hand in hand with Irises at the top of the list, Cultivars like ‘Granat’ & ‘Fanal’ are tall & red whilst ‘Bronze Baby is smaller. Irrlicht’ is white & can provide a real focal point.
Lysichiton americanum is also endearingly known as Skunk Cabbage (with good reason) but the big yellow flowers can be seen to striking effect in many drainage ditches in Sussex.
Finally the Day Lily or Hemerocallis has literally hundreds of cultivars that will all love the damp ground. Take your pick, but I’ll name a few for your perusal, ‘Red Rum’, ‘Night Porter’, ‘Gentle Shepherd’, ‘Prairie Sunset’ & ‘Black Magic’.
As ever… look at what the professionals plant, take advantage of the wonderful gardens in Sussex that all have waterside planting & look out for the plants they use. Great Dixter, Wakehurst Place, Leonardslee & Groombridge Place are all worth a peek in the summer. |
