No-one likes a soggy bottom!
It’s a phrase normally associated with BBC2’s Great British Bake Off , but its not just cooks who go to great lengths to ensure their produce (pastry in this case) doesn’t end up with a soggy bottom, it aff ects gardeners too!
I’m not talking about sitting on wet grass, or toppling over in the veg plot after too much potting-shed homebrew, but about the poor plants we expect to grow in badly- drained soil. Out in the wild, a plant’s survival depends on whether its seeds blow into a dry rock face or a sticky clay soil puddle, and that’s fi ne because one will die while the other thrives. But it’s very diff erent in the domestic garden, where over-enthusiastic humans buy anything that looks pretty, dig a hole and expect it to bloom.
The right plant for the right soil is as important, if not more so than its tolerance to sun or shade.
Studies show that plants
cannot survive for more than just a few days if left in standing water.
fact that roots need air too … well, most plants that is. You see there’s a clever lot who have adapted over the years to thrive in such conditions and they’re commonly known as bog plants.
glamorous name, unlike their closely-related cousins such as water lilies, which are known as hydrophytes.
Plants that thrive in heavy, wet clay soils, which are damp but not permanently waterlogged,
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include the beautiful bold leaves of the Hosta, the feathery plumes and delectably dissected foliage of the Astilbe, and any of the Primulas, which are ideal for low-growing spring colour. For fern lovers, Osmunda regalis is a favourite or for a splash of summer colour in full sun try Lobelia cardinalis.
If you have a larger garden and need to fi ll areas of damp soil, try the herbaceous Rodgersia which look great planted in drifts, and if you have a really large area why not try the prickly rhubarb-like Gunnera manicata: children will love standing under the giant leaves of its huge green umbrella!
If you don’t have a boggy area, but would like to try growing some of these plants for yourself, why not create one? If you dig out a ‘mini pond’ and then add an old liner or plastic sheet, pierce it several times with a fork and then add the soil back in,
It’s a little known you can plant a selection of the plants above.
You’ll need to make sure it doesn’t dry out in the
I understand it’s not the most usually works best, and if
summer, so a shady location you’ve only got a teeny garden,
try the fl y-eating pitcher plants Sarracenia. They will provide a talking point!
To advertise in thewire t. 07720 429 613 e.
the.wire@btinternet.com
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