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Boggy clay soil
Hi,
I have a very boggy clay area in my garden that's part way down a slope.This area is not sloping, hence there is often a build up of water. We already have an abundance of what I think are Irises which are flourishing in the area and taking over! I've cleared a section (roughly 2m by 2m) and started to add plenty of wood chippings. Is this the right thing to do? I presume if so, I should do this for a good year or two before planting??
Once ready to plant, does anyone know what would be good to plant that would thrive in clay boggy soil and also not be taken over by other plants such as the irises. Its going to be next to a seating area, so if it had a lovely fragrance, even better but not a must!
Thank you 
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if you add wood chips they act as a sponge, what you want is small gravel or sharp sand, are the irises yellow ones? if so they can be quite invasive,
what you want to plant are bog or wet ground plants, so hosta's, ferns, candelabra primulas, gunnera (if you have the space) lots to choose from
ah ok. I read somewhere that adding things like wood chip and other organic matter helps clay soil break down and that adding sand and gravel doesn't work :-/ confused now..
Thanks for the plant ideas, I'll have a look at them and see what might work best :-)
Adding sharp sand is the usual way to increase drainage, but it's hard work. The clay has to be thoroughly broken up or the sand won't find its way into the solid mass. I think vermiculite is the best soil improver, and you can buy 100L sacks on EBay quite cheaply. Again, hard work incorporating it, but hopefully you only do it once
Thanks Stuartdot :-) It would be too hard for me to ever make the area well drained so I think I'll be going with the boggy and finding plants that will love it there.
Treehugger80 - I like the look of candelabra primulas! We already have gunnera part way down which is massive and thrives! I might go for some ferns as well.. :-)
Thank you!
Sorry Stuartdot, but I'd have to disagree.
IMHO bulky organic matter( well rotted farmyard manure/ garden compost ) is the best for breaking down clay soil. Sand can actually make it worse.
polb, look at iris pseudacorus. If this is what you have, I'd get rid of it, or at least keep it well under control. It's highly invasive when it's happy, and yours seems to be very happy if you're pulling it up by the metre.
Thanks for the info Hostafan1!
I'll keep adding organic matter I think over a year and wait for it to break down into the soil a little. It will always be wet and clay soil there but it would be good if I could improve things a little from the top!
We have a lot of different Irises throughout the garden and I can't remember what colour these ones are near to where I'm now working. They clearly need keeping under control though, although there is a massive area for them to enjoy and not spoil anything. I'll just need to keep a check that they don't invade the new planting area!
Do any of the suggested plants smell nice?!
Thanks everyone for your replies, much appreciated :-)
Great! I'll maybe add in some of our compost from this last year and just let it break down into the soil for a year or so :-)
I have heavy clay and can confirm that grit and muck are what you need to dig in. I would compost peelings and cardboard before adding them because it will look like a compost heap if you don't! Elaeagnus Quicksilver is a pretty, scented shrub that droops attractively on a sunny slope .
That's great thank you. I like the look of Elaeagnus Quicksilver.. I'll have too much choice soon! :-D
Thanks