I have just read this thread for the first time, when it got to the photos I didn't dare to look. However it doesn't look bad to me. It is like my own garden in many ways, there are areas where you could dig down a spades depth and find enough clay to make a full dinner service. One plant I would avoid is Clematis. All the Viburnums will do well.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Thanks to everyone for your advice. Perhaps a photo of what we dug out would help. That is what’s lining the walls and the entire base of the area; we have ended up backfilling about a foot’s worth with turf and cave in from the surface topsoil. So providing we are supplied with decent quality topsoil, i’m less worried about what plants to add and more worried that if we have bad rains again the whole area will end up a swimming pool and I’ll lose the lot.
Have we dug deep enough for the water to drain down so as not to affect the roots and wait to be leached back up in the summer?
That's what the soil here is like if not improved. Most plants, of any kind, don't need the depth you've dug down. If you choose some shrubs and trees, plus other suitable plants according to sun/shade, they'll soak up moisture, as I said earlier, especially if you amend the soil accordingly. When a plot is empty, that's where excess water is most noticeable.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
A clay subsoil is normal for many parts of the country … certainly over a large proportion of Suffolk and Norfolk. Back in the day clay was dug out for ‘clay lump’ houses and farm buildings … the resulting pits filled with water and became farm ponds and moats.
To be honest l don't think anyone can say for sure what will happen until a torrential downpour or a period of steady rain occurs. My soil has areas of clay very like that if l dig down far enough but to be honest l haven't dug down that far for many years.
I think you have probably gone as far as you can in terms of digging out. I would concentrate on improving the top 18 inches with compost and getting plants in to the ground. Water them until they are established and then let the roots go searching for water, they will go down surprisingly deep. I can appreciate your concern, but l think as the years go by things will literally settle down. I'm assuming your estate was built on fields, and l see it was area previously known for flooding. This is happening in my local area and l expect there will be many other people coming across the same problem as they start to develop their gardens.
A the risk of sounding harsh, l think it's something you are going to have to live with and just deal with situations as they occur. I know parts of Monty Don's garden Longmeadow flood in particularly wet Winters so he has found a way to live with his situation. There are many articles online about dealing with gardens that are prone to flooding, here's just one example https://www.waltons.co.uk/blogs/blog/how-to-deal-flooded-garden
Thanks so much to everyone for all your great advice, which has been very reassuring.
I was considering a viburnum kilimanjaro or a specimen lilac for the area closest to the house, c1.8m, as we have a number of acers already. Do shout if you think there are some better options. Again, really appreciate your prompt advice.
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Most plants, of any kind, don't need the depth you've dug down.
If you choose some shrubs and trees, plus other suitable plants according to sun/shade, they'll soak up moisture, as I said earlier, especially if you amend the soil accordingly. When a plot is empty, that's where excess water is most noticeable.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My soil has areas of clay very like that if l dig down far enough but to be honest l haven't dug down that far for many years.
I think you have probably gone as far as you can in terms of digging out. I would concentrate on improving the top 18 inches with compost and getting plants in to the ground.
Water them until they are established and then let the roots go searching for water, they will go down surprisingly deep.
I can appreciate your concern, but l think as the years go by things will literally settle down. I'm assuming your estate was built on fields, and l see it was area previously known for flooding.
This is happening in my local area and l expect there will be many other people coming across the same problem as they start to develop their gardens.
A the risk of sounding harsh, l think it's something you are going to have to live with and just deal with situations as they occur.
I know parts of Monty Don's garden Longmeadow flood in particularly wet Winters so he has found a way to live with his situation.
There are many articles online about dealing with gardens that are prone to flooding, here's just one example
https://www.waltons.co.uk/blogs/blog/how-to-deal-flooded-garden