You need shrubs rather than perennials or anything 'lightweight'. They'll help soak up excess water. There's clearly some sort of problem re the moisture/water though. Perhaps you're in an area with a high water table, or there's a solid clay pan just a bit lower down in the ground, although raised beds should mitigate the latter a lot. It certainly does here, and we're not in a dry part of the world. The right growing mix in the beds also helps
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's a new build and our garden is the lowest point of five surrounding properties with clay earth beneath. We had severe waterlogging within 3m of the house, and fought the builder for 18 months with them ending up having to hire a reputable landscaping company who dug the whole garden out, put very a extensive drainage system in connected to a silt trap then into the main drain, and then returfed. It improved it slightly, but didn't resolve it. I watched the work and it was done correctly. It would have cost us at least £5k had we not put up a fight. We then paved the worst areas because they would not dry up. The raised beds, plus an extra pipe in the worst area, were built by our privately hired landscaper recently, as a last ditch attempt at getting rid of some moisture. We really are at the absolute limit of what we can do now and have accepted we'll never have a perfect situation out there so have to just make the best of it.
The problem with drainage alone is, it doesn't alter the fact that the soil itself is clay, and without improving it's structure, it will always be wetter than is ideal, especially in a wet area, and/or being at the lowest point of several properties, as is you're situation. Building upwards is the best, and easiest, solution for planting, as long as you're happy doing that. I altered my back garden a couple of years ago, where I'd had a raised lawn [mitigating the weather] with surrounding gravel paths etc. Bigger pond created, but the ground it's on was mostly still part of the original space, which was slabs and gravel, over hardcore, and solid, sticky clay. Getting plants in and established wasn't easy, but it's the usual combination of choosing suitable plants [the main factor] and improving areas substantially that were dug out. Digging out even quite small holes was time consuming and hard work, which I'm well used to, but it's a tougher process than building a raised bed and filling it!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We can't do any more structural work, not at the moment anyway, and the garden is exceptionally small. We have been through a very difficult process with the builder getting to this point, and we have an exceptionally difficult family situation due to both myself and our children having chronic illnesses and disabilities, plus what we have accomplished so far has cost a huge amount. I sought the opinion of several landscapers on what we could do to improve it, and they all said the same thing which was to do what we have done. I just need to choose the right plants now, which will have an element of trial and error.
Found some healthy looking foxgloves (Digitalis Camelot) today in homebase of all places, and after a read they seem suited to these beds - the bottom of the bed gets much less sunlight than the top, but we live in northwest England so it rarely gets exceptionally hot and dry. I'm thinking of getting two - how much shade do they need, and how far apart should they be planted? They're in 2L pots.
At this time of year they're probably about ready to flower so they shouldn't get much bigger. They're biennial to short-lived perennial so let them set some seed - the plants might not come back next year.
The foxgloves in my garden (not Camelot but the common digitalis and the white form) seed themselves everywhere from full sun to shade and seem happy, so I don't think they're very fussy.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
The label says they're perennial but does that mean only a few years *in this case? Not sure I want to spend 8 quid a plant on something that is only going to do a couple of years!
Some suppliers list them as biennials, some as short-lived perennials, some as perennials which I think that's quite misleading - if they don't continue each year the buyer will likely think they did something wrong.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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There's clearly some sort of problem re the moisture/water though. Perhaps you're in an area with a high water table, or there's a solid clay pan just a bit lower down in the ground, although raised beds should mitigate the latter a lot.
It certainly does here, and we're not in a dry part of the world. The right growing mix in the beds also helps
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Building upwards is the best, and easiest, solution for planting, as long as you're happy doing that.
I altered my back garden a couple of years ago, where I'd had a raised lawn [mitigating the weather] with surrounding gravel paths etc. Bigger pond created, but the ground it's on was mostly still part of the original space, which was slabs and gravel, over hardcore, and solid, sticky clay. Getting plants in and established wasn't easy, but it's the usual combination of choosing suitable plants [the main factor] and improving areas substantially that were dug out. Digging out even quite small holes was time consuming and hard work, which I'm well used to, but it's a tougher process than building a raised bed and filling it!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...