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Flower beds flooding

Mrsl2Mrsl2 Posts: 17
in Problem solving
We have clay soil which has been drowning our plants so we dug out all the clay, replaced with grit, manure and compost and the bed is still flooding!! Can anyone suggest anything we can do or what we can do with this section of the garden? We were wanting to solve our beds so we can have plants and trees for privacy but it’s just so damp! 
We covered it with a sheet after replacing the soil and this is underneath the sheet. 
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Posts

  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited August 2023
    If clay is the soil you've got keep it. Improve it, but digging it out will surely alter the level, a sure way to cause flooding.

    What have your neighbours got?  Look for some othe cause.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Mrsl2Mrsl2 Posts: 17
    The neighbours round us all just have turf. All new builds and no one has bothered to put anything other than turf down. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Are they at a higher level than you?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    It looks to me as if digging a hole has created a sump which fills with water from the soil around it. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Mrsl2Mrsl2 Posts: 17
    We are trying to build the beds higher now by adding soil, grit and compost mixed. 
    Any suggestions on evergreen shrubs/trees that like a wet soil please? 
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    If you can, put some of your clay soil into the mix to try to stop the sump effect you've created. Most plants will rot in that much water, even ones that like damp soil. There are trees that will cope - river birch (betula nigra) and alder, but they aren't evergreen and even they won't like it much.

    If you can manage to get a bit better drainage, the native evergreens like holly and juniper will be OK. I think there are some varieties of spruce that will tolerate wet feet - they are all quite big though - how much room do you have?
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    Ever considered a pond instead?
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited August 2023
    When I bought a new-build (now a distant memory) the front garden was a mess.  

    Top 30cm yellow London Clay; below that, all sorts of rubbish; below that well-matured dark top-soil based on ex-woodland LOndon Clay but smelling very anaerobic.

    First step: dig over 2 spits' deep and sort into the various components.  Rearrange these components at the levels required.  

    I never looked back.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Mrsl2Mrsl2 Posts: 17
    We are mixing the clay soil in that we dug in and trying to raise it as a bed slightly from the ground so it is higher than the grass level. We would like some kind of hedging plants/evergreen shrubs or trees for privacy to hide some of the windows overlooking us. 
    A pond isn’t practical for us unfortunately with a small dog and toddler 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    What is the surrounding area like in your garden?
    Clay is actually the best medium for growing plants, as long as it's amended. A good amount of rotted manure/compost and any other organic matter added to it would have done the trick if done 6 months ago or so. I agree that you've possibly just created a sump now by removing the soil. 
    Grit is pointless in a border as you would need tons and tons of it to make any real difference. 
    As said - plants don't thrive in permanently wet soil unless they're pond plants. Willow is about the only thing that will tolerate wet soil on a consistent basis, but isn't practical unless you have a very large plot. Even bog plants need drainage and air around the roots, and that's where the organic matter comes in. 
    An 'actual' raised bed is another solution, but it depends on budget and what size the plot is etc.  :)

    However, have you checked that there isn't a high water table or similar in the area?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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