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Help! Peaty and boggy soil ... any plant suggestions?
Aletheia L
Posts: 6
I have a very large backyard which seemed to have a lot of potential (1000 square meters).
I live in Perth, Western Australia, which is considered Mediterranean weather according to some people.
Do any of you have suggestions of what I could grow in this boggy/swampy environment? There's so much water in the backyard that when you dig half a meter deep, the hole fills partly up with water. We also have Arum lilies growing (of their own accord).
I'm open to any plant or flower suggestions any of you have.
P.S. Do any of you have alternative suggestions on how to get rid of all this terrible water?
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any marginal/bog garden plant will work well, as will carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants (Sarracenia), but these would have to be in planting pockets of a peat/sand mix.
..I'm sorry to hear of your problems there..but you definitely have a very large backyard...lol... one plant you would know about is Callistemon...the bottle brush... and I think I'm right in saying that, they not only grow in hot dry drought areas, which we tend to associate them with here, but also around billabongs...
...some of those perhaps..? or seen enough of them...?
Gunnera manicata, Lysichiton americanis (skunk cabbage) and Petasites japonicum (giant butterbur) should all love the boggy conditions.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I would say that you dont want the roots of plants sitting in water, so make sure you have planty of drainage in the bottom of the planting areas, so that the roots sit in the stones or gravel or whatever hardcore you use and not in the sodden soil. Bog plants are more tolerant of the wet than other plants. Hope this helps
Some interesting suggestions here ... I appreciate them.
Blueberries?
My OH has just suggested geese.
Have you considered Zantedeschia? They are so elegant and thrive in wet boggy areas.
hostas , hostas and more hostas. BTW , love that photo of Zantedeschia Marinelilium.
The Zantedeschia is gorgeous ... so far two great flower suggestions
I'm guessing you're in the swan river basin. I've seen lots of the white zantedeschia growing as a weed up there in boggy areas. As its classed as an introduced weed I guess you won't want it. There are coloured versions you may get at Bunnings.
You could grow many plants that we can't grow in England,because there is no frost or snow. You could use swamp myrtles or the paperbark eucalyptus for shade. They will be ok with wet feet. A lot of plants that need better drainage,would be better in big pots or raised beds adding sand and gravel to increase the drainage.
Kings park has a sale of native plants every spring. The resident botanists should be able to give you advice,or you could look around the lower lakes and see what is growing well.most plants are labelled.