Need advise on what thirsty bushes to buy for garden

[/IMG]Hi there , im looking for some advice on what plants / bushes to buy for my water logged garden . i'm new to gardening so i have no ideas myself so looking for some expert advice !
Basically , my garden gets very bad water logging and i'm planning on battling with this this spring / summer , i believe the problem is that its a new build house and the back garden was compacted down due to the workers tippers and fork lifts etc , instead of churning up the garden a bit they just threw down some turf and said it wasn't their problem !
When i dig down the garden does have a thick layer of clay that is making drainage slow . The worst area is beside the neighbouring fence as that place doesn't get any sun during the day .
Today i have been out in the garden and dug 3 holes on the middle of the water logged area , my idea/plan is to plant 3 thirsty bushes that will help with the water logging , can anyone suggest whet i should be looking at buying, wet ground, no sun light , also we have 2 small boys so something a hit hardy and have some colour to it , i'm not below sea level or anything like that but there are 2 houses to the side of me that are higher up so water seems to run down to me and my neighbour .
Also as a sub question , someone suggested that i get hold of some mushroom extract compost and spread that about as that helps with waterlogged gardens , if this is correct then i might get some of this .

 

Fatsia japonica tolerates a lot of water, Zantedeschia aethiopica is an excellent plant for waterlogged ground. Cyperus alternifolius maybe?

Phormium tenax is well known bog plant.

Callistemon subulatus

 

Welcome to GC Scottydoggiom. To be honest I think you'd be better off starting afresh with your garden. Clay is bad enough but when it's compacted it's hard work. To help the drainage you should reallly give it a good dig over and get some compost and sand mixed in to help the drainage. Shrubs won't help the situation much as it stands. With, hopefully the warmer weather on it's way, now would be a good time to start and you could re-seed or turf a new lawn.

 

A gunnera forest? The small boys would love it.

 

Ferns, astilbes, astrantias, primulas of all kinds, arum lilies, acteas, carex, acorus, dogwoods, a lovely Japanese willow, hostas, etc., etc will grow in boggy ground

 

Hi Scotty, You've already had some good suggestions re plants but if I was you I'd take advantage of a "blank canvas" which is so much easier to tackle than trying to improve the area around plants. A weekend of hard work improving the area you wish to plant in will pay huge dividends in the long run. Personally I'd concerntrate on digging over the area you wish to plant and incorporate some horse manure if you can get some or mushroome compost, really anything to help improve the drainage. Perhaps there are allotments closeby where someone might have some spare compost? If you can improve the soil structure a bit then you won't be so restricted and can maybe take advantage of the fence to grow some climbers up it. If you don't fancy a heavy digging session then try and concerntrate your efforts on where you are intending to plant shrubs etc giving them a good start by adding a liberal amount say potting compost to the planting holes. Not easy to see but it looks like you have an area beyond your fence where there are lots of trees which might equal plenty of leaf mould going a begging which would certainly improve your soil no end.

 

Thanks for these answers, this site is very useful and i might be on here more often asking questions , i'm thinking you are right and i need to roll my sleves up and get the spade and fork out and start churning up that area of the garden and getting some compost added to it .
I'm wondering , when i dig down to the clay level should i just remove the clay and git rid of it ? or does it just come back ?
Also the compost , im going to get some mushroom compost , luckily there is a mushroom factory not far from my house that sells it . Also i will get some mult perpose compost from B+Q and maybe some bark ? also my cousin has an alloctment so i might ask him about his compost and if i can get some off him .

Think i might need to dry the area a bit to make it easier , i might fashion some sort of cover for it so rain cant get at it for a week or so .

 

Plants won't solve a drainage problem. Adult water-loving trees will drink plenty, but young plants won't.

Similar question was asked about compacted clay on a New Build site here:
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/new-build-house-garden.49879/

For a new build my advice is to make it the builder's problem. Commonly on new builders the builders destroy the soil structure building the house, often bury their rubble in the garden too, and I think they should put it right for you - not just spread a couple of inches of top soil over the top and pretend that's a garden!

 

Of course Kristen is correct. Maybe if you have enough new neighbours who could band together re I expect a common problem to you all you might get the builder to do something, perhaps if nothing else rotovate the area you want as flowerbeds which would reduce the digging a bit? Better chance if he hasn't been paid in full lol!!!!
Read your last post and good news re the mushroom compost. Basically I'd buy as much as you can afford, and remove as much of the clay your back will permit! Try to imagine how difficult it will be for plants to get their roots through the clay and that will hopefully give you an idea as to the reasons why it's so important to concerntrate on what you don't see in the garden. It really does make economic sense to spent money getting the plants "home" right before spending your hard earned cash on plants which won't flourish unless given a fighting chance. Once you grass starts to grown you can mix in the clippings (not big clumps just sprinklings),that will add to the organic content. Multipurpose is fine to use in the planting holes.Bark chips are used as a weed supresser, not really as a soil improver ie you put the chips on the surface of the flowerbed not mixed in. Those who can afford it use a membrane on the surface and then cover the membrane with the chips but that can be a bit pricey if doing a fairly big area. A cheaper option is laying down say 4 to 6 sheets thick of newpaper and then the chips on top.....do not do this on a windy day!!!! You can of course just put the chips down with nothing underneath but the chips have a habit of disappearing quite quickly. One last suggestion, we have a recycling plant which composts vaste quantities of council organic waste which has been heated to a high temperature. We can get the compost for nothing. It is a bit hit or miss what you get but would be better than solid clay. Perhaps you might have a similar plant closeby?

 

All this advise is very helpful and i thank you all for your help , by the end of this summer my garden WILL be the way i want it .
It was light last night when i got in from work so i have been out with the fork and turned over some of the mud in the problem area . When i was seeing big clumps of Clay turned up i was chucking this over the back fence .
Is this worth doing or does the Clay just form again and its to do with the soil etc ?
I'm going to the mushroom factory next week . Lets home the weather stays dry as im determined to prepare all this area for Grass seeding in March

 

What is important is that the layers of soil are not disturbed, so ideally you will have 10" - 18", or more if you are lucky!, of "topsoil" and then some "subsoil" below that and possibly you will be able to dig through that to something underneath (e.g. could be chalk).

If the clay is under the topsoil that's fine, if its all mixed in then that's not good. I don't suppose the plants will mind too much, but it will be a nightmare to work with as every time you try to do anything a great clump will get stuck to whatever implement you are using.

If you have separate layers of Top-soil and sub-soil then opening up the sub-soil will help. This has to be done without mixing the layers (typically by using a technique called Double Digging where the top-soil and sub-soil layers are dug separately, and without mixing). Main thing is to get air into it, which will create gaps and facilitate drainage, and to incorporate some humus (compost / manure / etc.) which will keep it more "open" and improve it which will make it better for growing plants in. You could incorporate sand / grit [to help with drainage] but personally I don't think it is worthwhile on a large scale, although I do incorporate grit in just the planting holes.

It will help if you don't walk on your clay once dug. Putting a board down on the borders, when you need to stand within them to work, so that your weight is "spread", will help a lot to keep the structure open and prevent it re-compacting.

Drains will help too (perforated drainage pipe which comes on a roll, in the bottom of a trench and then covered [to the top of the pipe only] with gravel). Either "plumb" the drains into an [existing] storm drain, if you have one, or make a deep hole filled with rubble (a "soakaway") and be prepared to use a pump to empty it if it doesn't soak away promptly enough (in 7 years of living here this, wet, year is the first time I've had to pump my soakaways out).

See also: pavingexpert.com/drainage.htm

 

Again great advice from Kristen especially about trying to stand on a board to stop compacting what you might just have spent time digging. Re hurling the clay over the fence, I'd keep hurling! It may well be the builder has mixed top and sub soil already which isn't too clever. You should be able to see a difference in colour between the top and sub soil layers if it isn't already mixed up. Try to keep as much top and hurl the sub. Hopefully you might see some worms or other insects/grubs when digging this is a good sign that you do have some topsoil. Glad you have decided to roll up the sleeves and try your best to improve the area. Much as we all would like it to be, most of gardening isn't a quick fix, hours of hard work now will pay dividends in the furture. Now, if it stays dry is a good time to be doing the labouring bit before your clay dries to concrete and you still have plenty of time to purchase some nice plants once the hard work is done.