Very wet soil .....

Hi there,
I am a new member here, so I am just learning the ropes. Please forgive me if I don't get things quite right to begin with.
I wonder if someone could offer me any advice on very wet soil.
I have an area in my back garden that is lovely all summer, but as soon as the weather turns, the soil seems to keep hold of every drop of water that falls on it.
I wanted to bark this area with a few shrubs, but can't while it's like this.
I have tried digging in sand as recommended by garden centre, but no joy........ please, does anyone else have any other idea's as to how I can cure it, or what I could do instead of the bark.
I would very much appriciate your advice.

 

Drainage? I have soil that gets very wet in winter and is sometimes under standing water. I improved it by digging a natural pond at the lowest point and then dug drainage ditchs to it.
Some garden books tell you to dig a pit filled with pebbles or even lay drainage pipes. Depends how bad your problem is. You could even make a bog garden if it doesn't dry out in the summer.

 

Apart from draining the area as described ,I had aproblem somewhat the same and got round it by raising the level inthat area.

 

All the above is great advice, but if all else fails you will end up with a garden like parts of mine. I have planted - Cornus (loads of lovely varieties) Sambuca astilbe which all love the wet. Other plants that survive are hollies, forsythia, beech. One of the probl;ems is wet in winter and dry in Summer so you still have to be careful.

I also have land drains, but they are not very effective.

 

I agree with Waco. Its worth trying to drain it as much as you can, but at the end of the day it is difficult to fight nature. The water could be coming in from a large catchment area. Better to grow appropriate plants. Bearded Irises like the damp, and also tolerate the dry in summer. I have a damp area and grow Astilbe, Aconitum, Lythrum, Eupatorium. Lobelia, Liatris, Filipendula, Meconopsis, Hemerocallis, Monarda, Primula etc - all damp loving hardy perennials.