H2O lovin' plants?

May 4, 2009 6:28 PM

Gardening Filter: I am looking to plant along my side fence, which lies on the South side of my poorly graded backyard. This is a wet area (low grade) and I would like suggestions--flowers or shrubs.

Additional info: I live in Southern Ontario and the area is in full sun for at least 4 hours in the afternoon. Previous owners of the house never attempted to plant there, and I want to be the first to succeed! Changing the grade, or adding a french drain is not an option right now. The fence is about 6' high and the low lying area is about 3' wide.

posted by saradarlin to home & garden (11 comments total)

Iris's do wonderful in soggy conditions. Looking at a map, I'm guessing that you are in plant zone 4.
posted by JujuB at 7:15 PM on May 4 [1 favorite]

Too many choices to list. A few off the top of my head...berry bushes do well in damp soil, so maybe raspberries for one; magnolia, mock orange (white flowering bush), shrub dogwood, ferns and even some roses will work (believe me) if there is a few hours sun.

As jujuB said, let us know what plant zone you are in. Your cold winters may determine what will work. Do you want deciduous or evergreen? Narrow down the color and shape you desire. Of course it is best and easiest to use your native area plants...a local nursery will help you determine those best.
posted by artdrectr at 7:25 PM on May 4

Apparently I am in zone 5A.

I am open to a wide variety of types, we get a lot (4 feet of snow) in the winter so it would need to stand up to that, although I would stake it and wrap it as required.
posted by saradarlin at 8:12 PM on May 4

Morning glories are a cheap, pretty option -- we've done them successfully from seed in Zone 4 (S. Wisconsin), in full afternoon sun where they grew thick enough to cover a chain-link dog kennel fence and, if we left the dead plants up through the winter, reliably re-seeded themselves for several years thereafter (they're annuals).
posted by dr. boludo at 8:39 PM on May 4

Problems about the fancier kinds coming true from self-seeding aside, morning glories really don't do well in wet soil. In my experience, they're remarkably drought-tolerant, but not very tolerant of continual wet.

I'm seconding artdrectr on going to a local, reputable nursery and asking what will do well. (Also, find out whether you have a deer problem in the neighborhood. They'll tend to put the kibosh on many of the showier, traditional plants for wet areas, because if the leaves and new shoots are tasty enough to the deer, the flowers will be. Sigh.)
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:30 PM on May 4

If the leaves and new shoots aren't tasty enough, I mean. Irritation at remembering what they did to a perennial bed of mine a couple years back overwhelmed me.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:32 PM on May 4

Joy, 0% chance of deer. I live in a suburb that is new enough to lack any mature growth that would support more than about 10 sparrows and 2 rabbits. We don't even have squirrels in the area!
posted by saradarlin at 9:38 PM on May 4

Blueberries love the muck (they are essentially bog plants anyway). Give them plenty of acidic peat and pine mulch and enjoy fresh berries in the summer.
posted by Pollomacho at 5:42 AM on May 5

There are willow shrubs which are great for boggy areas and stay fairly small. No fruit or berries, usually, but a nice backdrop. They should make the soil dryer as they take up the excess moisture.
posted by x46 at 6:56 AM on May 5

Joe Pye Weed. Not really a weed at all - attracts LOTS of butterflies and bees. Gets to be about 4' high.
posted by Ostara at 7:36 AM on May 5

Thanks for the great tips!
posted by saradarlin at 12:11 AM on May 6