Wooded and wet area
by
Lo
+3
We have a heavily wooded back yard. Rain and melted snow create large areas of standing water. It almost looks like a stream of only about 1 inch deep. The tree roots and poison ivy make it impossible to dig. Any suggestions on creating one of those beautiful hosta and other shade plant gardens meandering through the woods? I am not sure where to begin! Summer and winter photos shown here of the area.
6 answers
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If you can't put trenches in to drain the water, then you need to build the areas you want to enjoy up higher. Not sure what you are looking for based on the terms used - if you are talking a path, walk the area & figure out how you want it to look, places for benches, etc... Then clear the ground and using bark or something similar create a raised path. I generally use marking paint to help layout the path
SLS Construction & Building Solutions LLC
on Apr 20, 2015
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@Lo in some of my wet parts of the yard, although nothing like your area, I have sprinkled sand - the rain will push it into the soil, then add some more. I don't have the puddles I used to have and sand helps the water drain into the soil. As for the poison ivy I would spray with round-up or similar product - you wouldn't want this plant along a pathway especially if children may be using it. I know this product has a bad name but for plants that have an effect on human health it is imperative to get rid of it.
Gail Salminen
on Apr 20, 2015
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Build a bridge or make a wooden raied walkway over thw water.
Cindy rongey
on Apr 20, 2015
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I had an area EXACTLY like this at my old house. If it is extremely wet, and you want to plant shade plants like hostas, you run a high risk of drowning out most of your plants, fungus and root rot. Unless, you build the area up with dirt and consideration to how and where the water will run off the raised area. That was too much work for me. I went to a stone landscape yard and purchased a truckload of river gravel and varied sized rocks from 5 to 300 pounds. They dumped it in the driveway and the fun began. I placed the larger boulders with the help of a macked out furniture dolly and 2 strong teenagers in various places, then worked my way down to finishing with a 4 inch ground covering of the river gravel. It was beautiful, needed no maintenance except for a leaf blower every now and then, no mud, controlled the drainage of the water, and was a favorite place for my kids to explore. I wish I had a picture for you. "Dry creek bed" is an excellent place to search online for ideas and pictures, Good luck!
Sooz
on Apr 20, 2015
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There are water loving plants you may want to try. For example, ajuga ground cover loves damp locations as does twisted dart rush (small ornamental grass) and blue arrow juncus (larger ornamental grass). You could do an internet search on plants that like damp areas to see what would work best for your planting zone. Building up the area first with good soil should help with the root problem if a pick ax doesn't cut through the roots. Good luck.
Eloise
on Apr 21, 2015
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Thanks to everyone for some great ideas. Our "yard" area is river rocks and ground covers so I may just continue with that same landscape into the woods. I am soooo allergic to poison ivy...chemicals will prevail for this bugger weed!!
Lo
on Apr 21, 2015
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