At this time of year, there’s still a lot of regular rainfall which can fill the pore spaces and leave the soil saturated for periods of time. Also, if you have the type of soil in your garden that tends to get sticky and soggy e.g., clay soils (which also dry out in the summer), here are 5 plants that grow well in wet and sticky soils.
1. Astilbe
Astilbe Fanal / ‘False Goat Beard’ likes moist borders or flower beds, boggy gardens or locations near a lake or river. What’s more, this Spring/Summer (May to June) flowering deciduous perennial delivers beautiful, coloured spikes of upright, fluffy deep red-crimson flowers, set against its dark green, slightly red, deeply divided leaves. It is, of course, important to keep this plant moist in summer.
2. Loosestrife
Lythrium Salicaria Robert / ‘Loosestrife’ is an that upright perennial with erect branching stems and tiny green leaves that blooms at the height of summer (July and August) with dense spikes purple and pink, star shaped flowers. This plant blooms dense spikes of purple and pink, star shaped flowers. Loosestrife will grow in many locations but also grows really well in boggy gardens/gardens with wet and sticky soil.
3. Joe-Pye Weed
Eupatorium Maculata Riesenschirm / ‘Joe-Pye Weed’ is an attractive deciduous, bushy perennial with purple stems and deep green leaves. From July through to September it blooms with beautiful pink, fluffy flower heads. Again, this plant grows well in many locations but also really likes wet/sticky/boggy soils.
4. Foxglove
Digitalis Mertonensis / ‘Foxglove’ is a semi evergreen perennial with veined mid-green leaves which, from May to July, produces stunning erect stems with spikes of mauve coloured flowers, often tinged with a copper colouring. Although Foxglove thrives in a sunny, partially shaded locations, it can also grow well in wetter, sticky soil.
5. Knotweed
Persicaria Affinis Darjeeling Red / ‘Knotweed’ is a semi evergreen perennial with short, lance shaped mid green leaves. In autumn, the leaves turn a striking hot red colour adding. From June through to September, Persicaria Affinis Darjeeling Red blooms small but dense spikes of pink flowers maturing into a darker red!
Although this is a good all-rounder that thrives in moist well drained soils it also works well in wet and sticky soils.
Wet And Sticky Soils Needn’t Be A Problem With The Right Plants
Whether the soil in your garden is simply compacted, has a lot of clay, is simply a bit saturated at times, is in a place where the water table is high, or whether you simply want to brighten up areas near the pond, these 5 plants could be good choices.