Down the back of the garden by the fence the lawn slopes down to the border and here is the problem area. When it rains because of the clay soil drainage is not good, so puddles appear.
I am trying to remedy this but the solution is not raised beds as that would compound the problem. The most effective way is to completely dig out the area and put scoria or other rocks in and then replace the soil but that requires lots of rocks and manpower!
I figured I might just work with what I've got and plant those that love boggy, swamp like and wet conditions instead. Or those that tolerate clay soil. So..with that in mind I headed to Kings and justified my expenses of buying some more plants as that is probably cheaper than digging it all out and starting over.
I put in a blueberry that I already had, (need to get at least two more for cross pollination), a clump of wild iris, and a cranberry bush, which is a kind of ground cover. These plants are good for boggy soil. Blueberry loves peat and acidic conditions, and cranberries are meant to grow in the 'coldest, wettest' part of the garden, as in the wild they grow on moors with heather etc. Bonus is they have lots of edible fruits to make muffins, ice-cream or juice and jellies!
The wild iris too looks really good, grow in poor conditions and I think lend a touch of elegance to the garden. I could have bought flax, but, I see flax everywhere. It's kinda boring. Plus, flax is more expensive, and you do need to harvest it and cut it back all the time. I suppose if I get into basket weaving or making grass skirts, then maybe I might put one in, but at this stage, I think I'm going for the pretty flowers.
Then at the Warehouse I looked at the bulbs display stand and couldn't resist buying 100 bulbs as they were 25% off so I got some mixed Dutch Iris, to put in the sunny corner. 100 bulbs for $15! A bargain! Considering, if you just bought the smaller packets, you'd be paying lots more for each bulb. Dutch Iris is different from the iris that grows from a rhizome..so I won't plant it in the boggy area.
Anyway regarding the number of bulbs..maybe Lynda Hallinan wasn't being so extravagant when she wrote of buying 400 tulip bulbs. Speaking of the Editor at large of NZ gardener..I looked in my NZ Gardener magazine guide and subscribed to their e-zine 'Get Growing' and now get a free newsletter each Friday from them with lots of tips. Hooray!
Here's the link to Get Growing
