Wet area, sometimes...

Hi all,

Have a bit of a conundrum in my yard. My house sits on the top of a small hill and faces east. We have a grassy area that runs down hill to large planting beds. The problem I am having is that when we get a good rain the water runs down the hill and hits the planting beds causing erosion of the edges. To alleviate this and capture some of the water I dug out a shallow area in the bed that stays wet for a week or so after a heavy rain. I am going to plants shrubs and such around the shallow area but I want to plant something at the bottom that will help with transpiring the water. I could not find any good resources online. To complicate things we have a huge deer problem.

Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Brian
Chapel Hill, NC

Sorry, realized that I didn't explain the conundrum - we go long periods without rain in the summer so the area generally stays really dry.

You might try searching for info on rain gardens. I don't have one so can't offer any personal advice, but I know there's a lot of info out there and that sounds like exactly what you're trying to do.

Try this web site for rain garden plants. BTW - KC is in zone 5/6. http://www.rainkc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.main/index.htm

you might want to think of swamp plants in the south. cabbage palms, magnolias, live oak, cypress--if theyre hardy for you. A problem is that some of the plants that will tolerate the water, wont tolerate the dryness. hm, are you looking only for shrubs or are you open to other plants? im interested in this project now :)

I have a similar problem. The back of my yard is lower than the house and during the heavy rain season it will flood and stay rather wet. Ferns love it and so does Hosta. But then if it is a dry season, I have to keep it watered. I have noticed that some plants like the rhododendron was showing signs of too much water this past August and Sept, when all it did was rain and it is up higher than the rest.
This a draft of my back yard looking to the back. All that back area will and can be covered in water. We have a sump pump installed in the left side of yard, to pump the water out to the woods beside us.The far left was under shade until this fall after we had a few trees taken down. Now it will be mostly sun to partial sun. My gardening will change there now.

On the left where it says large tree and toward the back, pine tree. That is what is gone. So now if you were looking up at the sky, instead of seeing small opening between the trees( getting about 3- 4 hours of direct sun) I now see a much larger opening, at least double, which should get at least 6 hours of sun. So shade plants will have to find a new home, and I will have to move or buy things that will take more sun.

well, first, it seems you have a beautiful yard from what the design indicates! im thinking hurricane irene had something to do with your problem. lets see, did you mean the ENTIRE backyard will flood, or just the border areas?

From the left to the right, that whole flower bed in back, up into the yard about 15 ft if the pump is not on. Here is a view of where the pond is after a heavy rain. I have lost many a plant and shrub when I first moved here not knowing how bad it was. I have learned what will grow and what will not by trial and error. I am always surprised when I see the crocus come up in the spring back there.I dont know how they make it with all that water.

oh wow, that looks like an issue for your plant babies. flooding is always a concern, in most areas anyway, especially there. hm, when i looked at the picture, i was thinking of bog type plants. i know it probably doesnt sound pretty. do you have a bog area around your fish pond? - some plants you can think of for putting in the flood area are: louisiana iris, native iris, japanese iris, pickerel weed, calla lilies, canna lilies, trees/shrubs in the willow family or river birch.---
flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils and rhizomes like bearded iris will rot. but its nice to have a crocus surprise! im happy to help with any questions :)