Plants for gardens with damp soil

Plenty of plants, of a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, thrive in damp soils, so it's possible to create a full and attractive border even in these sometimes challenging conditions

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Many plants thrive in very damp soil
Many plants thrive in very damp soil

Quick facts

• Wet soil suits streamside plants perfectly
• Permanently wet soil lends itself to making a bog garden
• Creating raised mounds can enable some individual plants to be planted above the water level

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The planting plan

James Lawrence, RHS Principal Horticultural Advisor, has designed this simple, attractive, and most importantly, sustainable, border design for you to try at home with plants that are easy to grow, widely available and look good together.
This planting design, provides a range of plants that, once established, will thrive in damp soil and still provide a variety of interest throughout the year. A simple planting plan helps create depth, interest and good coverage in a border.

Plants for very damp soil

© James Lawrence

Choosing plants for damp soils

Damp soils are great for plants which would otherwise need frequent watering to grow well. Many stream- and pond-side plants will thrive, especially if you are able to make a small pool feature. The Cornus provides some winter stem colour and the Sambucus some year-round height. The primulas provide some groundcover and will help suppress weed growth.
 
1 - Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla ‘Gerda’
2 - Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
 3 - Ligularia ‘Gregynog Gold’
4 - Primula denticulata
5 - Zantedeschia aethiopica
6 - Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’
1 - Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla ‘Gerda’ displays deeply divided purple-black foliage from spring to autumn, giving a distinctly lacy effect. Flat heads of light pink flowers are borne in early summer.
2 - Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ forms flowers in a dense cone opening pale lime green, gradually changing to white and finally aging to pink. Later in the summer, all three colours can be seen at once.
3 - Ligularia ‘Gregynog Gold’ has large, strongly toothed, heart-shaped leaves and in late summer, tall spikes of deep yellow flowers on contrasting black stems.
4 - Primula denticulata has drumstick-like round flower-heads of purple florets with yellow eyes on upright stems in late spring.
5 - Zantedeschia aethiopica has sturdy, rich green, arrow-shaped leaves and pure white funnel-shaped flowers with a prominent yellow centre.
6 - Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ has clusters of small white flowers in late spring and green leaves which turn orange and red in autumn. The leafless stems are a bright yellow-green in winter. 

About damp soils

By choosing plants which are well-suited to permanently damp soils, you can keep your border looking good and growing well because, planted in the right place, plants tend to be stronger and more naturally resistant to pests and disease. Also, once established this will reduce the need for extra fertilisers that less well-adapted plants might need.

The challenge of growing in damp soil

Very damp soil can be an asset in summer but be difficult to work in winter. Cold, wet root conditions are particularly hard for some plants. However, if your plants have adapted to naturally thrive in cold wet winter conditions, they will grow much better. 

Why choose a sustainable planting combination?

Using the ethos of 'right plant, right place' to create a sustainable planting combination, is a great for the environment. It helps avoid waste and the use of products and practices needed to try and help ailing plants, such as the application of fertiliser. It also creates robust, long-lived planting that benefits soil health and garden biodiversity.

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