Solutions for ground water flooding on clay

[Lockdowndramaqueen]

We moved last year to a neighbouring area. Turns out the generous garden get very waterlogged over winter as the area is VERY heavy clay. Any suggestions for reducing over time or landscaping with deep beds to help or... open to suggestions. Middle of the garden seems worst. Thanks

What is in the garden at the moment and what do you want to have in your garden?

Also is the problem local to your garden or are you on a flood plain?

The main thing you can do to your soil to improve it is to mulch regularly to improve the clay. Is your clay compacted? That can make flooding worse. If so, you can add perlite to it to aerate and open u the structure. It doesn't look very pretty the first year but it really helped my soil.

You may also help your soil a lot by planting something like roses which have deep, strong roots which will open up the subsoil and improve drainage. If the site is wet all year you could plant thirsty things like willow but you must be extremely cautious on clay, as if the soil dries out in summer you could be inviting subsidence.

If you have grass on clay you should avoid walking on it as much as possible. Put in a path or stepping stones to avoid compacting the soil even further and protect the grass roots

Ooooh amazing - at the moment it’s quite trad - a large patio, lots of well kept lawn abs slim beds with trees at the back. There seems to be. A bit of a dip in the middle that basically became a pond this year in the rain. According to the neighbours whose gardens also get welly we have 80m of clay below us. In the heavy rain it seemed the water just sat.

I would like to mix it up a bit and grow veg and large shrubs - maybe reducing the lawn to do so.

You need to install land drains and a soakaway.

Either that, or embrace the wet and create a pond or a bog garden.

Soakaway isn't going to work on clay unless either a) you can get through to the base of the clay so it soaks into porous soils beneath or b) you have somewhere for it to soakaway to (preferably not your neighbour's garden). You could establish a pond/bog garden at the lowest point and have land drains emptying into it.

Thank you @MereDintofPandiculation that sounds sensible and I like the idea of a pond - maybe a project for this year.