OK - extreme gardening problem - bet no one can help!

[seeker]

I have a small garden with a lawn that's mostly clover, a small tiled terrace and some beds. And a BIG problem. It floods with brackish water about 3 times a year!

We have an enormous globe artichoke plant that seems to thrive. Some irises and a rosemary bush. Is there anything else that I can possibly plant that might survive?

I have pots for growing herbs and salads and things, but I would really like something to fill the beds up.

How deep does it flood? Would raised beds help?

Anything from ankle to knee deep! I think I've cracked the growing stuff to eat and so on with a combination of pots and grow bags, and I'm thinking of making a big high up trough along one fence for more planting, but I think the actual bed are a lost cause so I would just like to fill them up with something reasonably attractive and hardy that will keep the weeds away. My container collection uses up all my limited gardening time, energy and enthusiasm!

We're on heavy clay - so that when its been raining heavily, we have standing water - it stands in the V between the beds and the lawn, and you can't get on the lawn to mow it - so very high watertable at times. The things that survive this happily - geraniums (the perenial ones - lots of different varieties); iris - flag iris and the ones that like damp conditions; perenial wallflower; Hellebores; Day lillies (Hemorocalis).... Some of these take a little while to get established, then fine.

I would suggest that you try to have things planted where they are slightly above where may flood - eg mound up borders a little bit.

Oh - and marsh marigolds are lovely (king cups). And cowslips might survive.

Arum lily is also happy in wet ground.

rice?

What about some lovely heathers/ gorse bushes- pretend the look you are going for is wild bogland...

Some of these marginal plants for ponds would probably do well. Houttuynia is very pretty.

gorse invades... trust me, i live in the west of ireland

heather is a good idea though. love the sound of some of these... may have to amble down to the garden centre at the weekend and indulge.

so far we've left the back garden as a swamp.. it's so bad it down't even need mowing as all the grass drowned! i've been focusing on the front but i can't see the front from the house much but have to spend all day looking at the bog back garden

astilbes?

seeker sorry if this is a silly question but can't you add some decent drainage?

drainage doesn't do much if the highest point of the local water table is higher than the ground leval of your garden

for instance, if i dig a whole to plant a plant byt the time i have it out of the pot i have a small pond to put it in!

hole

Get someone in to build some raised beds - you can have them quite high up and fill them with compast and top soil so the growing conditioms are good.

pannacotta - no. Garden is in the very edge of a tidal creek!

Panacotta always reminds me of teh first time my ds tasted it. He shut his eyes in extasy then said "Oh, Aunty Kim - my tummy feels the glory"

The problem is, it's pretty dry when not being flooded so the bog plants and things won't like it!

then you must find out what else is in the globe artichoke family and plant it. sea holly?

globe artichoke is thistle family!

Things like the geraniums and helebores that I suggested may cope - but some won't like it if it gets really salty.

Glad to know my MN name inspires good memories!
Plants for damp areas (according to my RHS Plants for Places book):
Willow, Astilbe, Carex, Gunnera, Hosta, Lobelia, Ligularia, Darmera, Matteuccia (ferns, Lythrum, Primula, Rodgersia, Rheum, Arum lily, Veratrum.
For "water gardens" (!)
Butomus (flowering rush), Calla palustris (bog arum, nice name), Caltha (marsh marigold), Iris (as you know), Persicaria amphibia, Veronica beccabunga.

SO quite a lot really! HTH.