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Keeping things damp during a dry spell


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Gardening on the Edge by Diana Wayland

Damp bed and pond.
Damp bed and pond.

This spring I created a damp bed – in a prolonged drought! Except, at the time, I had no idea the usual spring dry spell was going to last. And last...

I had sound reasons for this. We have a patch of ground that gets very waterlogged in rainy spells, even slightly flooding the adjacent home-built greenhouse paths. It made sense to dig over the soggiest bit, which was grassed, to create an L-shaped bed, and to sink a small half-barrel in the turn of the L to form a pond.

The soil in this area is heavy, and lends itself to a damp bed, essentially the same as a bog garden. I raised it a few inches and edged it with rocks, of which we have loads. These were narrow, but large enough to avoid being accidentally dislodged, and the soil behind them holds them more firmly in place.

No pond fish (too small) but I did want some aquatics, including yellow flag iris, a local wild flower, and others like the species form of Houttuynia, which will overwinter in the greenhouse. I raised the baskets on engineering bricks and used some clay loam as compost; ordinary compost is not suitable due to its high nutrient level and current peat content.

To populate the damp bed I planted a hydrangea, yellow loosestrife, Primula florindae, the giant cowslip, with tall spires of pale yellow sweetly scented flowers, creeping jenny, a few cuckoo flower which we have growing locally in damp areas of our field and the crowning glory, Senecio smithii, the Magellan Daisy, a statuesque, almost alien-looking plant with huge pointed leaves and a crown of large white yellow-centred flowers.

This magnificent species comes from South America, as its name suggests but, after allegedly being imported to Caithness by whalers, can be found growing wild along the sides of ditches. Mine came from a friend.

Magellan daisy flower.
Magellan daisy flower.

I planted the small bed in the bottom part of the L with Ophiopogan nigrescens, a dark grass-like plant, Houttuynia "Flame", and two specimens of Primula vialii, a primrose plant with pointed spikes of deep pink buds opening to pale mauve – making a smaller, more intimate area of lower-growing plants than the mostly statuesque ones in the main bed.

The resultant bed is not yet fully planted, but already this year has been magnificent.

As for keeping the damp bed damp during this long drought, there is a nearby water butt made of an old hot water cylinder, which adds a bit of delightful steampunk quirkiness to the area as well as providing much-needed water. And it holds a lot – just as well!

To try to reduce the incidence of small creatures drowning in the pond, I later ensured the plants in it went all round the circumference. I also added large white pebbles in gaps between pots above deeper water.

In the centre I placed a solar-powered fountain. Yes, sadly, it is made of plastic, but it will be taken in for the winter which will, I hope, prolong its life. It has six colour-changing LED lights surrounding the fountain itself. It stops at dusk and goes on again a bit later at half-dark, lighting up the water of the fountain itself, even in dull weather.

I find it totally enchanting; turning my little damp bed into fairy glen. I absolutely love it.


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