Perfect plants that don’t mind getting wet feet!
Shrubs and trees
Two types of tree that don’t mind ground that’s wet are the alders (alnus) and willows (salix). Choosing just one is difficult, but Alnus incana ‘Aurea’ earns its keep in any garden. The summer foliage is soft yellow and it’s of moderate size, but perhaps its best season is in early spring when covered in pinkish catkins. I have it underplanted with yellow cornus and snowdrops where the
three plants combine to create an easy-tomaintain scheme that looks good all year. Alders are frequently found in wet soils, even beside rivers, and are perfectly hardy. Willows have a well-founded reputation for being too big for gardens but a few are worth considering, including the dragon’s claw willow ( Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’). Bigger and more vigorous than the superficially similar twisted hazel, it can be kept as a small tree by regular hard pruning. Combining twisted branches with the red stems of common dogwoods, salix ‘Erythroflexuosa’ is easier to grow than some and is a small, spreading tree that’s at its best in winter, though it’s impossible not to pick the red wiggly stems to go with some spring daffodils.
If you want something a bit bigger and more spectacular, liquidambars are remarkably tolerant of wet soils, too. Among shrubs, the red-stemmed
Cornus alba and yellow C. sericea must be included – weeks of waterlogging will not faze them! But if you want to get away from the common, the button bush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis) is worth a try. Coming from American swamps, this is a large shrub that’s delightful in summer with balls of tiny white, fragrant flowers that attract bees and butterflies.
Common Himalayan honeysuckle ( Leycesteria formosa) is a shrub that often pops up in gardens unannounced as a birddropped seedling, but if you want something tough that wildlife will adore, it’s worth garden space. It’ll also tolerate a little shade. I find it slightly underwhelming and prefer
‘Golden Lanterns’, the yellow-leaved form. It’s just as easy and I’ve it planted in a chicken run to provide shade and it survives their occasional digging at the roots in the grit.
Some of the most common garden shrubs are worth a try too, including
Kerria japonica and the pink flowering currant ( Ribes sanguineum). If you object to planting something that everyone else has, look out for deeper red or white currants, which are just as easy and that little bit different. And lastly, don’t forget that ordinary lacecap and mophead hydrangeas adore plenty of moisture and occasional waterlogging won’t do them any harm.
This isn’t the place for Japanese acers, even though they like moist soil – waterlogging doesn’t suit them. But you can include some elegant foliage with sorbaria ‘Sem’. This ferny-leaved shrub, that can be pruned hard every spring, has pale green leaves, tinged bronze at first. Best in full sun, I’ve found it very tolerant of wet soils, though it does sucker with some enthusiasm. Anyone who has had to dig up seedling elderberries will know they grow anywhere and the beetroot red ‘Black Lace’ is a good option for a large, background shrub.