Re: Now a question for zone 4

Lucky you, Linda!  The makings of a damp garden and you don't have to
dig it out!

Put a sheet of plastic in the bottom of your depression; poke a few
holes in it with a digging fork so it will drain and not become
stagnant, but with the plastic, it will drain slowly so it will stay
moist.

Fill it in with soil - amended clay loam is good....make a higher
spot  so you have low and high - some plants will prefer the higher
ground to keep their crowns drier, while others revel in soggy.

As suggested; perfect for the candelabra primroses (I dug one of
these beds just for these guys -  mine is in dappled shade with a
little late afternoon sun) will go nuts in this kind of location. 
Mine are seeding all over whereas before I had this bed, I couldn't
keep them alive...marvelous plants!

Lobelia cardinalis and Lobelia siphilitica will both like this sort
of spot.

Astilbe thrive in my damp garden and die in my normal borders;

Royal fern (Osmunda regalis) is good - makes a huge fountain;

Lysichiton - I just put americanus in my damp garden this spring -
this one wants to stay wet;

Veratrum - any of them if you can find them - fantastic; get tall;
marvelous pleated foliage.

Angelica archangelica - also tall; quite neat - monocarpic so it dies
after flowering and setting seed - this takes a couple three years -
but seeds around so you have more for another year.

Carex - assorted; the damp lovers thrive in this kind of place - your
challenge will be finding ones hardy for you; some are.

For huge leaves, I wouldn't go for Petasites - you have to contain
that plant or it will take over the world, but try Darmara peltata -
guess it's now peltiphyllum?  Umbrella plant - listed as z 5, but you
said you could grow some z 5 plants.  

Or the Rodgersia Marilyn recommended - they really have to have damp
soil to thrive.

There are many other plants that thrive in continually moist soil and
quite a few who tolerate varying degrees of shade as well.  If it's
not too shady, Mazus reptans will make a carpet in moist soil - Ajuga
actually likes wet soil as well....if you have some direct sun - an
hour or so, the Japanese iris - I. ensata? now, I think, do very well
- they want acid conditions tho' and that may not be something you
can provide?  Siberian iris also grow well in damp areas with some
sun.

It wouldn't take long to cram your depression so full of plants that
you'll be looking around for another spot for another damp, shady
garden:-)

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Battling Bambi
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635

----------
> From: falkora@smig.net
> After reading all the questions for the person with the stone 
> wall,...I hope I will succeed my first try in providing the
situation 
> regarding the spot for which I would like advice!
> I have a hammock chair hanging on the edge of my hosta glade where
I 
> like to sit and rest a bit, usually several times a day.  Near this

> chair is a circular depression in the ground, sloping to maybe 18 
> inches deep, about 5 ft. across.  It currently holds dead leaves
and 
> Virginia creeper, which I prune back when it spreads into the 
> adjoining colony of wild geranium or gets too close to a hosta.  Is

> there such a thing as a "bog plant" for shade?  I could easily
water 
> this depression and keep it pretty soggy.
> I live in southern Minn. zone 4, and I have had success with some 
> zone 5 plants, like kirengeshoma.  The soil is ideal for 
> hostas...don't know the ph but I can't grow azalea, not without 
> additives to make the soil more acid.  It is a rich clay loam that 
> does drain well, but not like a sandy loam.  Our soil is perfect
for 
> corn and soybeans!!  Shade is medium dappled...no problem with tree

> roots.  Trees are mostly ash.
> 
> I want something dramatic...fairly tall like a 'Sum and Substance' 
> hosta, but I don't want another hosta here, maybe that would flower

> after the geraniums.  I also have a bleeding heart nearby that 
> flowers before the geraniums.  I could fill in the depression, but
I 
> want to take advantage of it rather than destroy it.
> Any suggestions for something different for me to look at while I
sit 
> in my swing?
> Linda Kofstad

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
http://www.hort.net/funds/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index