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Plants that like wet feet

Solve your tricky soil issues with plants that love the wet. - by Jenny Dillon
  • 04 Mar 2022

No one likes a wet bed, garden bed that is… that difficult area of the garden that suffers from being too wet. However, there is a smart solution to this problem.

WATCH: Melissa King shows you a solution to a wet garden bed

There may be a part of your garden where the soil is always damp, giving your plants wet feet – or roots. Many plants can’t tolerate wet feet and curl up their toes. You could improve drainage, but that’s a costly exercise. So instead, work with nature and put in plants that suit.

Why soil stays wet

  • Water stays sitting in the soil at the bottom of a slope because it has nowhere to drain.
  • Old building materials may have been buried, blocking drainage.
  • There’s not enough sun to dry the soil out.
  • Clay soil holds onto moisture for longer, while sandy soil enables any moisture to drain away quickly.

Moisture loving plants

  • Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia ‘Gold Clusters’)
  • Vietnamese mint (Persicariaodorata)
  • Day lily (Hemerocallis ‘Stella Bella’)
  • Elephant’s ears (Alocasiasp)
  • False cardamom ginger (Alpiniamutica)
  • Court jester plant (Houttuynia cordata)
  • Japanese water iris (Iris ensata)
  • Tractor seat plant (Ligulariareniformis)
  • Hosta (Hostasp)
  • Canna lily (Cannasp)
Heuchera’s colours and patterns are myriad.

Heuchera’s colours and patterns are myriad.

Brent Wilson
These little elephant’s ears will get big!

These little elephant’s ears will get big!

Brent Wilson
Zebra tradescantia is  a prolific grower.

Zebra tradescantia is a prolific grower.

Brent Wilson

Try these water lovers

Little elephant’s ears and ginger are in their element in a damp environment. Tuck in a pinky heuchera and a purple-leafed tradescantia for contrast and light.

water lovers
Brent Wilson

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Jenny Dillon
Jenny Dillon
Jenny Dillon is the garden editor of Better Homes and Gardens. Her passion for gardening began in her mother’s huge vegetable patch and orchard in the country and now extends to the challenge of city plots, where the constraints are countered by the delights.

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