What to plant in a tricky spot in my garden

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice on what to plant in a tricky area in my garden. I'm in zone 7b and the spot is in full sun but is very wet and gets flooded in the spring from the creek. Would a willow tree survive there? Anything else I could try?

Thanks so much for any suggestions.

I see a lot of folks recommending raised beds for wet areas, though there are plants that will thrive in those conditions.

Are you wanting annuals or perennials?

Asparagus is a good perennial choice:

https://permies.com/t/93431/Clueless-Asparagus

https://permies.com/t/186914/Asparagus-Primer-Asparagus-Lazy-Gardener

Hi Sarah,
I think there are lots of interesting plants that would thrive in a damp sunny spot. Swamp milkweed is one that comes to mind.

(source)
Camassia (quamash) is another. If you wanted more shrubby plants Wax myrtle is one I've been trying to get hold of for ages. I think buffalo berry doesn't mind wet roots and chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) I find really nice despite the name.
How wet does the area stay the rest of the year? How do you use the area at present?

Anne Miller wrote:I see a lot of folks recommending raised beds for wet areas, though there are plants that will thrive in those conditions.

Are you wanting annuals or perennials?

Asparagus is a good perennial choice:

https://permies.com/t/93431/Clueless-Asparagus

https://permies.com/t/186914/Asparagus-Primer-Asparagus-Lazy-Gardener

Hopefully perennials for the sake of my laziness lol. I wonder if I could do a hugelkulture style with something with strong roots.

I have an asparagus patch already started by the previous owner.

Nancy Reading wrote:Hi Sarah,
I think there are lots of interesting plants that would thrive in a damp sunny spot. Swamp milkweed is one that comes to mind.

(source)
Camassia (quamash) is another. If you wanted more shrubby plants Wax myrtle is one I've been trying to get hold of for ages. I think buffalo berry doesn't mind wet roots and chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) I find really nice despite the name.
How wet does the area stay the rest of the year? How do you use the area at present?

Those are some great suggestions thank you!

Right now it’s unused beyond thimble berries. The soil is heavy clay and the stream is over run with yellow flag irises planted by the last owner. So the area needs a lot of work. In the spring I’m going to have an excavator scoop out the irises as I’ve lost the battle to contain them and they’re chocking out the stream.

Fiddleheads would probably be very happy there. Maybe stinging nettles? I don't see them often right in swampy places, but they do like it near them. Wood nettle would probably love it, if it were a bit more shady. (I've heard rumors that mulberries like to grow right next to the water...) I have seen wild currants growing in dense thickets along streams a bit like that, too. Watercress is already there if I read the picture right, fortunately; and Chufa might like it too.

For more medicinal plants, boneset and sweet-flag love places like that.

Another thought is to dig out some chinampa-esque beds to increase the aquatic area, and growing aquatic vegetables like Bolboschoenus (tuber-bulrush), wapato maybe, watercress, lotus in the flooded sunken beds, terrestrial on the raised parts, and willow or currant as the "stakes". Or go the other way and use a berm to turn the area into a paddy, perhaps?

Another idea is to leave it mostly or partially alone; harvest the grasses (reed-canary?) for a compost or mulch plant, use the iris leaves for fibre projects and/or more mulch.

Whatever you do I hope you find a way of relating to this patch that is harmonious and happy for all.