Hi. Learning the ropes here. Lay of my land is unavoidable -- renter. Around my back porch, water stands. Anything besides cattails that will flourish in these frequent rains? Zone 7. Need fast-growing vines or hedge to the height of 6' for privacy. Soil is clay. I do expect prep. Don't want to attract bees or slugs. Hope to keep other pests away with marigolds. Would they drown? Landscape is sod, dead where 2 years of rains have puddled. Is it hopeless?
Hi Tolerford, This is not hopeless, but your choices are limited with the growing conditions being so wet. There are bog plants that will survive in your zone and others that can take wet conditions. I would like to suggest you have the landlord address the drainage problems, especially if it's near the house or draining to the house. You could explain that the water will do damage to the structure. It can also cause unhealthy mold to grow in the house. Here's a site on drainage you might want to share with the landlord. http://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/yard_drainage.htm If that still doesn't work for you, you might try planting something from this list. You can get more information on these plants at www.google.com but it's best to use the Latin or botanical name. You can also click on 'Images' at google. http://www.floridata.com/lists/wet_soil_plants.cfm http://www.msue.msu.edu/cgi-bin/impsrch/modzz?wet If you decide to mailorder, check references here. http://davesgarden.com/gwd/ As for not wanting to attract bees, you will need plants that self pollinate. It might be easier to cross check this list of plants that bees like. http://tomclothier.hort.net/page42.html Marigolds won't thrive in wet soil. I hope this helps, Newt
