Heucherella 'Golden Zebra'

Let's hope it's not too cold a winter for all our plants sake.I have planted various Heucheras this year and have since realised what a wet soil we have in our new home so I am a bit concerned about them surviving the winter.

Yes mine definitely has a wrong label looking at yours Thorney, this is the same as the picture on my label but not the plant :-)

Paul, don't think it is just your soil that is sooo wet. Mine is like pudding. I am not going to dig it it any more, digging is destroying the texture. I fear for my beloved Iris.

Oh dear.....most Iris are thought to like wet soil.
I have dug loads of grit in but can't do anything about the sub soil which is absolutely solid. So, although the topsoil can be made to drain better with grit etc, it hits the solid sub soil and the soaks back up no doubt and stays in the top soil.
A real problem. I shall be taking out a lot of my grasses that have already died (lack of oxygen, no doubt) and add things like ferns, more hostas, rodgersia, astilbe ...not all my favourites but, what can you do!

Oh dear Paul - I can see you moving house again...

No.......that's not an option. I will just keep at it...improving the soil and using plants that, although not my choices, will tolerate the conditions.

Shame about your grasses though. Try ferns instead?

Yes, ferns , astilbe, hostas....the Acorus grasses I have there seem to tolerate the wet ok.

Paul, Bearded Iris hate wet, easily rot at the necks.

Oh really....I've never really grown Iris but thought most kinds were tolerant of wet .

Such pretty leaves on that Heuchera.
Added to GoYpedia :o)

Thank you.

oooops Heucherella ... :o)

Paul, is it possible you have a shelf of clay that you could dig out?

Well, I don't like to mess with the soil under the topsoil....I think, to be honest, the clay would be far too deep to dig out.

I suppose you could explore with one of those deep spiral augers. Is your house a fairly recent build as you know builders are notorious for dumping top soil over rubbish.

Oh yes.....I dug loads of bricks, cement, builders supply bags(the really strong, huge woven ones) etc etc out when digging borders earlier this year.and, when working on the lawn, I couldn't spike in some areas as the rubble was so close to the surface so I dug the rubble out and filled it in then reseeded back in September time.
The house is 13 years old but no borders had ever been dug before we moved in last December.so, all the rubble was still there under the lawn!

Our cottage has been here over 200yrs & we find all sorts too, lots of little glass bottles frequently (they remind me of Shiphams fish paste jars - can you still get that?) & also when the builders did the paving at the front the digger unearthed a stoneware jug marked Port Dunbas Pottery, Glasgow.
The old man down the road used to be the tractor driver for the farm & he found a 4" statuette in the field next to us - it only turned out to be a bronze of St. John the Evangelist. Christies paid him £35,000 for it in 1972.

So turn that clay over carefully :)

Crikey what a find.nothing older than 13 years old here as there were no buildings etc here before...just woodland/scrubland on the edge of farmers fields.
They still do the shippams paste,I'm sure.
Someone on here......I can't think who it is has dug up loads of very old doll parts etc , in their garden.

Makes you wonder how they get there, doesn't it.

Yes...must be smashing digging up something interesting that tells a bit of a story , rather than 13 yr old bricks and plastic etc!!

There's a new build pub on the edge of town where they dug up some Roman coins during construction.Name of the pub? The Lost Coins....