Making boggy ground less boggy and planting trees

Question

Does planting a tree in a boggy ground make that ground less boggy?

This is a kind of follow up to another question: How can I improve drainage in a rainy area lawn with little manual labour?

Answer 1

I have been researching some stuff for my own garden and came across these two links which might be of use to you (I am certainly going to try some of there methods):

Landscaping Ideas for Boggy Ground

The above article, describes 3 methods to solving the problem, Water-loving trees, shrubs and ground-covers.

• ground-covers: e.g. Carex caryophyllea, Matteuccia pennsylvanica; ornamental grasses also spread quickly and soak up excess water.

• shrubs: e.g. Cornus sericea, Ilex glabra,

• trees: e.g. Magnolia virginiana, Betula nigra, Salix babylonica

Please feel free to add any species to the list.

Liquid assets: Grow bog plants and moisture lovers to stop garden floods

The article above is from a well known British gardener, Alan Titchmarsh, what he is saying is that instead of dealing with the boggy problem introduce moisture loving plants.

Also quoted was about to site and situation, "Most moisture-loving plants need a sunny situation so if your problem patch is in partial shade, your choice will be more limited. "

He also talks about soil preparation, direct quote from the article. "If the area is boggy all year round, work in lots of well-rotted compost or peat-free soil improver any time between now and planting time in spring. This incorporates air spaces and improves the moisture-holding capacity so it won’t dry out in summer. Improve the texture of heavy clay by digging in a bucketful of organic matter per square yard."

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So to answer your question yes you can plant some moisture loving plants to soak up that excess moisture