Anytime!

HansMoleman said:Hello, all. I have a ditch in my front yard which is presumably for drainage. It's kind of an eyesore for me so I want to plant something there but I don't know what to plant. Some relevant details:
- I am in eastern North Carolina.
- It appears to go about a foot deep.
- I have never seen it full of water, but I have seen a little bit pooled there after heavy rains.
- The soil there is generally a little more damp than in other parts of the lawn, even when it hasn't rained.
- I have no HOA, and I don't think there are any city laws about this so I can do pretty much whatever I want.

Photos are included below.

I looked online for some ideas but I'm not sure what would look good. My ideas so far are:
- I think they're called cat tails? Those things on the edge of swamps with the fuzzy brown end. My only concerns are that they might just make people think "swampy" which is usually not attractive, and that the ditch is not consistently swampy enough to support them.
- Red clover, because I've read it grows high enough to pop out, though I'm concerned it will just look like a weed.
- Swamp sunflower, because it seems to tolerate swampy conditions, though I am concerned that my ditch isn't consistently swampy enough.

Does anyone have any thoughts on my ideas or suggestions of their own?

To give a better idea, I've included some photos below.

Very pretty. I'd want to plant it too.

Swamp sunflowers grow very easily in our area, and they don't require all that much moisture...

to go with the sunflowers... I suggest swamp hibiscus and Louisiana iris.

Maybe check out lobelia (cardinal flower).

And... if you just want something that would enjoy the extra moisture... consider mint.

Also... day lilies.

stone said:

Very pretty. I'd want to plant it too.

Swamp sunflowers grow very easily in our area, and they don't require all that much moisture...

to go with the sunflowers... I suggest swamp hibiscus and Louisiana iris.

Maybe check out lobelia (cardinal flower).

And... if you just want something that would enjoy the extra moisture... consider mint.

Also... day lilies.

Wow. Those lobelia are really nice. Maybe some combination of blue, red, and purple will be nice. Thanks for the suggestion.

What about swamp milkweed, or similar. That solves decorative, swampy, and gives Monarch Butterflies a nesting place in your area. I have done a little research on these plants, and they appear to be fairly low maintenance.

CatawbaDave said:What about swamp milkweed, or similar. That solves decorative, swampy, and gives Monarch Butterflies a nesting place in your area. I have done a little research on these plants, and they appear to be fairly low maintenance.

Glad you said that because I bought some yellow and orange milkweed seeds. Always good to have my ideas validated by someone else. 😄

I am also now toying with the idea of putting berry bushes there. Some blueberry bushes are quite pretty when they flower.

Christopher,
I would agree with Stone regarding mint. There are many varieties available that aren't thugs. The flowers attract pollinators and when mowed, it perfumes the air for a while.

RickM said:Christopher,
I would agree with Stone regarding mint. There are many varieties available that aren't thugs. The flowers attract pollinators and when mowed, it perfumes the air for a while.

Hmm. I've got a lot to think on. 🤔

I appreciate all of your suggestions.

I had oodles of Ditch Lilies that would have been perfect there. They spread like wildfire.

Daylilies work best. They refer to some older varieties as "ditch" lilies for that reason. When I was young the ditches along roadsides were full of orange lilies, beautiful turk's cap "tiger lilies" & native grasses in summer. These lazy, younger generations choose to weed whip and mow everything down than spend a few hours a year weeding and maintaining a roadside garden like us older folks have been doing for decades. I'm happy your interested in a natural solution.

There is much written about native plants and flowers these days, it can provide a 'higher purpose' if you choose natives and support the insects, which supports songbirds as well.

https://www.ncwildflower.org/n...

I've recently read that 'swamp' milkweed is a misnomer, it not really needing or preferring a swampy site.

But someone mentioned, you might find out the county or state comes along once in a while to make sure it is clear to drain, mows everything. Maybe your neighborhood has an association that would know, or find out?
As you said initially, do not consider this a swampy site. It will get bone dry in hot dry weather. All you can count on is full sun.
And don't fill the actual ditch with a lot of plant material, It needs to function.
Maybe something low or that can be mowed for that part, and flowers on the bank / a planting on your side to hide your view. People may park along the street there at times and walk on the grass edge.

sallyg said:But someone mentioned, you might find out the county or state comes along once in a while to make sure it is clear to drain, mows everything. Maybe your neighborhood has an association that would know, or find out?
As you said initially, do not consider this a swampy site. It will get bone dry in hot dry weather. All you can count on is full sun.
And don't fill the actual ditch with a lot of plant material, It needs to function.
Maybe something low or that can be mowed for that part, and flowers on the bank / a planting on your side to hide your view. People may park along the street there at times and walk on the grass edge.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I'm paralyzed now from too much good advice.

Take time to digest. That ditch isn't going anywhere

.. and it is too hot to plant right now. September...

You could get a truckload of mulch several inches deep and lay out the bed and let the grass get suffocated and rotted. Then plant into it in fall.

The purpose for these "drainage ditches", is so that water can flow freely, during naturally occuring disasters such as during a Hurricane & torrential downpours, so that deluges an inundations don't "flood" your home. Water, needs to have -some- place to drain off, & away from your home, possibly, eventually leading to a waterway...so it can continue to flow, unobstructed "downstream."
Before digging in one's own yard, in Virginia, you must notify Dominion Power, ahead of time, in advance, so they may mark your yard, for locations where underground , utilities, like gas water electric , that supply, your services, even if it's underground 'cable' for internet, etc..Your laws & City Codes, may vary, from the Commonwealth's, but if I were you, I'd be looking it up for your County, at minimum, so you know, prior to doing anything.
Have you asked a single neighbor, why, it appears no one has yet to plant any trees in their front yards yet ?
Because, it looks to me, as if there are no trees in the front yards, at all & quite possibly, there's a reason...

ShawnSteve said:The purpose for these "drainage ditches", is so that water can flow freely, during naturally occuring disasters such as during a Hurricane & torrential downpours, so that deluges an inundations don't "flood" your home. Water, needs to have -some- place to drain off, & away from your home, possibly, eventually leading to a waterway...so it can continue to flow, unobstructed "downstream."
Before digging in one's own yard, in Virginia, you must notify Dominion Power, ahead of time, in advance, so they may mark your yard, for locations where underground , utilities, like gas water electric , that supply, your services, even if it's underground 'cable' for internet, etc..Your laws & City Codes, may vary, from the Commonwealth's, but if I were you, I'd be looking it up for your County, at minimum, so you know, prior to doing anything.
Have you asked a single neighbor, why, it appears no one has yet to plant any trees in their front yards yet ?
Because, it looks to me, as if there are no trees in the front yards, at all & quite possibly, there's a reason...

There are a few houses with trees in their front yards, just not many. There is one house with a bushy tree on the slope of their ditch, but I don't know if that was deliberately put there or if it just sort of there out of neglect. It's a small military town and we are just outside of a military base, so probably half of the people living here are renting. I think that goes a long way to explaining the lack of work in the area. I did the 811 thing and should have a map of utilities in a few days.

That said, I didn't intend to alter the topography of my ditch, just put some plants there which the water could wash over when rain was heavy. Do you think it might be a flood issue even if I'm not changing the topography?

Any plant material in the ditch will trap debris floating downstream during heavy rains. Over time, this build up can add several inches to the bottom. I have a ditch/gutter on one side of my yard. I have to clean it out every year from the soil build-up.

The process is similar to the formation of a river delta. Rain water carries soil and debris along the ditch. Somewhere, the stuff gets snagged. This acts as a natural dam and begins to collect more stuff on the upstream side, until you have a ridge or something build up and obstruct the free flow.

If you do plant anything, keep it to the sides. Ditch lilies, with their myriad of leaves, will trap debris even quicker. The debris build-up will even include the leave themselves.

Let's say you planted a forsythia hedge on our side of the ditch.It would look beautiful in the spring and give you a wall of green all summer. But, by the end of the 2nd season, you will have branches touching ground and taking root. Before you know it, the ditch will have a natural damn of forsythia coming up all across the ditch.

That ditch is there for flood control, and must be managed by some entity, whether it' county, city, military, or HOA. Make sure you have the right to plant it before you spend the time and money.

ctcarol said:That ditch is there for flood control, and must be managed by some entity, whether it' county, city, military, or HOA. Make sure you have the right to plant it before you spend the time and money.

It has to be for sure, but none of the people I called say it's managed by them. It's just funny that I can't seem to find anyone who claims authority over it.

RickM said:Any plant material in the ditch will trap debris floating downstream during heavy rains. Over time, this build up can add several inches to the bottom. I have a ditch/gutter on one side of my yard. I have to clean it out every year from the soil build-up.

The process is similar to the formation of a river delta. Rain water carries soil and debris along the ditch. Somewhere, the stuff gets snagged. This acts as a natural dam and begins to collect more stuff on the upstream side, until you have a ridge or something build up and obstruct the free flow.

If you do plant anything, keep it to the sides. Ditch lilies, with their myriad of leaves, will trap debris even quicker. The debris build-up will even include the leave themselves.

Let's say you planted a forsythia hedge on our side of the ditch.It would look beautiful in the spring and give you a wall of green all summer. But, by the end of the 2nd season, you will have branches touching ground and taking root. Before you know it, the ditch will have a natural damn of forsythia coming up all across the ditch.

I hadn't considered the slow buildup. You're right. I'll keep my misadventures in flowers off to the sides of the ditch rather than in it. 😄