I don't have clay, but agree that organic matter is what's important, don't know if sand will help or hurt. You might also want to buy some sandy loam (by the yard, not the bag) to get started if all you have is clay, but then you can keep adding organics, either composted in place or in a bin. Mix in some of your clay from your trenches, but I wouldn't dig under the beds b/c it will become like a bathtub under there. Best to go ask over on the Soil and Compost forum. But I don't see that you need the basins unless there are only a couple of spots that are squishy. You'd be better off trenching and putting gravel in the trenches, then either leaving them open or putting in perforated pipe wrapped in landscape fabric (so any soil doesn't clog them, I'd think that putting them on a bed of gravel and backfilling with gravel would be VERY important in clay). Get the slope right and get permits, you can't just drain it to neighbor's property or the river. So combo of raised beds maybe with trenching around them so you're not squishing in the aisles sounds best. But is your whole property like this? Every year or just this year? Sounds like you have a major problem if this is after every rain. How long does it take your lawn to dry out? We have had major rain this June (and one 5" day a couple of weeks ago) when our entire back yard has been squishy but a couple of days later it's OK (sandy loam and French drains around the foundation). How's your basement?

Here is what another Garden Web member had to say about your choice of fast growing trees Chippy: Posted by cascadians Oregon City, 8 (My Page) on Thu, Jan 25, 07 at 11:17 Being able to plant a 30' weeping willow is impressive. Nursery stock is of course skinnier, but still, 30' is 3X taller than my house. I planted 3 weeping willows a year ago that were skinny sticks with no branches, about 6' tall. After 1 year they're both thriving, especially one which has continued to grow through fall winter and even snow. I have a serious water run-off problem and have planted oodles of willows of all sorts. Maybe I'll need a machete in a few years to try to get through the yard. A neighbor planted a little weeping willow 3 1/2 years ago, 4'. He said it didn't do much until just after the 3rd year when it shot up and branched out dramatically. He's 2 houses downhill from me and I watch his weeping willow growing noticeably daily over his fence. Willows need a LOT of water. Nothing quite so entrancing as sitting against the trunk of a massive weeping willow and being curtained by its swaying green curtain of leaves. Beautiful! There's a massive curly willow in my front yard smack over the neighborhood 8" PVC sewer pipe. The public works guy in charge of sewers said it won't be a problem. That surprised me. It's near the fire hydrant, water meter, and sidewalk too. Very beautiful tree. It's not in a standing water area so I water it a lot so its roots don't seek more water other places. A huge branch fell off beginning of fall so we put 15 thick long branches in water for 2 weeks, then planted them. Looks like all have rooted and taken. Planted 12 of them in the uphill neighbor's yard where the water comes gushing out of the ground in copious amounts. Yes willows are a bit a work, dropping twigs all the time, but if watered they give a lot of growth fast and a lot of greenery. The birds LOVE my willows!

Aloha all, my surgery went very well, so TY very much if you prayed for me. :) The surgical staff were only expecting one problem and they found 2. They did a great job, everything considered. I am still healing up and sore in spots, but despite this I already feel tons better than I did before I had the operation. :) I'm very grateful my health is turning around. About water chestnuts- I don't have a water garden (or water chestnuts) right now but I used to grow them when I lived in Calif. Some large cities such as San Francisco, CA and Houston, TX have a Chinatown. In Chinatown there are Asian veggie markets that sell fresh, unpeeled water chestnuts when they are in season. If you put an unpeeled fresh water chestnut in a water garden it can grow and multiply. Also, water chestnut is sold by a website that specializes in water plants. If you want the specific info please email me, so I can avoid spamming everyone with a merchant URL.

I am also in Colorado and have two similar corkscrew willows, one about 15' and the other 20'. No problems in the last 5 years we have lived here. I trimmed off some branches when they were flattened by an early snow several years ago, and also trimmed to keep the trees small, but didn't do major trimming last year and none this winter. no problems last summer. This spring, the smaller one is completely dead on top and is sprouting a few suckers from the very base. The larger one is 3/4 dead and sprouting suckers all around the trunk and major limbs. I think it was the cold snap the second week of November that killed our willows and many other trees. A very warm fall, almost never below freezing, and it went from 60 degrees one night to 16 the next to -7 the third night and stayed below freezing day and night for a week.