Can The Right Plants Drain a Wet Spot?
October 9, 2026
“Mike answers a listener’s question about cures for a soggy lawn (and wait until you hear where the caller lives!)”
“I have been a fan of yours and your show since 2012. I am so glad that you are back up and running again; I love your Podcast and listen to it faithfully! And of course, I have a question for you.
We live on a lake and also have a creek that has begun to flow into the lawn just enough to make it marshy. This started to happen when water mint began to grow alongside the creek as well as native grasses and cattails. I’m wondering if there is anything I can plant to absorb the water so the lawn won't be marshy? I have been thinking about pussy willows? Would this be a good idea? Or can you think of anything else that might help?”
Yours is a relatively frequent question. It’s also one that gets asked a lot. {harumph} But before I get to the answer (a definitive one for a change!), I have to address your location. Yes, I searched Naubinway and found it to be a fascinating place. I even found a name for the {quote} ‘lake’ you refer to. It’s Michigan. Yes, one of the Great Lakes, and you’re not joking when you say you ‘live on it’. In fact, you’re pretty much surrounded by Greatness—Lake Superior isn’t that far above you and Lake Huron is just to the right.
Google describes Naubinway as {quote}: “A peaceful unincorporated fishing village in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula located about 45 miles West of the Mackinac Bridge”, which I’m guessing would take you to Sheboygan, which is in Wisconsin and claims to be “the Malibu of the Midwest for its freshwater surfing”. You can’t make this stuff up.
That’s where I assume you would drive for entertainment, seeing that it’s 50,000 inhabitants slightly outnumber your one hundred and forty-seven residents (as of the 2020 census), although your community does boast the ‘Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum’, as well as two restaurants and a bar that were open on the Thursday I checked, although they seem to be a fairly distant drive (or snowmobile ride) away.
I’m also convinced that all that Lakerage is not the problem. The seasonal high-water period for the lake is during the summer, and even then, it doesn’t seem like it would overflow onto your land, as surprisingly (to me) those water levels have slowly declined over the years.
Also, there are no true tides in the Great Lakes, and the effects of the stages of the moon are said to be too small to measure. So you’re talking pure hydrology here. You could theoretically pump some of the creek water back into the lake, but unless you have a Dutch windmill, the cost would be prohibitive.
Now, to directly answer your question: No. There is no plant or tree that can suck up enough water up to make a wet spot dry. Once they have absorbed their limit, plants that thrive on lots of water like willows (often used as a sign that an underground water source is nearby) will just ‘weep’ the excess from their leaves back down to the ground. My guess is that the water-loving plants you mention appeared because the creek rose enough for them to thrive.
So the creek (pronounced ‘crik’ where I come from) seems to be the issue here. There are legal issues about messing around with water ways, but you might want to see if there’s a legal way to divert it. Maybe some kind of a seawall to keep the water from flowing into the land?
Or, how about that water mint Mentha aquatica you mentioned. Like all members of the mint family, it spreads by underground (or in your case underwater) stolons and rhizomes, and is difficult if not impossible to eradicate. It will certainly outcompete lawn grasses, which do poorly in wet spots to begin with.
But it is a very useful plant.
From the website NetMeds (quoting mostly from a medical journal article from Bulgaria): “With aromatic leaves, square stems, and small clusters of pink or purple flowers; watermint has been valued for centuries for its culinary and medicinal properties, making it a versatile herb with a wide range of applications. The herb continues to be valued in traditional and modern wellness practices. Drinking watermint tea or adding fresh watermint leaves to meals can promote healthy digestion.”
The National Library of Medicine concurs:
“Many compounds have been identified as part of Mentha Aquatica’s composition, such as terpenes, phenolic acids, phenols, and terpenoids, which have been linked to a vast therapeutic potential, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiobesity, and liver protective bioactivities, with additional anticancer potential for several types of tumors (breast, lung, and skin), and psycho and neuroactive potential in depression, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
Additionally, it has been proven to be suitable for cosmetic application since several cleansing, hydrating, protecting, and/or odor masking products containing it are already available, with the main functions attributed to M. aquatica’s refreshing/cooling, calming/soothing/relaxing and purifying effects, properties closely related to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant bioactivities. Hence, M. aquatica is an extremely versatile plant, with its extracts and essential oils having great therapeutic and cosmetic potential.”
So, you might have a cash crop invading your lawn.
Out of an abundance of caution, I should mention that there is a theoretical risk of Liver Fluke (fasciola hepatica), a parasite that infects the livers of cattle and sheep. But if you don’t raise livestock near the water, there should be no problem. Quote from the same British foraging site that mentioned this caution: Use as you would shop bought Mint. It can be added to salads, pesto’s and dressing. It makes a lovely refreshing tea.
Another website urges foragers to make sure to properly identify the plant, which you seem to have done. They mention water hemlock, a highly toxic plant that looks a lot like Queen Anne’s Lace and nothing at all like mint.
And I’ll add to wear high boots or hip waders when you harvest to avoid the parasites that cause “swimmer’s itch” in the Great Lakes in the summer. I wish we ocean swimmers had a similar defense against jellyfish!
If you are so inclined, consider harvesting the mint. Your local restaurants might be interested in this VERY locally grown delight! And they might eat it up in Sheboygan!
