A bog garden is a type of

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

that employs permanently moist (but not waterlogged) soil to create a

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for plants and creatures which thrive in such conditions. It may exploit existing poor drainage in the garden, or it may be artificially created using

pond liner A pond liner is an impermeable geomembrane used for retention of liquids, including the lining of reservoirs, retention basins, hazardous and nonhazardous surface impoundments, garden ponds and artificial streams in parks and gardens. Install ...

s or other materials to trap water in the area. Any such structure must allow a small amount of

seepage Soil mechanics is a branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids (usually air and wat ...

to prevent the water stagnating. For instance, a pond liner must be pierced a few times. Typically a bog garden consists of a shallow area adjoining a

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

or other

water feature In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, jeux d'eau, pools, ponds, rills, artificial waterfalls, and streams. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity, ...

, but care must be taken to prevent water draining from a higher to a lower level. The minimum sustainable depth is . Good drainage is provided by gravel placed over the liner, and the bog can be kept watered by using a perforated hose below the surface. Plants which enjoy boggy soil or shallow water around their roots (marginals) include: * ''

Butomus umbellatus ''Butomus umbellatus'' is a Eurasian plant species in the family Butomaceae. It is the only species in the family. Common names include flowering rush or grass rush. Introduced into North America as an ornamental plant it has now become a serious ...

'' (flowering rush) * '' Caltha palustris'' (marsh marigold) * ''

Dionaea muscipula The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. It catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a trapping ...

'' (Venus flytrap) * ''

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

'' (sundews) * ''

Iris pseudacorus ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", ref ...

'' (yellow flag) * ''

Lobelia cardinalis ''Lobelia cardinalis'', the cardinal flower ( syn. ''L. fulgens''), is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae native to the Americas, from southeastern Canada south through the eastern and southwestern United States ...

'' * ''

Lysimachia nummularia ''Lysimachia nummularia'' is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family (biology), family Primulaceae. Its common names include moneywort, creeping jenny, herb twopence and twopenny grass. Description It is a vigorous, prostrate, everg ...

'' (creeping jenny) * ''

Menyanthes trifoliata ''Menyanthes'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species ''Menyanthes trifoliata''. The North American form is often referred to as ''M. trifoliata'' var. ''minor'' Michx. It is known ...

'' (bogbean) * ''

Myosotis scorpioides ''Myosotis scorpioides'' ( syn. ''Myosotis palustris''), the true forget-me-not or water forget-me-not, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. Distribution and habitat It is native to Europe and Asia, bu ...

'' (water forget-me-not) * ''

Osmunda regalis ''Osmunda regalis'', or royal fern, is a species of deciduous fern, native to Europe, Africa and Asia, growing in woodland bogs and on the banks of streams. The species is sometimes known as flowering fern due to the appearance of its fertile fro ...

'' (royal fern) * ''

Persicaria amplexicaulis ''Bistorta amplexicaulis'' ( synonym ''Persicaria amplexicaulis''), the red bistort or mountain fleece, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae, native to China, the Himalayas, and Pakistan. It is a damp-loving herba ...

'' (red bistort) * ''

Persicaria bistorta ''Bistorta officinalis'' (Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Persicaria bistorta''), known as bistort, common bistort, European bistort or meadow bistort, is a species of flowering plant in the dock family Polygonaceae native plant, native to Europe ...

'' (bistort) * ''

Pinguicula ''Pinguicula'', commonly known as the butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition ...

'' (butterworts) * ''

Primula pulverulenta ''Primula pulverulenta'', the mealy primrose or mealy cowslip, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to damp habitats in China. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to tall by broad, with strong stems of deep pink fl ...

'' (candelabra primula) * ''

Sarracenia ''Sarracenia'' ( or ) is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera '' Darlingtonia'' an ...

'' (North American pitcher plants) * ''

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani ''Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani'' ( syn. ''Scirpus validus'') is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names softstem bulrush, grey club-rush, and great bulrush. It can be found throughout much of the world; it ha ...

'' 'Zebrinus' (striped rush) * ''

Scrophularia auriculata ''Scrophularia auriculata'', the shoreline figwort or water figwort, is a perennial plant of the genus Scrophularia in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is found commonly in Western Europe and North Africa, on the margins of rivers, ponds and simil ...

'' 'Variegata' (water figwort) * ''

Trollius ''Trollius'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants closely related to ''Ranunculus'', in the family Ranunculaceae. The common name of some species is globeflower or globe flower. The generic name is derived from the Swiss-German word ...

'' × ''cultorum'' (globeflower) * ''

Utricularia ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

'' (bladderworts)

References

{{Horticulture and gardening Types of garden Bogs

See also

References