Iris ensata 'Harpswell Chantey'

My soil is heavy clay, perfect for boggy plants, so I just put back what I dug out and planted my water lovers. If you wanted to do it right, you could line it with a heavy rubber liner used to make a pond, use sand in the bottom, and fill it with a mixture of sand and peat. I didn’t bring the sides of the plastic up or poke holes in the bottom because I wanted the area to drain sideways into the rest of the flower border. Mucky is what you want, not wet, or you might end up with an unpleasant sour odor.

Calla lilies, Iris ensata and pitcher plants make fine garden bedfellows. Elephant ears will be as large as their namesake if they are grown in boggy soil.

Pitcher plants really don’t like chlorine in their water, so catch rain water in a barrel or watering can, or keep tap water mellowing for 24 hours or more before you add water to a pitcher plant pond.

Flowers that will thrive on the edges of the bog include hydrangeas, Brunnera 'Jack Frost', banana, and Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).

Cimicifuga 'Hillside Black Beauty'

Hosta, hydrangea, Anemone 'Honorine Jobert', Astilbe, Golden Star (Chrysogonum virginianum) and the beautiful Cimicifuga 'Hillside Black Beauty' are moisture lovers and respond to this treatment.

A bog will help conserve water in the garden in a couple of ways. It is easier and more economical to huddle thirsty plants together because they can then be watered all at once. Plants not requiring so much moisture can be skipped in the watering process.

Look ahead to spring. Do some doodling on paper to set up a small landscape plan. Think about adding a bog and a damp retention area to the mix.

---Posted by Coach Anne, September 17, 2008---