Creating A Bog Garden

Creating a Bog Garden can turn a problem area of your landscape into an attractive, unusual segment of the landscape.

A Bog Garden lends itself ideally to poorly drained soils. If the area stays wet year-round, planting can be done directly into the existing soil. If the soil quality is extremely poor, adding some good garden loam will ensure excellent growth of the plants.

Installation

A bog garden can also be easily installed in any landscape with the use of PVC liner. Simply excavate the desired bog area to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. The hole is then lined with the PVC material and the excavated soil is placed back on top of the liner. Leaving the bog area slightly below previous ground level will allow runoff from rainfall to help keep it saturated. Flood the soil with water and add your bog plants. Holes can be punched in the liner for more drainage if you find it too wet.

Most moisture-loving plants will work well in a bog area, you can plant emergent water plants or be more adventurous and try moisture loving grasses, ferns, and perennials.

Ferns – Shade

Lady Fern (Anthurium filix-femina) Bright green with wide, deep-cut foliage. [1-3’ tall]

Leatherwood Fern (Dryorteris marginalis) Evergreen [2-3’ tall]

Cinnamon Fern (Osmundo cinnamon) Waxy, deep green foliage [2-3’ tall]

Royal Fern (Osmundo regalis) Deep green, smooth-edged foliage [3-4’ tall]

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) Evergreen [2-4’ tall]

Moisture-Loving Perennials

Aruncus Goat Beard (Dioicus) Creamy, white flowers with pale green foliage; shade [4-5’ tall]

Astilbe False Spirea (arendsi “Fanal”) Feathery spike of red flowers; shade [2-3’ tall]

Brunnera Dwarf Anchusa (macrophylla) Heart-shaped leaves, small blue flowers; part shade [1’ tall]

Chelone Turtlehead (glabra) Drak green leaves, creamy white flowers; part shade [3-4’ tall]

Chelone Lyon’s Turtlehead (lyonia) Deep pink flowers, dark green foliage; part shade [3-4’ tall]

Eupaturium Joe-Pye Weed (purpureum) Mauve pink flowers, course leafed; part shade [6’ tall]

Hemmerocallis Wild Day Lily (fulya) Orange flower; full sun [3-4’ tall]

Hosta (lancifolia) Dark green leaves, lilac flowers; shade [8” tall]

Iris, Siberian Iris (sibirica) Graceful, grassy foliage, Dutch Iris-shaped flowers; full sun [1-3’ tall]

Ligularia Desdemona (dentata “Desdemona) Heart-shaped leaves with a purple underside,

Clusters of yellow daisy-like flowers in large clumps; shade [4-5’ tall]

Ligularia Goldenray (przewalski “Goldenray”) Spires of bright yellow with showy leaves; shade [3-4’ tall]

Ligularia Rocket (stenocephala “The Rocket”) Cutleaf foliage with spires of bright yellow

Flowers; shade [4-5’ tall]

Hibiscus Moscheutos Hardy hibiscus, flowers 8-10” wide in shades of pink and white; full sun [5-6’ tall]

Moisture Loving Grass

Deschampsia Hairgrass (caespitosa viviparia fulls) Dark greep leaves, 3 ft plumes; wheat color [15” tall]

Miscanthus Maiden Grass (sinensis “Gracillimus”) Slender leaves [4’ tall]

Miscanthus Striped Eulalia Grass (sinensis “Variegatus”) Leaves striped creamy yellow to white [5-6’ tall]

Miscanthus Zebra Grass (sinensis “Zebrinus”) Gold banded variegated grass [5-6’ tall]

Pennisetum Fountain Grass (alopecuroides) Showy grass with pinkish plumes [2-3’ tall]