Bog Garden

:cnfs:

Well... after a seasonal break and letting everything die off and go to seed we are really exciting about planning this years garden!

It is our first full year in this house and we have decided to create a bog garden. We have a lot of birds already and want to make it as much of a wildlife garden as we can.

I have read that it needs to get 5 hours full sun a day, so have picked a spot, but now I am relying on getting as much information as possible about making a stand alone bog garden. If anyone knows how to do this, or has any knowledge or tips at all I would love to hear from you.

I have an idea (don't know if it is practical or not) that I would like to create one end of the bog with a little standing water in it, to make a pebble/gravel lined bird bath. We have a toddler as well as two older kids, so don't want a pond, but I think we can go with a puddle! Would this work?

The site has a slight slope (gentle) and planning on the area being, say, 1 mtr by 2 mtrs in a slightly hourglass shape, to allow the smaller round being used as the birdbath.

I have read that you need to bury a leaky hose to keep it topped up with dampness when it dries out, others say to keep it moist with watering by hand. Any advice on this? I'd rather not have to sink hose in if possible.

Thanks in advance, and, it's great to be back!!!

 

Hi Vicki and welcome back.
I don't know anything really about bog gardens but anything to encourage wildlife into the garden is a plus in my book
We have a small pond with a small waterfall and the birds use it to drink from - we have a birdbath too!
Look forward to your pictures of the work in progress.

 

bog gardens are fantistic lots of ways to achieve them im sure youll find the one that suits. My advice is to choose a style before starting do you want a lush elegant looking style with soft ferns and lots of foliage or a bolder bog with impressive ligularies and showy candelabra prims. Im a fan of the elegant natural look myself but a brash bog with a huge gunera can look pretty special too. Let me know what look your going for id be more than happy to suggest a few plants.

 

Thank you, everyone. Anyone fancy making one too this year?

I'd like to go for the natural but cultivated look. Ferns, elegant blooms and interesting plants, anything that attracts wildlife, not enough room for gunnera. Would love some plant advice.

Could bird bathing area work?

 

Since there is a toddler I would strongly advise no bog garden or pond, but i would suggest a water feature which you cant see the sump, there are a lot of options available for this.

A bog garden with a "puddle" at one end, not a good idea because a puddle is / soon becomes stagnant water, stagnant water encourages mosquitoes. If it were a pond the wildlife would appreciate a snack.

5 hours sun / day is a bad thing, (assuming we get 5 hours) it will only serve to dry out the bog garden quicker. I have found the best place for a bog garden is next to a pond or to be very big, so it has or is always near water.

What ever you do, take pictures as you go.

 

Hmm... well then I am confused! All the information available states that it must receive min 5 hours full sun. And given that you can literally use a small sunken container to make a bog garden, why must it be large?

The available literature also says that a bog garden is a suitable alternative to a pond with small children.
:(

 

I think you've created a lot of negativity there, Watergarden, with all due respect. Victoria Plum is now a "damson" in distress!

My thoughts would be (and bear in mind that I've never created a bog garden!) is to go with the original idea of a figure of eight on a slightly sloping site.

In the bottom part of the figure of eight I would sink a plastic header tank underground: into this I would run a water supply through hydrodare piping (I know you didn't want this, Victoria, but bear with me). In the tank I would place a fountain pump with the outlet running up the upper area and pumping into a fountain.

The water now sprays out around the upper area and flows down into the hidden tank to be pumped up again ad finitum. The water course could be laid with stones, cobbles, pebbles, etc, etc. The tank is covered with a grid, and stones or suchlike placed on top.

The pump would be on a timer so that you control when it activates. You now have no need to waste your time with a watering can and the ground can be as sodden as you like. There is no standing water to entrap a child.

Suggestions for plants are very much a personal taste. Creeping Jenny might be nice, so might Monkey Flower. I like Purple Loosestrife and Bulrushes. Waterloving ferns would be lovely. Etc, etc.

 

I think this thread might be getting a bit confusing for you Victoria! If you want a bog garden, you should give it a try. One way to contain damp soil is to dig out a shallow pit, line it with a butyl liner, such as you would use for a pond, with a few small holes punched in it. (Not too many or the water will drain too quickly). Then backfill with the soil and it shoud stay reasonably moist, only needing watering if we get any prolonged dry periods:lollol:. There are small varieties of Gunnera plus the aforementioned loosestrife plus lots of marginals that would do well.

The birds will happily dabble about amongst the plants but I think a more ornamental, raised birdbath would be better and allow you and the children to see the birds more clearly.

good luck :thumb: Chris

 

i had a customer who wanted a pond but had grandkids visis we built him a willow dome to go over the pond when kids where there it was fixed down plenty syrong enough and if i do say so myself looked pretty good.

Plants primula japonica ôtsford white aruncus sylvestris. diarama. Astilbe. Anthyrium pictum. Reum. Ligularia. Schizostyllis. And many more will happily gow in an area lined with pierced pond liner filled with heavy soil and drencned in dry spells. If its a big area theres lots of ways too make that wareing easier the pierced hose pipe you mentioned is good

 

Sorry if I confused you. allow me to explain

5 hours sun / day

Any water will evaporate, if you put this water in direct sunlight (even if it is a bog garden) you will only serve to make it evaporate quicker. You are liable to end up with a bog pie (crusty on top and damp underneath)


Size

The smaller it is the worse the situation becomes. Say its 1 foot square, it can not hold as much water as one that is say 2 feet square, so the bigger it is the better it will be, the less watering it will need.


Other.

You can't have a fountain pump in a bog garden. Bog gardens by nature don't have running water in them.
You can not also use a fountain pump to pump water through a bog garden (That is the way i read the suggestion, sorry if that is wrong) Because the water will after some time be absorbed / lost in the bog, this will mean there will be no water for the pump, which means the pump will burn out.


Container

If you really want to make a bog garden, don't use a container, they are often too deep, you should use a pond liner, DON'T use butyl as its too expensive for a bog garden (Why buy a good quality leak proof liner if you are going to poke holes in it? waste of money) You can use an old bag that bark chips, or fertilizer comes in (The, when cut open are big, black and slightly tough sort of bag, not to be confused with a thin bin liner)


Water feature

Children are naturally attracted to water, a water feature with a hidden sump has running water but no visible water for a child to fall into is safer than a pond.
A bog garden has no moving water.


Pictures

Always take pictures as you go.

 

Thank you everyone for all your advice.

We are going ahead with the bog garden, and will definitely post up pictures when it is underway. I think the children will get so much enjoyment from making it and watching it grow, plus watching what it attracts! These boys (9 and 7) need some activity!

I think the bird bath area will have to wait until we can build a pond when the littly is older. Until then I'll appease myself by putting some pebbles in the bird bath!

 

I like the sound of that! How do I make sure I don't get a massive breed?!!

Can you give me any variety names to look for?