The Bog Garden

A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the delight of its users did that. Only the use made it mean something.
Lois McMaster Bujold, A Civil Campain, 1999
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Today under "Special Circumstances" I'd like to look at what is called a Bog Garden.

As you know water means life in a garden, although too much of this good thing is a challenge. Many times it causes what is called a 'bog' condition, where you can place plants that thrive in continuelly moist soil.

Among the plants that thrive are trees like the red or swamp maple (Acer rubrum), thier small red flowers brighten in early spring and the silvery trunk is especially good looking in winter; the serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) bears white flowers briefly in early summer; the river birch, a fast growing native whose lovely peeling bark is a reddish gold; and the native Eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), an evergreen that develops a narrow, pyramid outline.

Shrubs that do well in moist, bog conditions include the sweet azalea (Rhododendrum arborescens), whose white spring flowers add perfume to the late afternoon, the swamp rose (Rosa palustris), with pink early summer flowers; and the spicebush (Lindera benzoin) with clusters of tiny chartreuse blooms lining its limbs in spring.

So, if you have an area of your landscape that is low lying and has persistent dampness you'll find the above will help you replace grass that just won't survive these conditions.




Victor K. Pryles
"The Weekend Gardner"