Lori's Blog

Wetland Garden

Posted on 12 Mar, 2008 0 comments

The last thing I would have expected is to become obsessed by bog plants…but recently the plant catalogues have presented tantalizing pictures of Gunnera, Ligularias and Astilboides tabularis…For awhile I was confused Gunnera/Brunnera, but good old google and wikipedia straightened me out…for some reason I assumed that Brunnera was large leafed as well…now it appears I’m on the right track… but will look for Brunnera too.
I have an old concrete fish pond that was no longer useful and I planned to knock it to pieces and use the rubble as a berm base…but had a small epiphany…I’ll leave it as it is, fill it with leaf compost and soil and plant bog plants…the site is shady with a comma shaped area in pea gravel & wild strawberry, shaded by two sumac surrounding the south side of the old concrete pond. Directly behind it is a fence and on the opposite side—ferns, vinca, pachysandra, and a huge Cottonwood backed by another fence. Plenty of wind protection.. I’ve been busier in other parts of my yard in previous years and left this area pretty much to the rabbits…this summer I will reclaim one part of it.
The reason that I am looking for plants on the large scale is that I need some solid middle ground… I have the trees and the ground cover…need something sturdy yet striking in between.
The research on bog plants is ongoing…especially the smaller types…but if the selected plant grows as large is it should probably won’t need them.
Found the Astilboides under the old name Rodgersia sambucifolia , I have Ligularia “Gregynog Gold’ and plan to add L. stenocephala ‘The Rocket”, have seen pictures of L. Zepter….
Zepter is my favourite…hope I can find it at the local nursery. I have seed from the Gregynog Gold.. would like some hot reds to go with the golden yellows…so I’m going to try clumping Lobelia ‘Cherry Ripe’...it’s a gorgeous red; or maybe to keep to the same lines I’ll buy a red Rheum palmatum. The further I go into the books the more plants I find and the more I want…but I only have so much room…for instance wanted Aruncus dioicus (goat’s beard) for forever…but could never find it…maybe this year..put it in with the Ligs and Astilboides and see who comes out the winner.
Now on to the Nymphaea’s ....
I have only one at present but have seen a number of interesting pictures on this site, ..found a listing of plants…flower ones are:
Bog Arum (Calla palustris), Bog Lily (Crinum americanum), Iris (Iris laevigata), Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) and Monkey Flower, (Mimulas luteus). Of course I wont have any trouble finding cattails and cotton grass, I already have ferns in situ, been babying along a bed of Irish Moss in my front garden…Think I’ll take some plugs of that to try. as well as see if I can find some mosses, live sphagnum maybe.
Next step will be to build a viewing station that I can stage all my work from and pleasant enough to look at that I can leave it in place when all the work is finished…
I’ve found some sources of information at the library, but as usual, I’m doing this my way,, with what is at hand. I’m begining with leaf bog anaerobic conditions(acidic) in an old concrete (alkaline) pond with an open drainage port in the bottom which is was usually clogged with earthworms. So I will add peat and sphagnum and some good compost in planting pockets and hope that the partial shade won’t be too great a handicap..and any water that collects will pool in the deepest areas. Hopefully what will come of this will be a wetland habitat with garden appeal…lots of perennials on the margins, with variation in scale and line and a good balance overall. Lady Nature is the last arbiter…

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Tags: bog plants