Bog gardens are places where water loving plants are grown especially plants that can tolerate water around their roots most of the time.

The bog garden at Dawn Gardens is created by water flowing down from the ponds onto a flat area before it flows off the property under the fence.

The tree that is predominant in the bog garden is the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum).

The Bald Cypress is a deciduous conifer with beautiful fall color.

It survives growing in water by growing knees from the roots above the water level.

These knees allow for the exchange of oxygen from the air to the roots.

A large Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica) is growing on the border between the lowest pond and the bog gardens. It loves all the water it gets from the pond overflow.

The willow tree blew down in the fall of ’21 and the trunk was cut back in October of 2021. I pruned out the suckers trying to select the strongest for development of a new branch structure.

One year later

2 years later

Here are some bog plants that do well in the Dawn Gardens bog garden:

Chilean Umbrella Plant (Gunnera tinctoria)

Canna ‘Pretoria’

Indian Rhubarb (Darmera peltata)

Broom Restio (Ischyrolepis subverticillata)

Leopard Plant (Farfugium japonicum ‘Aureo-maculatum’)

Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’)

Canna Lily

Bog Hibiscus

Elephant’s Ear (Colocasia)

Notice how the leaves wave in the breeze.

Farfugium japonicum ‘Gigantea’

Aster ‘Pink Star’

Marsh Marigold

Variegated Water Iris

Japanese Iris (Iris ensata ‘Tiramisu’)

 

Here are a few plants that grow next to the bog in constantly wet soil but not in the water:

Hawaiian Ginger (Hedychium

Disney Ginger (Hedychium ‘Disney’)

Japanese Forest Grass

(Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’)

Hosta Lily

Caladium (Caladium bicolor)

These plants are grown from tubers and must be planted every year in the spring. The leaves can be many colors including red, rose, pink, white, silver, green and bronze.

Astilbe

Meadowsweet (Filipendula rubra)

Restio

The bog garden in the winter is mostly dormant.