The Bog Garden Extension

The original Bog Garden was immediately below The Tropical Garden, which was the first of the named gardens.  The boundary of the Tropical Garden was a huge acacia stump. Beyond that, the ground sloped very steeply down into the pond. Water was constantly seeping down this slope and thus into the pond. Consequently, that ground was always damp, even in high summer, and throughout periods of drought.. So, it needed damp loving plants, those that grow naturally at the edge of streams and rivers. For example, the vigorous yellow flag iris (iris pseudacorus)  And those sold as ‘margin plants’ in nurseries.  Right plant right place.

We made a path, past the Tropical garden, down the steep slope using large log steps. It turned abruptly right, running parallel with the edge of the pond. The council helpfully gravelled the whole of this path. By the pond, we made a rustic bench with planks firmly secured to upturned tree trunks. You can sit there, in quiet contemplation of the pond and tree covered island opposite. Behind you, the log edging defined the start of the Bog Garden. First planted with damp lovers, we were donated a small lump of gunnera manicata, commonly described as ‘The Giant Rhubarb’ This plant said, ‘Yes please!’ and rapidly grew to head height, dominating the entire area.

Beyond the bench, the path ends, a cul-de-sac. A low bank was created, and planted with yellow iris to discourage further exploration. But beyond, there was quite an open area leading down to the pond, before the next stand of shrubs. We cleared this and planted ‘native’ plants that love damp conditions. Stately stands of purple loosestrife, white blossoming meadowsweet, the large leaves and the pure white trumpet of arum lilies. They all loved it and it became a summer jungle. This then, is the original Bog Garden.

To the left, at the bottom of the steep path, and edging the pond, the area was entirely covered with pendulous sedge (carex pendula). Nothing wrong with that: a native plant, that likes banks of streams and rivers (and ponds). It is also very invasive: it’s quite happy to colonise your garden or rockery. The young plant pretends to be ornamental grass. But, turn your back, and there are huge coarse clumps, elbowing everything else out of the way. By the pond, there was a monoculture of this sedge, with wind-borne seeds rather than flowers, and so no use for pollinators.

We have created the gardens, including most of the rock garden, from gifts. Firstly surplus plants from volunteers’ gardens, then locals with plants grown too large for small gardens, and so on. To convert the pendulous sedge area into Bog garden was prompted by another specific gift, of several water lilies. Coy Pond, so the story goes, once had copious water lilies. It is now vastly overstocked with Koi. Which are happy to consume anything growing in the water. Attempts to plant water lilies, the Koi say ‘Yum’ and they are no more. So, a protected, fish free environment? We thought that the answer was to create a channel parallel with the pond, to be netted off to stop the fish. This was fine when first dug last autumn, because the existing water table gave us sufficient depth for water lilies.

But, in the spring, we joined it up to the pond. Water level promptly dropped to that of the pond, a mere couple of inches! So, we began Plan B. Instead of water lilies, we put in ‘margin plants’. These are plants that like their roots in the water, but leaves and stalks above. Purple loosestrife is a native example of this. The final planting to cover the whole area, and fill the channel included half a dozen trays of margin and damp-loving plants from Bride Valley Nurseries.

However, our first task was to clear the site. Huge clumps of pendulous sedge needed  excavating and the debris removed. Next, we terraced the slope. Two donations made this effective. A volunteer had kept stout 8ft lengths of planking over the years ‘in case they came in handy’., But, when downsizing meant keeping them was no longer practical, they were bequeathed to us. We buried these upright, two lines running across the site, and terracing the slope. However, for a finishing touch, we were given a fireplace! This was already broken into its component Purbeck stones. The stones were put in place to follow and emphasise the existing terracing.

So, the Bog Garden now extends on either side of the path. It adds to the beauty and interest to that part of the pond’s edge. And of course, the mainly native plants adds to the attraction for wild life