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An actual bog is an area where there is stagnant acid water and only plants such as sundew, butter words, etc., grow.
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But the bog garden which we find in landscape gardening is actually a marsh where the soil is not sour or acid and
a shallow stream or trickle runs through it.
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A pond is not an essential feature of any bog garden, but, if there is any adjacent pond, the overflow water can be used to keep the marsh garden moist.
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The main criterion of a marsh garden is to keep it moist and in a swampy state all throughout. For this reason, the site of the marsh garden should be low-lying where the surface drainage water will collect naturally.
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A site having a sub-soil of sticky clay is ideally suitable for marsh garden as only a trickle of water will keep this wet.
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But, if the soil is light in nature, certain amount of digging will be needed before establishing a marsh garden.
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The whole area intended to be developed into a marsh garden is dug up to a depth of 60 cm. and a thin layer of clay, 10-12 cm deep, is placed at the bottom to form the base of the marsh garden.
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Then a 12 cm layer of rubble or large stones are placed over this to ensure that the water in the marsh does not become stagna nt.
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The rest of the hollow is filled with a compost of garden loam and leaf-mould in the proportion 1: 1 and the level made up with the surrounding land.
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A marsh garden should never exceed a depth of 60 cm. although its spread will depend upon the available area and per sonal choice.
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A marsh garden should never suffer from drought and be kept sufficiently moist by a trickle of water at the same time avoiding stagnation.
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All parts of the marsh garden is made accessible by laying paths of rough stones or bricks, winding round the marsh and putting stepping-stones over them.
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It must be noted that all marsh plants need water, but in varying degrees.
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Accordingly, marsh plants can be categorized into three broad groups.
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In the first group belong plants which over 5-10 cm of standing water and are termed as “Swamp dwellers”. In the second category are placed the plants which live on or a little above the waterline, with their roots standing in water-logged soil. In the third group are placed those plan ts which grow above the saturated soil, but near enough to send their roots in search of water.
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A marsh garden can accommodate any moisture-loving plant, those which are found commonly growing on the banks of streams or ponds. Some of the plants which can stand in 12-15 cm. of water are also included in a marsh garden. In some pockets of the marsh even plants growin g in shallow water can be accommodated.
