By Richard Curzon

My wife and I built a bog garden at the nursery last summer and documented the process in order to instruct customers on the basics of it. This is by no means the end-all-be-all of bog garden construction, but this is a good basic design for those who may want to make the jump from pots and small bog containers to a feature that is integrated into the landscaping.

But first, a few basics: What do you need for a bog garden, and what do the plants need? Consider these requirements:

1) Full sun, Ideally at least 6 hours daily.

2) Low mineral water (Rain water)

3) Low nutrient, acidic soil (peat moss and sand)

4) A barrier to maintain moisture, such as pond liner, kiddie pool, even an old bath tub!)

5) A drainage system to prevent flooding and stagnant water buildup.

Building of an in-ground Bog Garden

Required materials and tools:

Pond Liner

Silica Sand

Sphagnum Peat Moss

PVC Pipe

Plants

Shovel

Wheelbarrow

Bow Rake

String with metal stakes

The First Steps

First of all you need to be very sure about the spot you’re putting your in-ground bog garden. This is different than up on the ground garden as you can’t move it once its done! Think about you location like, would you plant a garden there? Would tomatoes grow happily and make produce? If you answer yes, then let’s start digging!

We dug about 1 ft. deep “trench”. You want the bottom and the sides be smooth so that the liner we’ll put later won’t get poked by sharp things

Once you are happy with your bog garden base put some sand on the bottom to make it smooth and easier to level.