Bog Planting Suggestions?

[ATP]

Below are pics of my new pond and bog. Its in the front yard and already gets a lot of attention...lol. Rather than just throwing a bunch of bog plants in there, I am trying to think it through and come up with a design that still looks random but stands out. I dont have a lot of knowlege around bog plants, their size, spread, when they flower etc.

Bog is aprox 11'x6'

I already have some Pickerel Rush on order (5) that I wanted to incoporate. But, again being new to bog plants, I dont know where I should place it and if 5 is even enough. I found some Siberian Iris locally that they are practically giving away that I could easily get. Other than that, I have some dwarf horestail and a few marsh ferns on order that I was going to place between the rocks around the pond edges. Open to any ideas or suggestions.

 

[TheFishGuy]

I like your plan so far! If you are okay with an annual, something like a dwarf Egyptian papyrus would look stunning and give some more height.

 

[Abby]

We love our bog… taro, cannas, cattails, and Pennywort

 

[ATP]

We love our bog… taro, cannas, cattails, and Pennywort

Oh, wow! That is really grown in. I am a little nervous to introduce cattails but like the taro and canna idea. Is pennywort plant in the foreground of the picture?

 

[Abby]

Oh, wow! That is really grown in. I am a little nervous to introduce cattails but like the taro and canna idea. Is pennywort plant in the foreground of the picture?

It was completely level just a few months ago in the winter.. this is all new growth since spring! The pennywort lines the waterfall and fills the base of the bog as undergrowth under the larger foliage. The pennywort is the only thing that stays strong in winter… everything else dies back and comes back strong in the spring.

 

[Abby]

It was completely level just a few months ago in the winter.. this is all new growth since spring! The pennywort lines the waterfall and fills the base of the bog as undergrowth under the larger foliage. The pennywort is the only thing that stays strong in winter… everything else dies back and comes back strong in the spring.

If you click on the pic it’s much clearer and easier to see detail. It looks blurry otherwise

 

[GBBUDD]

You cant pay me to put cat tails or money wart in my yard both way to aggressive

 

[Abby]

We like the invasive stuff apparently lol… and our bog is an enclosed box so that adds some containment and control. we love our jungle… Our water is crystal clear and our fish are super happy… we wouldn’t change a thang

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My favorite bog plant is Cardinal Flower. Needs to be just slightly above the water level, though. Native to the U.S. and a phenomenal plant for attracting hummingbirds

 

[SarahT]

Your pond is looking great! Consider the standard planting guidelines of "taller in the middle/ back and shorter in the front" placement, and keep foliage texture and color in mind. You can move plants around fairly easily if you need to. I like @TheFishGuy suggestion of some annuals - ornamental sweet potato, green and purple, have done a nice job for me. For perennials, I like my black taro and "soft rush" (which has not been aggressive in my bog), iris and cardinal flower. As the perennials grow in, you won't have to replace the annuals, but I'd leave space for an annual canna lily. On the outside perimeter of both bog and pond, I'd suggest some low height evergreen perennials (periwinkle/ vinca minor, creeping phlox) to soften the transition from turf to pond/ rock. No matter how carefully the turf is mowed, and regardless of whether you fertilize/ weedNfeed, you won't want any grass clippings added to pond or bog. I can see a tree or two on the perimeter for some shade ...
It's going to be even more beautiful when you've got plants in! Enjoy.

 

[ATP]

Your pond is looking great! Consider the standard planting guidelines of "taller in the middle/ back and shorter in the front" placement, and keep foliage texture and color in mind. You can move plants around fairly easily if you need to. I like @TheFishGuy suggestion of some annuals - ornamental sweet potato, green and purple, have done a nice job for me. For perennials, I like my black taro and "soft rush" (which has not been aggressive in my bog), iris and cardinal flower. As the perennials grow in, you won't have to replace the annuals, but I'd leave space for an annual canna lily. On the outside perimeter of both bog and pond, I'd suggest some low height evergreen perennials (periwinkle/ vinca minor, creeping phlox) to soften the transition from turf to pond/ rock. No matter how carefully the turf is mowed, and regardless of whether you fertilize/ weedNfeed, you won't want any grass clippings added to pond or bog. I can see a tree or two on the perimeter for some shade ...
It's going to be even more beautiful when you've got plants in! Enjoy.

Great suggestions. I do have some Canna bulbs that I plant around my pool. They are the purplish leave variety and are somewhat overused in my area, but, I think they would look great as the backdrop for the bog with perrenial types in front.

 

[Abby]

Your pond is looking great! Consider the standard planting guidelines of "taller in the middle/ back and shorter in the front" placement, and keep foliage texture and color in mind. You can move plants around fairly easily if you need to. I like @TheFishGuy suggestion of some annuals - ornamental sweet potato, green and purple, have done a nice job for me. For perennials, I like my black taro and "soft rush" (which has not been aggressive in my bog), iris and cardinal flower. As the perennials grow in, you won't have to replace the annuals, but I'd leave space for an annual canna lily. On the outside perimeter of both bog and pond, I'd suggest some low height evergreen perennials (periwinkle/ vinca minor, creeping phlox) to soften the transition from turf to pond/ rock. No matter how carefully the turf is mowed, and regardless of whether you fertilize/ weedNfeed, you won't want any grass clippings added to pond or bog. I can see a tree or two on the perimeter for some shade ...
It's going to be even more beautiful when you've got plants in! Enjoy.

Thanks for the suggestions… we have cannas coming up behind the taro… we absolutely love them! Absolutely agreed about softening the transition… last year morning glory more than filled that role but of course died off in the winter. We planted periwinkle and creeping Jenny but they haven’t taken off yet.

 

[Abby]

This mornings light allows for a better shot of the cannas blooming from the bog top right. Happy Wednesday!

 

[GBBUDD]

I thought for a moment there we had an other middle Eastern visitor from my phone it looked like Abby had a heck of a view of the piramids

 

[Abby]

We have compared the rooflines to Pyramids many times! lol