Topic: BOG GARDEN MAINTENANCE

[Daydreamer]

I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to offer some advice on the upkeep / maintenance / TLC that is needed for a Bog Garden.

I am writing on behalf of my local school where I am a parent, Governor, helper, fundraiser, gardener = part of the furniture !!

Last year I entered a national competition on behalf of the school to win one of the show gardens from Hampton Court.   Low and behold and extremely unexpectedly - I won  :o (GULP!).

All the plants from the garden at the show have now been re-planted on our school site - in the design of a Woodland Garden for reading.  It's fabulous.

Anyhow slight dilemma for moi .. as the winner and now it appears Head Gardener !! ... the garden has a stream running through the middle of it, and attached to this is rather large Bog garden area.   Unfortunately we were left with absolutely NO care instructions for any of the garden, which doesnt concern me in the most part .. except that I have no idea how to care for the bog garden.

All I know is that there are LOTS of plants in it ... (expensive ones I have a feeling  :o ) and there is a pipe with holes sat around the surface of the garden which is attached to a timer system.   But nothing has been set and nothing is switched on.

I'm assuming that the plants sit dormant over the winter and therefore the water is not needed ?? otherwise it would freeze ??  But I am wondering if the water needs switching on now .. and if not now .. then when ???

So many questions ... but I'll stop there in the hope that someone out there will be able to shed some light for me and offer some much needed and I assure you greatly appreciated advice.

So over to the experts (I hope).

Kind regards
Daydreamer

[Daydreamer]

 :-[  HELP ...  someone must have some advice for us ...

Pleeeeeeeeeeease 

[manicscousers]

sorry, my soil around my pond is boggy but don't know enough about it  :(
but welcome to the site anyway, hope someone comes along who does know  :)

[hopalong]

There's some RHS advice ion bog gardens (link below) and there will be more advice on the RHS site about specific plants and their care.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0503/bog_gardens.asp

 I only made my bog garden last year so I'm hardly an expert, although it seems to be developing all right. I used the standard method of putting some pond liner a few feet down, piercing it so the soil does not get smelly and starved of oxygen, covering it with a layer of gravel and putting a mix of my best home-made garden compost mixed with soil on top of that.  Make sure you get rid of all the weeds and keep weeding if necessary.

You need to keep it well watered if it looks like drying out. I'm just using a hose from time to time if need be, but it hasn't been much needed so far and the plants are coming on well.

A lot of people use drip hoses with a timer mechanism to keep bog gardens watered regularly and it sounds as if you've got one of those.  Have you got a parent who's a qualified electrician and can sort out the mechanism for you? Or why not ask at a garden centre that sells them?

Sorry not to be of more help.

[thifasmom]

i have a boggy patch around one of my mini ponds but i don't think i could advice either, what i would suggest is a quick inspection of plants and removal of any old foliage for a tidy up then turn on the water. some of the plants this year may need splitting at the end of the season and i would think most bog plants would need splitting in the early autumn or spring time every two to three years but i would do it in the autumn, pot up the extra plants and overwinter for sale the following year to raise school funds at an annual school fair (take pictures of the plants this year to help with labelling and identifying potted up plants if this suggestion suits your fancy).