Sean, That's hardly a one liner of a starter question. Sounds similar to my bog/pond. Like an upturned hat with a wide brim. I made the bog depth variable by putting the hat on a tilt, from 12" soil that is constantly moist through capillary action, though none of it is actually below the water level, to 12" soil that is virtually all below the water level, though it varies through the year according to the level of the pond. The slope allows for all the variation in between; 11:1 10:2 9:3 etc. The 12" was convenient, gives a good depth for roots and happened to fit in with the hole I had dug out, leaving my bog level with the surrounding ground outside. Any deeper I figured and I would have to move (more)tons of soil, any shallower and I wouldn't have the root run I wanted. It also gave me enough leeway to allow the pond level to fluctuate by about 8" without the liner being visible from the side (the 12" above the waterline bit is only visible from within the pond). I segregate the two by a line of rocks(no mortar) lined up as a natural sloped strata on the liner, soil on one side, water on the other, block the holes with pebbles, and plants. This also serves as overflow area at 2 points where the land level is lowest, though it seldom actually overflows. Outside the liner in the overflow areas, I have planted other wet loving species though it is interesting that the "wet tolerant" do better here than the wet loving as essentially it is relatively dry 10 months of the year. I had about 400sq ft of pond surface area when I started(200 deep 30" and 200 marginal 15") with about 200sq ft of bog round that. Now it's more like 500 bog, and 100 deep. I clear out individul invading species each year, but I guess I could supply a nursery with what I have to clear out. Try and keep a corner for your specials, droseras, orchids and the like. Also, go as big as you can, looks enourmous when you first start but it soon fills up. I'm looking to make 2 more now as I've run out of space. I used ordinary garden sub soil with a lot of grit added to open up the texture and make it more workable(digging solid soggy particulate soil is a nightmare, especially once it is bound up with a ton of roots). The grit allows the soil to be worked, is easier to shake off the roots and seems to work really well, I'm considering using a 70% grit mix in future. Don't make the mistake of using any soil with weed seeds in it, the constantly moist conditions give a perfect seed germination area. You can always add pockets of nutrient rich soil where you want it, but you can't take it away. Adding lots of organic matter only prepares the way for it to rot down. You'll end up with a smelly black sludge if you have too much organic content constantly under water. Also the nutrients will wash out into the pond water giving you algal bloom especially in spring. Bogs in nature may work with lots of rotting vegitation, but they're seldom hemmed in by a butyl liner a foot down, and usually have a flow through that would make your run off area look slower than a dripping tap! Have you got a constant input into this pond?? I wouldn't do the rushes all round bit, you'll end up pretty quickly, with nothing but. If you are doing rushes, do them in a corner, where you can beat them back every now and again. Think of your access in and out, it's good to work on the bog area from both sides, I don the waders or the wellies( depending on whether I'm going deep or marginal), and climb in over a small trickle waterfall from a feeder stream, otherwise I have to hack through 3" of bog vegetation that is pretty delicate and shows signs of invasion when I do. You were talking of a 5' width, tough to get access to the middle of that to remove the inevitable unwanted invader. Have fun, Cheers Greenmanplants

I love them all. I never had trouble growing nasturtiums by direct sowing. In fact, I think I used to read that they resented transplanting, but ws'ing is a little different when you plant them with the soil intact around the roots. But as soon as they started blooming nicely, the bottoms of the leaves would get covered with aphids, and they'd die. I had this white powder stuff I got and poofed on them (hard to get at the undersides), but it didn't work well, and I didn't like breathing that stuff or getting it on me plus I was working and didn't have time to trouble shoot like I can a little more now. Of course I wouldn't have known the hose trick which might have worked. Maybe conditions have changed. One year I had aphids early on the rose buds but not so bad the last two years, so maybe I've got a different balance going now. Or maybe not. Thanks for sharing your nice photos.

Irina has a super valid point! Too many similar violets are on the market from all over the world. Just a caution. If you know it is an "Opt.", don't "invent" a name for it. Here is what I do. Since they don't come with tags, I put my own plant tag in labeled like this. Optimara __________ white single flower. (If I buy a clearance violet with no discernable bloom color I just leave that blank also. I fill in information as I get it.) Under that I put the date & where I bought it as a point of reference. Once it reblooms I fill in the type of bloom and the name from Optimara if I can identify it. Once it blooms I also take a pix of it, label the pix with Optimara (name from the label) and put it in a folder called My Identified Violets. That way,,,if it isn't blooming and someone wants a leaf of, say, Trinidad ll, I know by the label which one is Trinidad! Label, label, label!!!!! But you will eventually mess yourself up if you start giving them names you invent. If you feel you must do something,,,,give it a number. That way you won't confuse yourself down the road! Just my way of doin' things! Rosie

I would say it has no to maybe a mild fragrance Kristine, which is a shame because fragrance is important to me in the roses I purchase, but as long as the blooms are as pretty as this one I'm certainly not removing any of the previous owner's roses. I'll have to take photos of the entire plant. The foliage was green and then it has new leaves all over now that are burgundy which I had noticed, but I didn't realize there were buds too. I can't imagine a better surprise than when I spotted that gorgeous bloom hidden at the back. It's fun getting to know more about the roses that came with my yard.