You have some great plant selections there! Just wait until next year and you'll be totally astounded at the progress. Bog plants provide quick reward for your efforts! I'm already dividing the Japanese irises that I planted in fall 2006, and that's with a drought in 2007.

Do you have helianthus angustifolius? Mine are stunning right now, even with the "deer pruning" on these "deer resistant" plants. Another great one is bog salvia, but I don't know if that will winter over for you. You just need ONE of each of these and you'll have plenty to divide in 1-2 years.

Watch out for your lobelia. I don't know if it was the deer herd or the rabbits, but all of my lobelia were eaten.

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: swamp sunflower

I really like it. As Cameron says, next year it will be twice as nice.

Hi Dee, I love your bog garden! Your shrubs look very happy, and the Winterberry is gorgeous. What kind of muck boots are those and where did you buy them? Many years ago, I bought some "Wellie" type boots from Gardeners Supply - the kind you can slip on, and they have a reinforced bottom for digging and such. I loved them but after 10 or 15 years, they started to rip around the ankles. Have never been able to find something like them since!

I am very jealous of your wetland garden, because I have an upland lot that is dry and well-drained. There are so many native plants that thrive in wetlands. I'm growing some in part of the back yard that's a little lower, with lots of organic matter. Put them all together so it's easier to water if necessary. They've done well this summer, with all the rain we've had. I've even had tree frogs in the yard this year!

But it's not the same as having a true wetland. :(

Great job on the bog garden, Dee! Lot of work I am sure. You must be so excited to have made so much progress and in the spring it will be amazing and hope to see more photos then!

:-)

Cameron, the deer have already sampled the lobelia cardinalis, lol. But they just nibbled, and left some for us, thank goodness. They seemed to enjoy the hostas more.

I'll have to check out the helianthus. I was considering a rudbeckia lacinata, both for it's tolerance of moisture and because it supposedly does well in partial shade. But the helianthus is very nice. Thanks for the idea.

Terrene, these are actual Muck brand boots. I found them on-line at the creatively-named muckbootsonline-dotcom, lol. They were I think $65 plus shipping, and while I hesitated because I am very cheap, lol, I'm glad I spent the money, because they have been very well worth it! I don't know if they'll hold up for 15 years like your boots did, but for now I'm loving them!

It's so funny how things are subjective. The friend for whom I'm doing this garden was in despair of this area and just gave up. When I first posted here asking for suggestions, so many of you sighed and oohed and aahed over this area, wishing you had such an area. I told my friend this and she couldn't believe it, lol. But I think she soon will because she is already happy with how it is turning out.

I just wish I could figure out how to "end" the path. You can see it is kind of rounded, and I'm thinking of either placing a birdbath in the top of the curve, or perhaps placing some seating in the area. I'm still working on that one, so feel free to add ideas!

Thanks for the nice comments!
:)
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: muck boots

Dee, what a lovely garden this is turning out to be! Your vision was really right on the money. With regard to "ending" the path, I assume you mean the beginning of the approach to the shed. If so, what if you wrapped the path around the end of the plant bed (since you have plenty of wood chips and all :), and then let the approach to the garden come from the side. It would be lovely to make a turn and suddenly, there it is straight ahead. Don't know if this is practical, but it's a thought. If that won't work, would it be feasible to plant a screen at the end of the beds, and install maybe a gate? The element of mystery and surprise is so great in a garden like this.

I agree with the helianthus idea. I have "Lowdown" and it is still five to six feet tall, but it has never sprawled and is glorious right now. Another goodie for late summer, wet color, is Kostelevskya. Mine is white ("Immaculate"), and I love it. You can see a picture of it on the Plant Delights Website.

"...With regard to 'ending' the path, I assume you mean the beginning of the approach to the shed..."

Yes, Donna, that's what I meant. Sorry I wasn't more clear. I should probably repeat here that the whole reason for these two new gardens and the path was because the area is so wet, the lawn service cannot get in here to mow. So we extended the garden on the right, and will be adding a new one on the left, which takes up lots of room, but we still had the pathway area to deal with, so hence the woodchip path.

So, while we felt we needed some kind of path material to take away the grass that needed mowing, it seems - to me, at least - a bit awkward just *ending* the pathway.

Bringing the woodchips along the edges of the bed(s) wouldn't work here because the right side, at least, doesn't really *go* anywhere. The viburnum above is at the end of the bed, and then the stream continues along her back yard, which isn't really used much. On the left, again, the bed just kind of ends at a patch of woods.

However, your gate idea - hmm. One idea I was tossing around was to have, at the end/beginning (not sure what to call it now, lol!) of the path, where it comes out into the yard, is to put two little picket panels, one on the left side of the curved area, and one on the right, so the space between them would form kind of an entry way. It seems I see these darn little fences everywhere, but now that I want an example, I can't find one! So below is a link to something similar, but it's a corner piece. I want something like this but a straight panel, usually with a slight curve to the top.

My concern is that while I think it would look rather nice, it may be too formal looking, since the shed is kind of rustic. I'm thinking a panel of split rail may look better, but that opens up a lot of issues - expense, size, installation, real wood in the wet ground (might get away with vinyl with the pickets, even though I don't like the vinyl fences).

Well, thanks for letting me think out loud, lol.

:)
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: fencing panel, kinda sorta

When it's all finished, you'll end up with something that looks pretty much like a straight line across the 'end'. Once that is in place, it will be obvious where to end the path. It won't be too formal because it is just a line in the ground. Maybe some sort of edging stones would help with the maintenance.

My garden is full of paths that just end, or change materials. I had to think why they work, and it's because they change at a line. It could be an edged random curve, but I think those are much, much harder to lay out properly.

I'm not sure I understand, MG. While the garden is not done, the pathway *is* finished. What you see in the picture above is pretty much it. And I did put a curved edge to it, because I just couldn't abide a straight one, lol.

I just wonder if it looks odd because it just *starts* (or *ends*) in the middle of the grass, so I was looking for ideas to make it look less.... I don't know, less abrupt?

The beds themselves will taper off, respectively, to the stream and to the woods, so they will not have an abrupt ending, but will look more natural.

As far as formality, I was referring to the picket fence panels that I was thinking about putting in the end/beginning of the mulched path. I didn't know if the pickets in particular would look too formal for this setting, especially because of the style of the shed.

Thanks!
Dee

I meant when the left side garden is done. If only my current picture posting was easier. If a picture is worth a thousand words, here is my attempt at the thousand words.

Start with the next to the last picture. The wide view of the two beds and the path from the lawn. What I'm talking about is drawing a horizontal line across that picture. So it will be the lower edge (in the picture) of the right hand bed, then it will turn into the lower edge of the path, then the lower edge of the left hand bed. So logically, the path ends at the same point the beds do. It's the remaining grass on the left hand side that is messing everything up, and I'm assuming that will be leaving when the bed is done.

Aha! I think I've got you now! But.... I don't think that will work. Now let *me* attempt a thousand words, lol!

The current bed on the right, and the future bed on the left, as you look at them now, will continue toward the camera, but not in a straight line. They will veer off to the right and left respectively, and somewhat sharply too. Each bed will be kind of boomerang-shaped, if that helps you visualize.

If I continued to bring out the wood chips to where the beds ended, it would be about another 15 to 20 feet toward the camera, and if it followed the edge of the beds, it would be at least 30, probably more like 40, feet across! It would be a plaza, not a path, lol!

I hope that description wasn't as muddy as the garden is, lol!

That's why I chose to end it where it is, just at about the point where each bed veers off to either side. I don't want to turn her lawn into a wood chip plaza - even if I have enough wood chips to do it, lol!

:)
Dee

Great work! It's going to look so lush and beautiful next season!!

Ending the pathway with an open gate + two sections of the white picket fence on each side of the entry will do the trick...
...and you can grow clematis on that fence, too :-)))

I was at this garden today, and my friend had dragged one of her old adirondack chairs, which have been sitting rather neglected in another area of the yard, over to the woodchip path area, as we had discussed. (Unfortunately, I noticed the second adirondack in pieces by her garbage can, lol)

Well, I have to say, the chair was a perfect touch! It is quite weathered, and just with it sitting in the wide end/beginning of the path area, with the leaves falling and the shed in the background, it was really quite beautiful. So maybe a seating area here would work, and would make the abrupt (in my mind) ending/beginning less noticeable. Now to find another weathered adirondack chair!

Thanks for the nice and encouraging comments. Thinking about that clematis, George, lol!

:)
Dee

I haven't been visiting GW much this past year because of personal reasons, but popped in today and was delighted to see your bog garden pics. I remember the earlier postings and you've come a long way. Great job!

As someone else said, plants in this kind of setting grow fast!! So expect to have to remove, cut back, split, give away, etc. the plantings quite a bit as time goes by.

About your pathway, my suggestion would be to use the one chair you have near the entrance of the path (actually partially on the path - feet on the path where it is dry - and put something with some weight on the opposite side.

One idea would be to dig in (a bit) the rock you found (dugout) into the grass area to the side front of the mulch path. Just curve in the bog bed right up to into the mulch path at that point, letting the rock protrude just a bit into the mulch to tie things together and still leave the path usuable. Then add behind and somewhat to the side what I call a "stop and look at me plant", a small sedge like Carex Bowles Golden would be perfect, giving some height and brilliant color, and lastly add a small rustic sign BOG GARDEN or WELCOME, or whatever you like or find to the combo.

Hi Leslie!

Thanks for the comments and the ideas. You know, I've been eyeing that carex Bowles Golden, because I really like it, but I'm a bit worried about it being too vigorous, so I've held off on it so far.

That rock may stay right where it is, lol. I am *not* looking forward to moving that thing again!

:)
Dee

Dee, as I look at the picture, I have another thought. Since the path widens out at the entrypoint to the garden area (end/beginning is too hard :), what if you moved the gate/fence toward the shed about 6 feet or so and let the wide part of the path be a kind of foyer, if you will. Then you can arrange your chair, sign, sedge, etc. on this side of the fence, and the rest of the garden would be on the other side of the fence.

I know what you mean about vinyl fences, but it would be a practical choice for a bog area, and once it gets dirty....:) You can buy them in 8 foot sections at Lowe's (just did a plan for a friend), and they're fairly inexpensive. It's just amazing what just the hint of enclosure does for a space.

Dee,
Bowles Golden is not too vigorous, at least in my "wet" garden. It is a clumper, not a runner and is relatively small in size, about 2 to 2 and a half feet tall and wide, with a weeping effect from the top. I've had no seeding at all. My 3 plants have grown well for me, but are very well behaved, still in the same place I planted them when this particular garden was started, some years back. When they were started they were in full sun and now are in quite a bit of shade. The area they are in is naturally quite wet and the soil is heavy clay. Plants were pocket planted, with only a small bit of amendments. Soil was so sticky my boots kept getting stuck when I was planting!

Thanks, leslie, for that info. I'm always afraid of planting something that may be too aggressive, especially in someone else's garden!

One of the first times I worked in this garden, on the left side, my foot got stuck. When I gave it a good yank, it came right out of my shoe. I was all alone, and I started wondering what time my friend would be home, then wondered if I should just walk out with one shoe on and one off, or if I should attempt to balance on one foot and lean over and pick up my stuck shoe. Luckily I was able to retrieve my shoe and walk out with both of them on my feet, lol! That's when I decided to buy the muck boots!

Donna, your "foyer" idea is intriguing. At first I didn't know if I liked it, but the more I think about it, the more I do. Thanks so much! This is why I post here - I know I can get lots of good ideas and lots of help!

:)
Dee