I planted most of my stuff in the spring for my "wet" garden, mainly because that was when lots of things were available. I did wait until the spring rains were pretty much over, but I can remember that it was really mucky. Anyway I figured that the clay was already pretty compacted and that I couldn't make it much worse. Plus I didn't want to wait for the mosquitos to hatch and eat me alive. I can remember slipping & sliding around, laughing and stamping down big clods of clay, not sure whether anything could make it in the mess. Most things did, many of them too well. The original garden has been reworked through the years, things added/changed/moved, overgrown stuff pulled out...pretty much when I felt like it, or found something new I wanted to try. Good luck!

that's a nice big bog but you don't need more 'bondable' dirt. Soup is great!! One question. Was the 'fill' you put into the hole piled up nice and high above the ground? If not, when everything starts settling you will have a dip in the ground. So you might need to add some more of one or all of your ingredients to build it up higher. Ours gradually starts drying on the surface so we 'soup' it up about once a week.

Thanks for the idea. I just kept thinking of big containers or wading pools that might have several plants all growing together, but didn't think about a plant in a small container, which keeps the boggy environment. How do you deal with possible tap water getting to it? Eg, if you are watering the plants around it or just in its general direction?

Nice Garden. I'm always facinated to see other people's designs. In the spring, I'll photograph my newest one and put it out here. My newest design challenges the notion that bog gardens need to be flat or bowl shaped. It is modeled after a seep, with sides like \_/ and an almost crescent-like curving shape which is open at one end. It declines gently towards the opening. One would think all this drainage would dry it out, but even at a slight decline the live sphagnum keeps everything moist (with some watering required in july and august). Along the sides are slopes covered with pea gravel and native rock plants like wild poinsettia, Cumberland Rosemary, fameflower, yellow eyed grass and other odd things. Anyways, I'll post a photgraph around May. Actually, watch out for that jewel weed... it is rather agressive. If you are looking to fill an area (like a moist wildflower meadow) then it is great, but it would probably our compete plants like CPs which demand lots of light. That said, I've never tried the yellow species (palada?) which has slightly larger flowers and sometimes a fragrance. I've scattered seeds before but not really give a whole lot of effort at trying to grow it. Since both orance and yellow grow in the same environment, I've wondered what differentiates their habitat (PH?).