Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions and help. I have now finally dug and planted my first bog garden!! While it's not what I originally envisioned, I was faced with getting all my wonderful plants in the ground ASAP as weather and other projects were fast becoming an issue. And, thanks to 7 hurricanes and dozens of tornadoes, I have two 50 gal barrels of rainwater on hand for my bog! While visiting my family in CA last month, I visited California Carnivores twice and shipped home several gorgeous plants - thanks to Peter's help and advice. Additionally, I had purchased about 2 dozen specimens off the Internet, so I had quite a variety to get started. So far, I only have pitcher plants, fly traps, bladderworts, butterworts and sundews. I look forward to adding a great number of others - thanks to Fred's wonderful suggestions -next year. I also have a new pond going in this week and as soon as that and the deck near it are completed, then I can seriously get started on designing the final home for my bog. Right now it's appearance is quite utilitarian, but as soon as all the pond building paraphenalia is gone I will finally be able to get near it again and take a picture to post. Thanks again for everyone's help - I can already see that this new delight is going to start competing with my ponds for real estate space!!!!!

Hello Gordon. Sorry to get back to you so late. Long winter. Fred's recipe for bog garden soil follows. He is a regular contributor to this forum and though I don't know the man personally, he seems a thoughtful and intelligent person. I don't think he'd mind me cutting and pasting his recipe that I found from an earlier posting. Here it is... Creating an artificial bog garden Strange as it may sound the first step to building a bog garden, dig a hole! The area can be whatever shape you like about 18 24 inches deep and slightly raised from the surrounding bed area to keep runoff from entering the bog (this is explained shortly). Locate the bog garden where it will get full sun at least half the day, preferably afternoon sun. The worst part is done! Now line the hole with rubber pond liner. DonÂt worry if there are sharp roots etc. that could puncture the liner. A few leaks do not matter. Begin filling the bog with the following combination: add 1 bale (4cuft) of sphagnum peat, mix in 100lbs of silica sand and a big mess of conifer needles (white pine is my favorite). Add rain, distilled, or dehumidifier water till saturated. This is the second hardest job because peat is extremely hydrophobic. Repeat above until the bog is full and fully saturated. Sculpt the "dirt" such that it is low in the center and higher around the edges. Because it is saturated and all the air is worked out, it will not settle. If you wish to plant a Fen type garden (ph neutral and slightly more nutrient rich) add 50 Â 100 lbs of calcium rich lime in place of the conifer needles. Most species of Cypripedium will prefer this to the bog garden. I made the mistake of using crushed oyster shell, it added too much saltÂso donÂt use this for calcium! Time to plant! Place plants that like more water near the center of the bog where it is low and plants that like less water around the edges. This works well because the edges dry out far faster than the center. Be patient! A bog garden takes at least 2 years to become well established as a mini ecosystem. DonÂt pull any weeds that you are not sure are weeds! Some really good stuff can come to your garden from peat bales. But keep seed heads of sedges and other more aggressive plants trimmed so more tender plants will have a better chance of survival. The cardinal rule! NEVER EVER EVER WATER WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN RAIN, DISTILLED, OR DEHUMIDIFIER WATER! TAP WATER WILL KILL A BOG GARDEN IN A SEASON AS WILL ANY SORT OF FERTILIZER! Plants suitable for bog gardens and sources There are a number of plants that are suitable for bog gardens, many are readily available others far too scarce. Listed here are some of the plants I have had success with and enjoy in my garden. Remember when looking for plants, be sure to buy from sources that propagate their stock or (in the case of orchids) are from documented salvage operations. These are plants that were removed from habitats just before the bulldozers come in to build the next strip mall. This list is NOT exhaustive and you may have luck with plants I have failed with or think IÂm crazy for planting "that". CARNIVOROUS PLANTS Sundews, Drosera filiformis, D. rotudifolia, and D. intermedia Sarracenia Species especially purpurea and those that produce best pitchers in spring. Venus Fly Trap Dionea muscipula. IÂve found it reasonably hardy here (my plants have survived -5F) UNCOMON PLANTS Bog rosemary Andromeda and Heather/Heath Caluna species. Sedges and rushes especially corkscrew rush and cotton grass (sedge).Be careful some of these can get out of hand! Gentians, great fall flowers. Patience is required to get them established. Blue and yellow eyed grasses and smaller members of the Iris (Iridaceae) family. Call me crazy but no bog garden would be complete without Poison sumac (yes it is in my garden). Most wonderful fall color, but donÂt touch! Orchids Cypripedium or ladyÂs Slippers, C. acaule (pink) for the bog garden, C. reginae (showy), and C. candidum (white) for the "Fen" and C. pubescens (Yellow) and itÂs relatives for a partly sunny spot in the Perennial bed. Fall blooming Spiranthes or LadyÂs Tresses, Small, fragrant, and a great companion to fringed gentian. These self seed in the bog! Platanthera species, the fringed orchids, especially P. ciliaris (yellow) and blephariglottis (white). There is also P. psycodes (purple) but it is NOT an easy plant to grow! Calopogon tuberosa, the grass pink. Showy and easy, Epipactis gigantea, giant hellborine, great if you can find a source, Dactylorhiza spp. (European) a good garden candidate, and Bletilla spp. A great garden subject needing no special care. Sources See the web sites for the above at www.orchidmall.com click on sources! If you have questions feel free to contact me at: fbess7600@msn.com.

I'm surprised to read all these postings talking about rain. It's been bone dry where I'm at--my yard (grass) is brown and crispy and even with faithful watering (as much as I can afford-I'm afraid to see what my water bill is going to be) on my part, all of my plants/shrubs/trees are showing signs of stress from the heat and lack of rain. I've been getting up early (like 5 am) on the weekends to try to beat the heat and work out in my garden--by 11 am, it's too hot to do anything. What I can't figure out is with the lack of water (everything is drying up), just where the heck are all these mosquitoes coming from? And slugs....I've never had problems with slugs before...jiminey crickets!-I'd figure with the heat and lack of moisture they'd just shrivel and dry up. We actually got some rain this morning, but I fear it may be too little too late.... It's depressing, I live all year for summer and my garden, and after enduring months of snow and cold only to have a summer so hot and so dry that it makes me sad to look out and see how bad and unhappy my plants/shrubs/trees are...and there's so little I can do about it.

Here is another photo of a group of the purple fringed orchid. Image link: