Pond and bog garden
I'm planning a pond and adjacent bog garden, hopefully for
construction next year. I've seen two ways described of making the latter. The first simply involves burying a membrane in a saucer-shaped depression, and relying on the inhibited drainage to keep the soil moist, with occasional assistance from a hose. The other type is in effect an extension of the pond itself. A hole is excavated the size of the pond and bog garden combined, with the bog garden rather less deep than the pond part. A single membrane is used to line both parts. A 'leaky wall' is then built over the membrane, dividing the pond part from the shallower bog garden, and the bog garden section refilled with earth. My inclination is towards the second design, but has anyone had experiences of either that they'd care to share? Is there a preferred type of soil for bog gardens, or does ordinary garden soil do? (I'm keen to grow candelabra primulas and moisture-loving lobelias; our existing soil is acid). How do you stop the soil in the second type of bog garden I described from becoming sour, as it will be permanently wet? -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
Chris Hogg wrote in message ... I'm planning a pond and adjacent bog garden, hopefully for construction next year. I've seen two ways described of making the latter. The first simply involves burying a membrane in a saucer-shaped depression, and relying on the inhibited drainage to keep the soil moist, with occasional assistance from a hose. The other type is in effect an extension of the pond itself. A hole is excavated the size of the pond and bog garden combined, with the bog garden rather less deep than the pond part. A single membrane is used to line both parts. A 'leaky wall' is then built over the membrane, dividing the pond part from the shallower bog garden, and the bog garden section refilled with earth. My inclination is towards the second design, but has anyone had experiences of either that they'd care to share? Is there a preferred type of soil for bog gardens, or does ordinary garden soil do? (I'm keen to grow candelabra primulas and moisture-loving lobelias; our existing soil is acid). How do you stop the soil in the second type of bog garden I described from becoming sour, as it will be permanently wet? -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net Hi Chris, I have the first type of bog garden. It's fairly good, but can dry out in summer and definitely needs help from a hose. Next time, I will try puncturing the liner further up the sides, leaving a basal reservoir. I get around the sour soil problem by putting in a layer of charcoal near the base. It seems to work. I used barbeque charcoal as it is much cheaper than aquarium charcoal, and more readily available. You may be lucky with the autumn approaching, as many suppliers may be selling off their stocks at silly prices. I've no doubt that the second type of bog garden is more reliable as far as moisture-retention is concerned. However, you will need to be careful when feeding plants in the bog garden, otherwise you could contaminate the pond water. Of course, the charcoal solution will be just as effective against sour soil here as it is in the first type of bog garden. As to soil, I used ordinary garden soil improved with bagged compost. Because my soil is heavy clay, I used composted bark (Westlands) to help break up the clay, but your garden soil may be good enough on its own. Spider |
On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:28:57 +0100, "Spider"
wrote: Hi Chris, I have the first type of bog garden. It's fairly good, but can dry out in summer and definitely needs help from a hose. Next time, I will try puncturing the liner further up the sides, leaving a basal reservoir. I get around the sour soil problem by putting in a layer of charcoal near the base. It seems to work. I used barbeque charcoal as it is much cheaper than aquarium charcoal, and more readily available. You may be lucky with the autumn approaching, as many suppliers may be selling off their stocks at silly prices. I've no doubt that the second type of bog garden is more reliable as far as moisture-retention is concerned. However, you will need to be careful when feeding plants in the bog garden, otherwise you could contaminate the pond water. Of course, the charcoal solution will be just as effective against sour soil here as it is in the first type of bog garden. As to soil, I used ordinary garden soil improved with bagged compost. Because my soil is heavy clay, I used composted bark (Westlands) to help break up the clay, but your garden soil may be good enough on its own. Spider Thanks Spider. Charcoal seems like a good idea. I don't think I'll be using any fertiliser though; AIUI most bog plants prefer a soil low in nutrients. But the wider point, that anything applied to the bog garden will leach into the pond, is something I'll bear in mind. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
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