All winter the bog garden slumbers away with not a sign of the delights to come later in the year. Nearly all the plants die back to nothing, some disappear altogether, so there is nothing to tempt me to go to that part of the garden, until now that is. All of a sudden, it was important to get all the weeds out as the plants are rushing into flower faster that you can say “candelabra primula”!
Primula japonica Millers Crimson and Postford White.
A lovely peach coloured variety.
“Apple Blossom”
Zantedeschia aethiopica has just started sending up its beautiful flower spikes, I can see 6 so far, the flowers are huge when they unfurl.
Variegated Iris pseudacorus keeping company with the primulas.
At the back of the border, the flowers of euphorbia palustris form the green section of my rainbow, shown here with a blue Aquilegia which has put itself there!
Other coloured primulas, reds, orange, lilacs and yellows are still to come, some of them have only just popped up through the soil and are still very tiny. While waiting for them, foliage plants are growing fast and furiously.
Astilbes and Hostas are growing at a fast rate of knots, here they have Lemon Balm for company, but I’ll have to keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t seed everywhere.
I think this Rogersia is my favourite foliage plant, it is so beautiful!
Shades of green from ferns, hostas and astilbe with an Iris pseudacorus in front. This iris will be allowed to flower this year, but then get pulled out as all the others are further back.
The foliage of this astilbe contrasts well with the hosta and lemon balm.
The hostas all love the permantly damp soil, this one is spreading nicely to form a good sized clump.
You can almost see the hostas growing each day. In front is Primula japonica Postford White.
The fern, Mateuccia struthiopteris, revels in the permantly damp soil, shown here with astilbe in front.
The very end of the border where the blossom on Viburnum plicatum Maresii echoes the white of the hosta.
The rhododendron at the back of the border where it is drier, picks up the colours of the primulas.
Everything is growing so quickly in the warmer weather we are having, with the odd shower, the plants are revelling in it.
The view through from the middle of the rhododendron bed, its amazing what you see when you’re weeding!
All the weeding in this bed has been done now…..phew, just in time, I can now enjoy the lovely plants with a clear conscience.
I suppose June is the main month for flowers in the bog, with the other coloured primulas flowering along with a variety of iris and astilbes and hopefully the rogersia. Colour carries on into July, so I feel this area earns its space. Not bad for a soggy, boggy bit of ground where everything was dying when we moved here!
Your bog garden is looking fantastic Pauline. Do you have much problem with slugs and snails? I have limited success with cadelabra Primulas – if I grow them in the damp part of the garden they all get eaten, but if I grow them in the sunnier bit they don’t flower very well. I just keep watering them and hoping one year they will look good as yours do.
Thanks Annette.I would normally say that we don’t have much of a slug or snail problem as I have so many blackbirds, thrushes and a hedgehog, but this year some of the hostas have quite a few holes in their leaves, they were probably hiding amongst all the weeds! However I can’t say that the primulas have suffered.
Beautiful foliage effects Pauline – the flowers almost just seem like a bonus. Like you, I am admiring the Rodgersia greatly – and what a joy Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ is!
Yes, Cathy like you, I think the flowers are a bonus, the foliage is there for far longer than the flowers. I wish the Rodgersia leaves stayed that lovely bronze colour, but they change to green later in the summer.
What wonderful foliage effects – the flowers almost just seem like icing on the cake. And so lovely to see your Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’. A plant I can’t get enough of. That snail sculpture (also your avatar?) – was it created by someone you know? Lovely
I like The Vibernum so much, I planted 3 Cathy! Lots of people think the carving is a snail, but really it is a representation of Genesis Ch 1 v 6-10! It has the earth spinning in the universe, the void is heaven and the wave is the water being put on the earth and yes, I do know who created it- it was me! Before I retired I taught woodcarving to adults at night school but falling in the garden put paid yo any more carving when I tore two muscles in my right shoulder unfortunately.
Ah, your post has answered the question of what the “tall deep pinky-red flowers are growing by our pond” that I keep asking my husband – who only knew them as some sort of primrose. So, thanks!
Do the Viburnum Plicatum have a scent? Only we have some type of Viburnum that’s similar (but possibly not the same) and it has a very heady scent.
I love that you have your wood carving amongst the plants, too.
Glad to have been able to help Val! I can’t say that I have noticed any perfume coming from the Viburnum unfortunately, I wish it did.
I have a few carvings in the garden, before I retired, I used to teach carving to adults.
My Zantedeschia is leafing out. As I see you counting flowers, I remember to enjoy mine more thoughtfully.
Aren’t Zantedeschia wild flowers in South Africa Diana, growing in your ditches, you must see them everywhere!
Yes – they called them pig lilies, as they used them as fodder.
Now, we cherish them in the garden or the vase.
Gorgeous! I often hear people complain about boggy conditions in their yards. They need to see your garden for inspiration. I want a bog of my own!
It’s just a question of finding the right plants Deb, plants that like to have their feet soggy all the time! I managed to find a couple of books about bog planting which were a great help.
That last view along the entire border is lovely Pauline! Such a wonderful mix of fresh greens and splashes of colour. Aren’t Euphorbias gorgeous?!
Thanks Cathy, I thought the foliage looked like a colourful tapestry when I looked up from the weeding! Euphorbia palustris is the only Euphorbia I’m able to grow, too wet for the others!
Your primula are wonderful and I too have been watching my Harlow Carr ones, grown from seed a couple of years ago, grow from tiny leaves to fully leaved and flowering plants in what seems like no time at all. Did you create the bog conditions, or was it a natural part of the garden?
Yes Cathy, you can almost see the leaves growing, such a difference in just a day! The bog has an underground stream which keeps it permanently moist. When we moved here, the previous people had planted plants that like normal or good drainage, no wonder they were all dying! We were told that the farmer who owned the field, of which our garden is a corner, wouldn’t risk his new tractor in our corner because it was so wet, so out came the old shire horse to plough this bit!
I love your bog garden Pauline. You have created something really beautiful. It is a treat to have a boggy bit of garden, these are such special plants, specially the primulas. I thought of you yesterday when I bought a beautiful Primula waltonii at a Plant Heritage sale. Do you have it?
Thank you Chloris,I love this border almost as much as the woodland! Once you find which plants enjoy the wet conditions, the rest is easy. No, I don’t have Primula waltonii, lucky you finding one, according to my book it is beautifully fragrant!
I think I especially love your bog garden because I’ve never had a garden that had damp areas but it is so lovely and perfectly planted I would love it even if I had ‘damp’ of my own. The foliage planting is especially good. I remember seeing the candelabra primulars at Rosemore many, many years ago when they first planted the stream area and thinking them such lovely delicate but at the same time strong colours (sounds contradictory but I’m sure you know what I mean.
Our last garden in the North West Christina was on sand, so moving here and starting the garden was a steep learning curve! Thank you for your kind comments about the foliage planting, the permanent moisture means that the leaves of the plants grow nice and large and make a statement all by themselves. The Primulas at Rosemore are beautiful, nature has a wonderful way of mixing the colours up all by itself without any help from us!
The garden is lovely! I hope I have the chance to see a few beautiful candelabra primulas when I arrive in Somerset next week. It will be my only trip to England this year, as I’m traveling to France in September. I plan to make the most of it though. I might not sleep a wink!
I’m so glad you outlined the design of your sculpture above. It is fabulous and I admire it even more now, knowing it is the creation of mother Earth.
Thank you Marian, I hope you manage to see some Primulas next week, they are such lovely flowers.
Thank you also for your lovely comments on my carving, it’s always nice to get feedback on what I’ve made.
What a lovely area your bog garden is at this time of year. The primulas are beautiful – I do love the peach variety. The rogersia foliage is quite striking, too. I’m glad you’ve tackled all the weeds and can simply enjoy it now!
The peach variety Wendy and the lilac, which are almost in flower now, cross and produce some beautiful pastel shades. More Rodgersia foliage is coming through each day, it is such a shame that the leaves will soon turn green for the rest of the summer, but I enjoy them at the moment when they are such a metallic bronze colour.
Nice Primulas. I’ve also noticed that plants are rushing to make up for lost time, blooming before they reach their usual height.
I think you must be having hotter weather than we are Jason as our plants are taking their time to grow to their proper size. Flower stalks are growing fast though, you can almost see them doubling in size each day.
The bog garden looks fabulous Pauline! It will be a great inspiration to me when we get to the wetter parts of the garden here. I have bought a Rogersia though, ‘Buckland Beauty’ which I must transfer to its proper location this year. Unfortunately the future site seems also to be favoured by the deer. There’s always something isn’t there!
Thanks Jessica, the flowers are all getting taller day by day, soon the other colours will be joining in. Rodgersias have such wonderful foliage, they definitely earn their space in a bog garden. Sorry to hear that your wet area is a favourite with deer, we had a lone deer on the drive a few weeks ago, but thank goodness it didn’t decide to stay!
In the winter, do you call this bed Sleeping Beauty? You’ve masterfully transformed this area!
I could do couldn’t I Peter, because there really is nothing to look at! All the plants seem very happy now with the right amount of moisture for them, there is always something that likes every problem soil!