THE BOG GARDEN. 273 



parts where the roots will touch the moisture. The Dodecatheons in peat, loam, 

 and leaf soil in equal parts, particularly D. JefFreyanum, grow to a large size : 

 Hepaticas, too, are greatly improved in company with these last, while the 

 charming effects that may be produced are almost without end. Corydalis nobilis 

 in peat and loam, C. lutea, together with the Water Mimulus (M. luteus), all pro- 

 vide rich masses of yellow. Gentiana asclepiadea, G. Andrewsi, as well as G. verna, 

 grow charmingly in the bog. Nor is the list of plants exhausted ; indeed, they 

 are far too numerous to give in detail, but yet to be mentioned as among the 

 grandest are many Irises, I. Kiempferi in particular. Meconopsis Wallichiana 

 (the blue Poppy of the Himalayas) produces quite a unique effect in the moister 

 parts. Saxifraga peltata, S. Fortunei, S. Hirculus, S. granulata plena, Soldanellas, 

 Senecio pulcher, Sisyrinchium grandiflorum and many more are all benefited by 

 the varying degrees of moisture to be found in the bog garden. 



In gardens where no moist piece of ground exists, such as those with 

 gravel or sandy subsoils, it will be necessary to select a low part and mark out 

 an irregular outline. Next dig out the soil 18 inches or 2 feet in depth, so as to 

 allow of at least 6 inches of clay being puddled in the bottom to retain the 

 moisture. For bog plants clay is far better than concrete, because it suppHes 

 food for many moisture-loving plants. To keep the clay in position, sloping sides 

 will be best, and for the soils named it will scarcely be necessary to have more 

 than a small outlet for excessive moisture, and this at about 12 inches high from 

 the deepest part. For this a narrow clinker or rough brick drain will suffice, 

 so placed that the outlet may be blocked, if necessary, for affording greater 

 moisture. By digging a shallow trench around the upper margin of the bog- 

 bed, and using Bamboos, such as Metake or glaucescens, or Bocconia cordata — 

 the last two valuable for their rapid annual growth — such things would give the 

 needful shade in summer. 



In large gardens and cool, hilly districts the bog garden should always be 

 found. Some years ago I had charge of just such a garden : in the flower garden 

 was a fountain basin wherein water plants were grown ; the overflow from this 

 went tumbling in many ways over a series of rocks into the rock garden pond 

 containing Orontium aquaticum, Nymphteas, and Sagittarias. In turn the over- 

 flow from the rock garden was conducted to the bog garden proper, where many 

 masses of Cypripedium spectabile, with fully a score of spikes of its beautiful flowers 

 to each tuft, grew in luxuriance in peat and leaves under a welcome shade. In 

 the swampy watercourse, before the bog was entered, the Marsh Marigold in 

 variety abounded, being very conspicuous. Here, too, Osmundas were rampant, 

 together with Primula japonica and a variety of plants already mentioned, and 

 Ourisia coccinea, tightly pressing the surface of a stone, flowered splendidly.— E. J, 



