Bog and Aquatic Plants 
55 
A Pond of White Lilies. 
The Bog and Water Garden 
hJymphseas and most other aquatics should be planted in a good, rich soil, if the best results are looked 
for. A mixture of heavy, dark soil and well-composted cow manure is good. The plants should be well 
embedded in the soil under the water. For Sarracenias, a mixture of peat and leaf-mold in any wet, sandy 
soil will answer. The location should not be too cold. If the moisture is furnished by cold springs, the 
plants should not be set very near them. Most aquatics need still water. They do not like a current or 
the disturbance of strong waves. Do not plant too early before the water gets warm. 
Water Lilies and other aquatics are often grown in tubs sunk in the ground. Ponds or pools are, of 
course, much better, where they are to be had, and with wet or boggy places bordering them, bog plants 
can be grown. When these wet margins have only a clay or sandy soil, better results can be obtained by 
adding 6 inches of peat as a top-dressing, which makes a pretty fair depth for bog plants. But before this 
is done, all grass and sedge roots should be eradicated. Many bog plants do not require peat, but will 
grow in any wet, sandy or other soil which is always moist; others require not only peat, but need some 
shelter from the winds, such as low trees or small shrubs afford. Most of the species herein mentioned do 
not need this protection from winds; yet a few such bog shrubs would be quite in place if planted among 
and around them. 
Such water-loving species as Azalea viscosa , Ilex verticillata , Lonicera oblongifolia, Myrica Gale , 
Andromeda ■ polifolia , JPyvus arbutifolia and JRhodora Canadensis , though they do well planted in moist 
garden soil, are found growing naturally in bogs and swamps. For the margins of bogs there are few 
more attractive shrubs than Cornus stolonifera or C. sencea. Among the vines that may be used for moist 
grounds along brooks, etc., are Clematis Virginiana and Ampelopsis quinquefolia. Vitis riparia is also 
common along the banks of streams, and climbs over bushes and trees, making a good companion for the 
Virgin’s Bower, Bittersweet, Moonseed and Woodbine. 
