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Bog Garden Plants: Elegant Grasses

Sweet Flag, Bushy Bluestem, Blue-Joint Grass, Sedges, Papyrus, Horsetail, Rushes, Ribbon Grass

Bog Garden Plants, Bog Plants, Bog Grasses, Sweet Flag, Bushy Bluestem, Blue-Joint Grass, Sedges, Papyrus, Horsetail, Rushes, Ribbon Grass

Creating a bog garden is a terrific project that allows you to turn a slow-draining, waterlogged spot into a beautiful attraction, discover exciting plant species and attract wildlife to your garden.

Typically a bog garden consists of a shallow area adjoining a pond or other water feature. It may exploit existing poor drainage in the garden, can be created at the edge of a pond or water garden, or as a standalone feature. Permanently damp, it creates an area where moisture-loving plants will thrive and attract frogs, toads, dragonflies, damselflies while bees and butterflies will flit around the flowers.

  • Bog plants love wet soil, but they do not tolerate standing water, particularly in the winter. Naturally damp clay soils are ideal, but you can create wet habitat in free-draining soil if you use a liner and introduce topsoil. You can even make a mini-bog in a container.
  • Bog plants thrive in soil with high nutrient levels and that contain lots of organic matter.
  • Select a combination of short and tall plants for cover and perches.
  • Spring is the best time to choose plants and plant a bog garden, as the plants will have enough time to root during the warmer months.

There are many wonderful grasses that will thrive in the moist environment provided by bog gardens. Here are excellent choices that will turn a slow-draining, waterlogged spot into a beautiful attraction.

Guide Information

Plant Type Ornamental Grasses
Landscaping Ideas Bog Gardens

Bog Garden Plants: Elegant Grasses

Acorus calamus ‘Variegatus’ (Variegated Sweet Flag)
Acorus calamus (Sweet Flag)
Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’ (Golden Variegated Sweet Flag)
Andropogon glomeratus (Bushy Bluestem)
Calamagrostis canadensis (Bluejoint Grass)
Carex comosa (Bristly Sedge)
Carex elata ‘Aurea’ (Bowles’ Golden Sedge)
Carex flacca (Blue Sedge)
Carex grayi (Mace Sedge)
Carex lupulina (Hop Sedge)
Carex lurida (Shallow Sedge)
Carex muskingumensis (Palm Sedge)
Carex pseudocyperus (Sedge Hop)
Cyperus haspan (Dwarf Papyrus)
Cyperus involucratus (Umbrella Plant)
Cyperus papyrus (Papyrus)
Equisetum fluviatile (Water Horsetail)
Equisetum hyemale (Horsetail)
Equisetum scirpoides (Dwarf Scouring Rush)
Eriophorum angustifolium (Tall Cottongrass)
Juncus effusus (Common Rush)
Juncus patens (California Gray Rush)
Phalaris arundinacea var. picta ‘Picta’ (Ribbon Grass)
Rhynchospora colorata (Star Rush)
Scirpus cyperinus (Wool Grass)
Typha angustifolia (Narrow-Leaved Cattail)
Typha minima (Dwarf Cattail)

Discover more beautiful perennial plants for your bog garden

Plant Finder

You may want to review these useful guides too

Bog Garden Plants
Bog Garden Plants: Colorful Perennials
Bog Garden Plants: Graceful Ferns
Bog Garden Plants: Great Looking Shrubs
Pretty Hardy Orchids for the Garden
Pretty Hardy Orchids for the Bog Garden
Sarracenia (Pitcher Plant)
While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.

Guide Information

Plant Type Ornamental Grasses
Landscaping Ideas Bog Gardens

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