bog garden
THE BOG GARDEN
In the bog garden, we have attempted to replicate the conditions found in northern sphagnum bogs. Bogs are very acidic, very wet, low in nutrients and devoid of mineral soil. The top several inches of a northern bog is dominated by living sphagnum moss which is underlaid with a deep bed of soggy, partially decomposed peat. In our bog garden, we have relpaced the bottom peat layer with 16 inches of fine sand which is contained by a thick rubber liner.
The bog garden is home to many carnivorous plants including sundews, butterworts and pitcher plants. Many members of the heath family also thrive here, especially wild cranberries, bog laurel and Labrador tea. At the edge of the bog we have a large colony of the rare climbing fern, Lygodium palmatum.
Sarracenia purpurea flowers showing pendulous petals in June
Sarracenia purpurea showing the downward-facing,
insect-entrapping hairs inside the hood of the pitcher
Cady’s Falls Nursery
Don & Lela Avery
637 Duhamel Rd. Morrisville, Vt. 05661
802-888-5559 avery@vtusa.net
Sarracenia hybrid volunteers
in the bog garden
Rhodendron canadensis, Rhodora in May
Chamaedaphne calyculata
Sarracenia flava blooming in late June
Andromeda polifolia ‘Blue Ice’ in May
Pitcher sliced open length-wise, showing trapped insects, partially digested
Sarracenia purpurea flower buds
Bog garden in July
Bog garden in June
Sarracenia purpurea with pink Vaccinium oxycoccus (small cranberry) covering the bog
