Bog Gardens
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalisis) a native shrub that attracts pollinators and thrives in soggy soil.
Soggy areas of the yard can pose a challenge, but not if you choose the right plants. In nature, bogs are areas that have wet soil but typically no standing water.
A bog garden is an easy and Florida-friendly way to take advantage of a wet, sunny area in your landscape, such as a ditch, water runoff, or muddy area.
But you can build a bog garden in a fairly dry yard as well—a perfect opportunity to utilize your rain barrel! One way to make a bog garden is by lining a shallow hole with a perforated rubber material.
Fill the bog with a mix of sand and peat and locate it in an area that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight.
Plants for Your Bog Garden
Start by adding tall flowering plants like red hibiscus (also called swamp mallow), yellow cannas, or blue flag irises to give your bog garden vertical interest. Then use shorter plants like carnivorous pitcher plants and sundews to fill in the foreground.
Remember that most bog garden plants need six to eight hours of sun each day, and may need to be watered during dry spells.
It's also a good idea to plant the shorter plants on the south side of taller plants so that they won't get shaded out.