The outdoor area is to the hobby gardener what the blank canvas is to the artist. This way you can let your imagination and creativity run wild and create a great “aha effect” through alternative means of expression. An interesting garden design is achieved through exotic plant species and unusual arrangement. To give the garden a special touch, you can create a moor bed and grow stump plants there.
Creating a bog bed – miniature raised bog for terraces and balconies
A replica of a raised moor is drawn from your own garden, terrace or balcony and designed as a smaller, more sophisticated version. Hardy plants are grown there that extract nutrients from the groundwater and grow through the formation of peat. These usually only require a few nutrients.
choose the right location
First of all, you need to consider whether there is a suitable location and whether the selected one meets all the conditions. There should be no trees or bushes nearby, as the supply of nutrients becomes far too high during the leaf fall season. An optimal situation would be if a wall or house casts shadows on the bed around midday, but in the morning and evening it is in full sun. Here comes the question of adequate supply of rainwater. In addition, the unusual plant bed should look good in the overall picture and be an eye-catcher. A partially shaded spot on the northwest side of the house would be optimal.
Build it yourself or use a tub
Once a suitable location has already been chosen, you should have an idea of what the moor bed should look like and how big it will be. The shape of the bed should fit the overall look of the garden and in principle all are possible. Then the soil is dug out in the desired shape about 40-50cm. More is only required for larger systems. You can also use a tub and dig out enough earth so that it fits exactly into the ground.
Create a moor bed and design it lushly in the garden
All sharp stones are removed from the excavated bed and covered with approximately 1mm thick pond fleece. If you use a plastic tub, you don't need to put any foil on it. Then white peat is needed that is not fertilized or chemically treated. It is distributed to the ground and in the upper layers there is a mixture of coarse quartz sand, perlite, seramis and sphagnum or moss.
It can happen that the bed is flooded during the rainy season. As the name clearly shows, bog plants cope well with more water and even survive if they are completely submerged in water for a short time. Nevertheless, you can protect yourself with a small overflow. Around 15-20 may be constantly flooded. A hole is made in a good place and a plastic pipe is inserted into it, which leads the excess water outwards into a small chamber at at least 45°. The chamber is dug a little deeper and loosely filled with earth. Their surface must not be pressed tightly.
recreate natural moor
In real bogs, cavities naturally form that fill with water and serve as water storage. To recreate this natural event, old pots are well used. These are placed on the floor with the opening facing down. If you want an open water source, you should consider whether additional water storage is needed and if so, how much and how large.
The peat covers about 15cm from the ground and is distributed well around the empty pots so that they do not tip over or get crushed. After about 1/2 - 1 week the peat will settle a little and will be added if necessary. Now it's time to arrange the bed. You can create depressions and elevations and place the plants anywhere you want. It should be warned here that moors with their adjacent plants and animals are protected.
Bog plants alongside the carnivorous ones
Suitable plant species are those that tolerate fencing and standing moisture well and thrive in the acidic pH value of the soil. For cultivation outside, the plants should of course be winter hardy and also light hungry. The list can be really long, but people usually decide on this unusual garden design because they would like to breed meat-eating plants (carnivores).
Rules for planting
There are no exceptional rules when planting the moorland. Usually the plants are arranged according to their light requirements - the larger varieties go behind, the sun-hungry ones - on the north side of the bed and the light-hungry ones - on the south side. Despite the precise order, this is difficult to maintain in a bog bed. Root suckers and self-seeding allow the plants to appear elsewhere. Fighting overgrowth and weeds is also something that cannot be spared.
which plant species
Hobby gardeners usually create a bog bed because it offers ideal conditions for growing carnivorous plants. They are very light-hungry and conditionally hardy. They keep their leaves all winter and only slowly die back in spring with new growth. Numerous native bog plants can be planted alongside the carnivorous plants.
Red pitcher plant
Sarracenia purpurea(Red Pitcher Plant) is a flesh-eating plant consisting entirely of a long, marbled hose with a hood. It collects rainwater and thus attracts its prey, mainly insects. Unlike the other species in the genus, this one has no lid and uses the collected water to prevent the insects from escaping. It is native to North America and can tolerate frosts of -30 degrees. The old plants can grow up to 1 meter high.
Long-leaved sundew
English Drosera(Long-leaved sundew) is a meat-eating, winter-hardy plant that also populates the moors in Central Europe. In winter it forms overwintering buds and sprouts again in spring. The leaves are covered with 15-35mm long, thin, reddish tentacles that attract insects. Mainly flies, but also dragonflies and butterflies are caught.
Venus flytrap
Dionaea muscipula(Venus flytrap) is a flesh-eating plant that turns red when there is sufficient lighting. As a result, it produces sweet nectar at the edge of the trap and quickly attracts insects. If bred well, it grows easily and can form 3-4 new traps per month. The plant forms its rhizomes deep in the soil and can therefore survive natural disasters.
Cobralily
Darlingtonia californica(cobra lily) is a flesh-eating plant that is demanding to cultivate and for this reason is a true rarity in the garden. It loves sunny locations, but its root zone should be kept cool. It is partially hardy, but can also be grown as a pot plant. It got its name from its resemblance to cobra.
Butterwort
Pinguicula grandiflora(Large-flowered butterwort) is a low-growing plant along streams, typical of Western Europe (Ireland, Switzerland, France and Spain). Its rosettes are close to the ground and reach up to 8 cm in diameter. They reproduce by winter budding.
Moosbeere
Vaccinium oxycoccos(Cranberry) is only a few centimeters tall and crawls densely over permanently wet ground. It is green even in winter and blooms in May to July. The fertilized flowers develop into small berries, about 1cm in size, which are also edible after the first frost.
Moornelke
Helonias bullata(Moor pink) is a typical pond plant that grows relatively large - 20 to 70 cm. It is completely frost hardy, quite undemanding and undemanding. It likes sunny places with sufficient watering and a substrate with a low lime content.
Moororchidee
Pogonia ophioglossoides(Moor pogonia) is a typical moor plant that is brought to Europe from the USA and China. It is also hardy here and is very popular for this reason. Still called the bog orchid, it prefers sunny locations and blooms delicately pink in June-July.
Russiancotton grass
Eriophorus russelianus(Russian cotton grass) is an ornamental grass that thrives in moist locations, usually at the edge of a pond. It tolerates up to a maximum of 5 cm water level and during the flowering period it produces orange fruit heads. It grows to 20-30cm tall.
Torfmoos
Sphagnum squarrosumor also known as bleaching mosses, peat mosses are mosses hostile to limestone that form dense cushions in swampy places. They quickly absorb moisture through their pores, which can be 30 times more than their dry weight.
