what is a bog

Okay, I'll bite.

A bog is an acidic nutrient poor ecosystem that stays slightly moist, and recieves full sun. It is generally covered with a thick layer of peat, and usually characterized by the presence of Sphagnum moss. Bog gardens contain ususual plants like Venus Flytraps, Pitcher Plant, leather leaf, cranberries and native orchids (to name a few)

A bog garden aims to mimic these conditions by providing peaty well drained soil (usually 50/50 peat moss and sand) and some sort of liner to hold in moisture (but not so much that the garden remains flooded). Also Bogs are so clean that even your tap water is often too "dirty" and should be watered with rain water or distilled water.

So, the original post was not technically a bog garden. First of all because Cattails tend to live in wet meadows, marshes or other high nutrient systems. Presence of cattails in a true bog general is a sign of the declining health of that system. Secondly, note the phrase "I try to keep the tote full of water at all times". Bogs aren't flooded like that. They need drainage. That is really water gardening, not bog gardening.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make a bog garden

Sandy, yes you do have a bog garden. Under common useage a bog garden is a place where you grow pond plants.

Now if we want to get technical, we could restrict it to the definition given above, which most people don't.

Anyway have fun and enjoy your bog garden and don't worry about what it is called.

Some ponders have tried to rename their bog garden to marsh garden which might be more accurate for growing cattails. However the term never caught on and bog garden is favored by most people.

Yes, it does get into the whole issue of whether definitions are proscriptive or descriptive. If the common usage calls a swamp, marsh, wet meadow and fen a "bog" then maybe they all are, because that is the common way the word is used. However, there is also a good argument for more precise language, especially from a conservation viewpoint. For example, if people hear that a nearby bog is being ditched and drained, then for all they know it could just be someone's seasonally flooded pasture. Knowing that it is a specialized ecosystem which is far more rare and which contains unusual plants is useful information.

If part of "bog gardening" is educational, then we should ask ourselves if we are contributing to misinforming the public by referring to cattail marshes as "bogs". Cattails are quite common, and often a degraded ecosystem. Might it not be harmful to reinforce the idea that this is the same thing as a sphagnum bog?

At the same time, I've been told that there scientifically are no true bogs in the southeast, since true bogs are only formed by glaciers. What we have in the south east are scientifically "seeps". For myself, I think that level of detail is really only useful to ecologists and professional botanists. I'd call any sunny, low nutient, moist (but not flooded) environment a bog.

So... catfishsam, and others, what say you? Is any wetland environment a "bog"? If so, then why bother having a seperate forum for ponds? Are swamps included in the definition, or only sunny environments? Are they allowed to be permanantly covered with water, or is that a pond? Must they be low-nutrient, or is any place with wet soil qualify? What's the difference between a pond marginal and a bog plant? Where do we draw the line?

For that matter, if anyone asks "Do I have a bog?" is there really any way to truely answer the question?

Um... well, a tote full of cattails is a truly wonderful thing and a gardener could certainly call it a bog or bog garden if they wish bu-ut, a bog garden basically comes in two flavors, what has been called a "true" bog as Lonnie describes and a wet high nutrient set-up for marginals like Sandy's tote.

sassy270380 asked "what is a bog" and for that question I would go w/ Lonnie's answer. sandyl in the title to this post says "I guess..." which implies uncertainty. Again I think Lonnies answer and definition of a "true" bog speaks to any uncertainty.

I think both set-ups are great but you do need to differentiate because... well... they really are very different.

I've posted this before on this forum so forgive the redundancy but I find this faq interesting as well as informative.

I find it interesting that businesses that sell bog plants consider cattails a bog plant. The reason probably is that the term has become generic to mean any plant that will grow in the pond.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bog Plants

Lilypons Water Gardens has this to say.

Bog Plants are Bogs or shallow water aquatic plants. They like damp feet. One to twelve inches of water is sufficient to keep them happy. All should be planted at their minimum water depth until established in your pond. After that, you may lower them to no more than their maximum water depth. They can be creeping jennies or grow to seven feet tall.
There are hardy and tropical varieties, shade lovers and sun seekers. Tropical shade plants do well in the house over the winter.
The versatility of these bog plants is a great help in landscaping around your pond. They soften the bold line where land and water meet. Bogs can stand alone as specimens, but they are really glorious when massed in borders. They do well in a garden all their own, or in the creation of a stream garden.

You can check out the Link below if you would like. Also why request a free catalog while you are there? I just did.

If you are not familar with this company, they are one of the most well known and largest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lilypons Water Gardens

We could argue the point all day. For example, I could come back and make the argument that this company hardly specializes in true bog plants (I counted *maybe* two), and therefore isn't where I'd go to determine classication of wetland ecosystem. I'd call their entire section "Pond Marginals".

After all, words are just symbols that we assign meaning to. In the end who defines words? The specialists who study ecosystems in the wild, or nurseries who grow plants? For that matter, I've heard people out in the country call Pitcher Plants "lilies". Does that make them lilies? I would honestly want to know though, how would you seperate the pond forum from this one?

If the broader definition of "bog" is used, then how do we have any idea what anyone is referring to? If someone asked you what a bog was, how could you differentiate between a poorly drained yard, a pond on a golf course, or a waste treatment plant? Could you even define the word if it is used so broadly?

In all seriousness, I heard Gale Norton claiming that wetlands had increased on her watch, when actually many of the kinds of sites I mentioned above, like golf course ponds, were used to calculate the number she published to the public. Politicians and developers count on the average person being ignorant of the difference. If we let the general definition rule, then there are real consequences. After all, if there is local hearing about a pitcherplant bog scheduled to be ditched for a subdivision, how will anyone know it isn't just a cattail marsh? This is why I feel the definition is important, and why I teach the more precise definition in the presentations on bog gardening I give to garden clubs. The average person needs to know that a detention basin isn't the same as a bog. If they don't learn the difference then we will lose the real thing. (If nothing else, they'll be confused and wonder why their pitcherplants keep dying.)

No matter. I don't feel either of us will likely change their mind on the usage of this word. So, feel free to use your definition, and I will continue to advocate the more precise terminolgy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gail's Definition of Wetland