Make Your Soil



Mix two parts peat moss, one part sand, and one part sphagnum (or decorator's) moss in a big bucket or similar container. Add water to the soil mixture until it's damp, but not muddy. Give it another good stir to make sure that the peat moss is soaking up the water. (This is the fun part.)



Place your three glued-together pots into the large plastic tray to contain any future messiness. Fill the outer portion of your bog garden with damp soil, but try to keep the soil out of the central reservoir pot.



Add Your Plants



Carefully remove your carnivorous plants from their original containers. (Growers often package carnivorous plants with little polystyrene "skirts" around the base of the plants to help keep the soil damp. I find it's best to use scissors to carefully snip these into several pieces, then gently pull them away from the plants.)



Take note of the soil that your carnivorous plants came potted in; growers often place carnivorous plants in pure peat or sphagnum moss. Notice how damp it was? Our goal in making the bog garden is to help the plants stay in soil that's this moist.



Make a small hole in your pot's soil for each plant, then carefully place it inside and tamp the soil down.



When all your plants are in the soil, use extra sphagnum (or decorator's) moss to cover the soil between the plants. The extra layer of moss on top will help keep the soil from drying out. (If you'd like, you could also use small pieces of moss you've collected from your sidewalk or the shady side of your school building.)



Add Water



Fill the central reservoir with water, and add a little extra water to the plants themselves until you start to see a trickle of water coming out the bottom of the pots into the plastic tray.



To keep your plants soggy and happy, refill the reservoir whenever the water level drops.



All of the books suggest that you use rain water or distilled water for your bog plants; they don't like the minerals that are in tap water or bottled water. (I keep a jug of rain water next to the bog garden, just for this purpose.) However, if you have to choose between letting your plants dry out or watering them with tap water, go ahead and water your plants with whatever's available. They'll thank you for it.



Best of luck with your bog garden! If you have any advice, or a creative new design, please use the comments to share your ideas with the group!



