When Thou Thawest, We Shall Meet

[Boggy Man]

Well, okay, regarding that possible pond you are both probably right. Although i find my idea more appealing

How do "sedge mats" do look like? I thought these are quite larger plants requiring a bit of solid ground. All this quaking and shaking i do only encounter with areas of peat moss only.

Sedges, basically marsh grass or sawgrass, can spread over top of mud, forming a mat/carpet. They can be a bit of a problem in that they can cover up some wonderful mud, making it no longer accessible. But, they can also cover the shallow part of the mud, allowing easy access to deeper softer stuff further out!

<< Moderator Edit >>

The rest of Boggyman's explanation was full of direct references to specific producer product. It can be viewed here viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3553

[bart1997]

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[jack c]

Nessie,

This certainly gives you something to look forward to during the season of "I ... just settled down for a long winter's nap!" It is snowing in SE Pennsylvania as I type this - 3 to 6 inches, or whatever really happens despite the variable forecasts. I don't like hot summers, but there has to be a happy medium. Hope you find some good spots. I am sure you will keep us posted.

Keep warm!!

- Jack

[Nessie]

Another great explanation from the MASTER!

That raised bog i have over here does not support much of this type of vegetation because those plants do not receive enough nutrients. At the peaty parts there are just modest moss and some flesh-eating plants left.

Thanks, Boggy-Man. You described exactly what I mean.

The mats can be made of anything that grows on top of a bog, though...I wonder if it's fair to call a mat made out of something that isn't sedge grass a "sedge mat" too.

Maybe it's a cattail-mat.

Beds of cattails can create this effect too!

Nessie

[Boggy Man]

Another great explanation from the MASTER!

That raised bog i have over here does not support much of this type of vegetation because those plants do not receive enough nutrients. At the peaty parts there are just modest moss and some flesh-eating plants left.

Thanks, Boggy-Man. You described exactly what I mean.

The mats can be made of anything that grows on top of a bog, though...I wonder if it's fair to call a mat made out of something that isn't sedge grass a "sedge mat" too.

Maybe it's a cattail-mat.

Beds of cattails can create this effect too!

Nessie

I have seen mats of cattails that had broken away from a shoreline, and had formed floating cattail islands.

Technically, sedge is actually a separate family from grass, but I like to use the term "sedge grass", since it looks so much like grass.

But, it all can be generalized as mats of vegetation, mats of green, vegetation mats, etc, since there are a wide variety of plants that can form mats, including:

marsh cinquefoil


bog beans


water arums


bur reed


and various rushes, mosses (especially sphagnum), etc, in addition to those plants already mentioned through this thread, and any mixture of them, with others mixed in.

I am putting in a new pond, and it will have one or two floating bogs, with peat and sphagnum moss supported enough to be floating on top of the water, and will be colonized with various carnivorous plants (mainly sundews, pitcher plants, venus flytraps, butterworts, and perhaps some cobra lilies), a "little bog of horrors"!

[Nessie]

Your "Little Bog Of Horrors" sounds like it will be far from a horror...it will be awesome!

When I see bog plants as lovely as the pictures you posted, though, I can't make myself step on them. When a bog flower blooms, I want to step around it, not on it!

Fortunately (for my sinkings, not for my scenic photography) the mats I walk on aren't as floral as all that. They're just grasses or cattails. If I'm lucky, animals have made trails through the cattails and I have a little path to go out deeper by.

Never heard of "bog beans" before. They are very pretty. Are they good for anything, like, to eat?

Nessie

[Boggy Man]

Your "Little Bog Of Horrors" sounds like it will be far from a horror...it will be awesome!

I can't wait to get it done this summer, but unfortunately, I have to wait for winter to end before I can even get started on my project. I have a long list of things to do first, such as finishing the rock garden, digging the pond/bog pit and preparing it properly for the liner (the ground is pure gravel, which the liner will need protection from). After the liner is in place, I have to do stuff such as edging, and setting up the planting areas, and then planting the various pond plants, before I can finally begin to work on my bog garden(s). I also have to fence things in as well, to keep animals from destroying my creation. So, I have a long wait before I can finally get my "Little Bog Of Horrors" set up, but it will be worth the wait!

When I see bog plants as lovely as the pictures you posted, though, I can't make myself step on them. When a bog flower blooms, I want to step around it, not on it!

I don't like to step on nice flowers either, and try to avoid it whenever possible.

Fortunately (for my sinkings, not for my scenic photography) the mats I walk on aren't as floral as all that. They're just grasses or cattails. If I'm lucky, animals have made trails through the cattails and I have a little path to go out deeper by.

Never heard of "bog beans" before. They are very pretty. Are they good for anything, like, to eat?

Nessie

It is called "Bog Bean" because its leaves resemble those of lima beans. It is also called "Buck Bean". It does have very lovely flowers!

[reisen55]

Amazing picture Nessie. But I had to laugh as, in all of my searching, I have never found a swamp with a big arrow and big red letters in the SKY pointing me to my destination. LOL.

[PM2K]

Amazing picture Nessie. But I had to laugh as, in all of my searching, I have never found a swamp with a big arrow and big red letters in the SKY pointing me to my destination. LOL.

It would certainly make life easier... a bog GPS...

[Duncan Edwards]

Boggyman, this has nothing to do with bogs, but how is the banana tree?

Yes people, he has the only outdoor banana plant in British Columbia. Maybe all of Canada.