A miniature bog garden

An outdoor container is used to show off a display of dramatic water-loving plants

ABOG Garden is replicated in miniature using an old tin bath filled with moist soil and water-loving plants. Simple to assemble, it is an ideal way to display contrasting foliage and flowering plants. Water attracts wildlife, and this outdoor feature provides a safer alternative to a garden pond as a spot to observe a variety of insects and invertebrates. Bog garden plants need some drainage and air around their roots. They will not thrive where the soil is so wet or compacted that water pools on it and little drainage occurs. The container should have drainage holes drilled in it. This will allow water to slowly drain.

Cyperus has slender grass-like leaves and greenish flower clusters. The brilliant red flowers of stately Lobelia cardinalis ‘Queen Victoria’. Barred horsetail, Equisetum japonicum, can grow to 31in (80cm) tall.