SPOTLIGHT ON... bog garden
When you have a permanently wet hollow at the end of the garden, or a patch of peaty ground that catches the overflow from your pond, what could be more natural than turning it into a bog garden?
It will allow you to grow treasures such as hostas, candelabra primulas, Japanese water iris (Iris laevigata) and the skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus).
They can all be notoriously difficult if they don’t have damp feet.
A bog garden is also the perfect place to plant outsize perennials such as gunnera and rodgersia as well as ligularia. You could make a wetland wild-garden effect using water figwort, purple loosestrife and marsh marigolds.
But watch out since they tend to spread.
If the idea appeals but you don’t have a naturally boggy spot, why not make one? The easiest way is to adapt a leaky pond. Just make a few drainage holes halfway up the sides and fill it in with soil.
Space your plants out generously. Take them out of their pots, dig a hole that’s big enough to take the whole rootball and slot in place. Firm gently and water in. Top the lot off with a mulch of chipped bark to help seal the moisture inside. If there’s a long dry spell it’s essential to top it up. Give it a good flood with the hosepipe or use the contents of your water butt. You won’t need to do it again for a couple of weeks.