Looking for Inspiration: The Bog Garden at East Bergholt Place

Posted on by Ann Mackay

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Last year I created a small bog garden here to make it easier to grow moisture-loving plants. For inspiration beforehand, I went to see a bog garden at East Bergholt Place. This is a large garden and arboretum which also has a plant centre (‘The Place for Plants’). Although my own bog garden is tiny – just five foot in diameter – I reckoned that being able to see what was growing happily in a large and well-established bog garden would be useful.

This garden is only about 16 miles away from our home, but the conditions are very different. The soil in it is naturally moist, due to there being a high water table and there is plenty of shade from large trees. (While walking around I noticed how damp the ground was underfoot. And being in the shade made it an excellent place to spend a very hot afternoon.)

The bog garden sits along the banks of a narrow, stone-edged stream that runs down from the area of a large formal pond. The damp soil here supports very lush growth which hides much of the watercourse.

A very small part of East Bergholt’s bog garden. You can just see the stone edges of the stream.

The structure of the bog garden at East Bergholt is obviously entirely different to my own one. Mine is entirely artificial, created by using an old tent groundsheet to trap moisture. (I first made holes in the groundsheet with a garden fork and then added a layer of stones and gravel to provide some drainage.) But I’m hoping that many of the plants that grow well at East Bergholt will be fine for my bog garden too.

I made the bog garden with the intention of providing suitable conditions for astilbes and Siberian irises. Other plants in it now include ragged robin (Lychnis flos cuculi, AKA Silene flos-cuculi), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and a red hesperantha that had been struggling in too-dry soil elsewhere. (It is much happier now!)

Left: primulas, hostas and irises along the damp edges of the stream. Right: a view over the formal pond uphill from the bog garden.

It was reassuring to see the astilbes and Siberian irises growing well in the very damp soil at East Bergholt. There were lots of candelabra primulas,which were in full flower on our visit in mid-May last year. From the photographs, you’ll see that there were also ferns and hostas and I spotted the blue flowers of camassia and the pretty leaves of Alchemilla mollis too.

There is one thing that is worrying me a little about having made a bog garden: what will happen if we get a lot of rain over a long period? There are drainage holes in the groundsheet I used to line it, but they may not allow water to escape quickly enough if there is too much. The danger then is that roots may rot. But that is something I will just have to look out for – and my fingers will certainly be crossed!

Although the bog garden at East Bergholt was the focus of my attention, we did take the time to see the rest of the garden and arboretum. There is a formal garden area beside the house with lawns surrounded by topiary and hedges, but I preferred the arboretum, with its beautiful trees and flowering shrubs. The wilder area of the ‘lower garden’, with naturalistic planting and a large, totally informal pond was delightful too. I’ll be happy to visit this garden again!

Candelabra primulas were the star of the show in May.
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Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

21 thoughts on “Looking for Inspiration: The Bog Garden at East Bergholt Place”

    1. We have had a lot of heavy rain over the winter. (The water meadows near us have been a lake several times.) I’m looking out for signs of new growth and hoping that the plants in there are OK…

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  3. I’d keep an eye on that purple loosestrife. It’s apparently an enthusiastic grower: so much so that the pretty non-native is considered invasive here. Do gardeners draw a distinction between water gardens and bog gardens? It might have to do with the depth of the water, or kind of plants included. I think of bogs are saturated soils rather than actual ponded water. In any event, many of the flowers, like irises, are among my favorites.

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    1. Oho…I will indeed keep an eye on it. I could always make a mini-bog for it, which might keep it contained. (Actually, there are no signs of life from it at the moment. I’m happy to say that today I noticed tiny shoots coming from the Siberian irises.) You’re right: water gardens are different and include lakes, ponds and streams, whereas bog gardens are just soil that stays waterlogged.

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  4. Looks lovely! I have no problem at all with damp soil! My garden soil is riddled with stones which you would think would aids drainage, but plants still rot. Your photos remind me of the stream garden in Trengwainton which I have yet to post. Also lots of glorious Candelabra primulas and irises. I shall look forward to seeing photos of your mini bog garden once it gets going.

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    1. It must be very dispiriting when a plant rots…just as it is when they die from lack of moisture. Gardening can be tricky! I noticed signs of life from the Siberian irises today, though still nothing from the astilbes. (I think that’s normal though.) I hope there will be something interesting in the bog garden to photograph… 🙂

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  5. This bog garden looks verdant and lush. I envy you for your bog garden, even if it’s small. That’s something not suited for our arid climate here. Instead, we try to plant drought-resistant plants. I hope yours will do well this year.

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    1. It was a very impressive bog garden to see – it’s bigger than my photographs suggest. I was after some reassurance that I was choosing to put the right plants in my own little one and it helped me greatly. Elsewhere in the garden I try to have mostly plants that will tolerate some drought, but it is difficult!

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