Hearty Bog Plants in NW Ohio (zone 6)

[rjrivero]

I put each pump inside a square bucket with a bunch of 1/4” holes. Zip tied to the crate to keep it off the bottom of the pond. I can detach this if I need to at the check valve. Since I’m running two pumps, I wanted a way to detach in the event I had to shut one or the other off for maintenance.

 

[mrsclem]

Just keep an eye on it. I did something similar last year with 5 gallon bucket. The holes got clogged and the bucket collapsed around the pump.

 

[rjrivero]

Will do! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[rjrivero]

I’ve got to dress the edges of the bog, but I wanted to get it planted so the roots can start their thing before the winter. I went waaaay over budget on this project so the plants will be a little scant for now. But I did have some help getting some of this dwarf cat tail planted! Meet Raylan. My five year old son.
http://instagr.am/p/B2b0_ptAfJ0/

 

[j.w]

You got yourself a good helper there and a cute one ta boot!

 

[addy1]

A cutie and a hard worker!

 

[Lisak1]

He did great! And come back next year at this time and we'll laugh about your "scant plants"!

 

[GBBUDD]

You could not have bought built or brought your son a better gift then to bring nature into your own back yard. Best of luck with your pond you look to be off to a great start. And some may not agree with this but taking a sample from a swamp of a plant can be an effective way to get this going . but like JW said watch how fast it all grows in a years time you'll be ripping out wheel barrels full to give the plants some room to grow

 

[rjrivero]

Well, none of these plants had flowers on them when we put them in the bog a week and a half ago. But looky what we have now!

 

[Linus_Cello]

What are these plants?

 

[rjrivero]

What are these plants?

The yellow is water zinnia, the other is cardinal flower

 

[addy1]

Very nice!

 

[rjrivero]

My first spring with this bog. Irises are blooming, one of my koi fell to a heron, and the 90 degree days this week got us in the pond, with a painted turtle full of curiosity. My son makes it Owen and we built a basking platform for him and his family today.

The water is better but I believe it’ll take a couple seasons for the water to clear up and the plants to fill the bog. I’m pretty happy with how it’s going so far!

 

[j.w]

Looks like fun!
Sorry about your fish

 

[rjrivero]

We made a turtle basking platform. Mounted a pair of PVC pontoons to it for buoyancy. The turtles found it in less than a day. This one is substantially bigger than “Owen.”