Here’s some shots of my bog garden this year. It is planted in a 20 liter lily pond with drainage holes on the side about 3/4 of the way up. The growing medium is a 50/50 split of silica sand and peat moss with pure sand at the bottom. Here is the whole bog as it looks today. Not a great shot, but you get the idea:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/BogGarden06.jpg

And here’s a Calopogon tuberosus in flower:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/CalopogonTubFL.jpg

Here are the bristles on the lip of the flower. This flower is a hinged affair. When an insect lands on the flower, the hinge swings shut and smashes the insect right against the column bellow. Many Australian orchids employ this method as well, but their technique involves a unique system of fooling various insects to try and have sex with them!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/CalopogonTubBristles.jpg

To be continued...

Tom

Beautiful display and I love that close up shot!

Here is a Japanese native, Pogonia japonica. It is a bit smaller in stature than its North American relative, but is otherwise very similar looking. These were in flower over a month ago.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/PjaponicaSingle.jpg

A pair of flowers. We had a lot of cold rain this spring which blemished most of the flowers this year.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/PjaponicaPair.jpg

Here’s the same flowers as seed pods (yes, I hand pollinated them).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/PogoniaPods.jpg

And a venus fly trap in flower. Contrary to what some folks think, this won’t kill the plant outright, but it does put much of its energy into growing the flowers and seeds, so the number and size of the traps decreases.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/VFTFL.jpg

That’s it more or less. As you can see I also have cranberries in there which I have to prune rigorously or I they’ll take over (they may anyway!). There also is a small pinguicula species (perhaps P. vulgaris), and two different Sarracenias, S. purpurea vensoa, and some hybrid with S. leuocophylla. The grass seeded in by itself and I’m letting it grow for now.

Hope you enjoyed the visit to my bog garden.

Tom

Beautiful photos and I enjoyed the visit! :D Thanks, Tom!

WOW! What a bog garden! Wait till Teresa sees this!
Love the calo tuber!
Thanks Tom

Awesome photos...love your bog plants...thnx.

Congratulations! Great job!

Beautiful photos!

WHOA! Tom, I am humbled by your Bog Garden, oh great Bogmaster...:bowing:

their technique involves a unique system of fooling various insects to try and have sex with them!

I have to see if I can find a calopogon. Since I don't go out to nightclubs anymore, this will remind me of what it was like.

I was thinking of trying a bladderwort, they have very pretty tall orchid-like flowers. I did drill holes in the side of my mini bog, and I added a very red variation of venus flytrap. Are there CPs that eat wasps?

How cool is that!

Wow! That's really impressive. Is Calopogon the genus with the "fake pollen" or am I thinking of something else?

Is Calopogon the genus with the "fake pollen" or am I thinking of something else?

I think you are right Mark. The insect lands on the lip thinking that all those hairs are stamens, but before it figures out the decpetion, the hinge on the lip gives way and slams the poor guy into the column below. Pretty amazing stuff!

Tom

Hey Tom! Is Part 2 ready?

looks great....

Do you leave this outside all year?