26 Best Plants for a Bog Garden

Your bog garden has been dug, filled with water, and the growing medium is settling in. Or maybe you want to add to your bog garden’s beauty with new plants. We recommend a mix of shrubs, ferns, fruits, flowers, and bulbs. 

Here’s a selection of the best plants for a bog garden with some quick tips beforehand on planting and growing them. 

Choose the correct water-loving plants to create a successful bog garden. For example, you’ll want to pay special attention to any plants that may have specific requirements to thrive, such as never being allowed to go dry. 

Select a mix of moisture-loving plants so your bog garden will have flowers nearly all the time. For example, plant spring bloomers like globe flower, pickerel weed for summer, blueberry plants for fruit and fall color, and for winter, a native holly. 

Pick plants with different forms and textures for visual interest.

OK, let’s get started detailing the 26 best bog garden plants: 

26 best bog garden plants (in alphabetical order)

Astilbe

Astilbe’s white, red or pink plumes shoot up in late spring-early summer and continue the show for several weeks. Astilbe is good for cut flowers.

The leaves frequently will take on reddish hues in fall, and the dried plumes persist well into winter. 

Scientific name: Astilbe spp.

Type of plant: Perennial

Light: Part sun, part shade

Soil: Organically rich, moist, but well-draining, plant on edges of bog

Season of interest: Late spring into winter

Mature size: 8 to 24 inches tall, 10 to 12 inches wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 10

Care Notes: Cut back plumes in spring when you see new leaf growth begin. Astilbe can be divided in early spring, if desired.

Black cohosh

Black cohosh, also known as black snakeroot, black bugbane and fairy candles, is a tall plant with spikes of white flowers for about three weeks in summer. The flowers have a fetid smell that attracts pollinators, and the plant serves as a food source (host plant) for the Holly Blue, Spring Azure and Appalachian Azure butterfly caterpillars. 

Black cohosh has a long history of being used as an herbal remedy for gynecological problems, hormone replacement, snake bites, respiratory problems and sore throats.

This native perennial spreads by rhizomes, or underground stems, to form clumps. 

Scientific name: Actaea racemosa, formerly Cimicifuga racemosa

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Plant on edges of bog garden, do not let dry out

Season of interest: Summer

Mature size: 4 to 6 feet tall, 2 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 8

Care Notes: Clumps can be divided in spring.

Cardinal flower

Stalks of bright scarlet flowers give this native perennial its nickname. There may be some variation of the flowers to include white, pink or rose. 

Cardinal flower is a short-lived native perennial, but it self-sows readily (but not aggressively) to continue its presence along the edges of waterways. It is deer and rabbit resistant. Good for naturalizing. Can be cut for indoor enjoyment.

Scientific name: Lobelia cardinalis

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Medium to wet, grow along the edges of a bog garden

Season of interest: Mid to late summer

Mature size: 2 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Highbush blueberry

Blueberries thrive in a sunny, acidic planting area, proving that yes, you can grow delicious fruit in your bog garden. 

Note: If you don’t harvest the fruit, the birds will.

The best fruit production comes with at least two varieties of blueberry shrubs for good pollination.

The slow-growing bushes will produce sparse fruit the first two or three years. You should be able to see the flower buds on year-old growth.  

There are several blueberry varieties that remain in the 2 to 3 feet tall and wide range for smaller bog gardens.

Scientific name: Vaccinium corymbosum

Type of plant: Native shrub

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Plant in the margins of your bog garden

Season of interest: Showy flowers in mid- to late spring, fruit in summer and beautiful red leaves in fall

Mature size: 1 to 12 feet tall, 1 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 5 to 8

Care Notes: No need to prune blueberry shrubs the first year. Prune blueberry bushes in winter when dormant. Snip off the branches with the fewest flowers so energy will be pushed to those with the most.

Buttonbush

This native plant is a favorite of pollinators, including hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. In nature, buttonbush grows along the edges of waterways. Buttonbush has fragrant white, ball-like flowers in summer. As the flowers age, they turn red and persist through winter.

Buttonbush can get quite large, up to 12-feet tall with an 8-foot spread. However, Sugar Shack and Fiber Optics are a couple of smaller buttonbush varieties in the 5-foot tall and wide range. These will work better for a smaller bog garden.

Scientific name: Cephalanthus occidentalis

Type of plant: Native shrub

Light: Full sun, part shade

Soil: Grow between the edge of a bog garden and the center

Season of interest: Summer, fall and winter

Mature size: 5 to 12 feet tall, 4 to 8 feet wide

USDA Zones: 5 to 9

Globe flower

Showy globe flowers are yellow, cream or orange. Plant three to five of this perennial as a cluster to create the greatest impact in late spring. 

Trollius x cultorum is a group of different hybrid species and tends to be more vigorous with buttercup-like flowers, except they retain a global shape. These are a cool-season perennial and do not do well in southern gardens.

Scientific name: Trollius x cultorum

Type of plant: Perennials

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Wet, plant.

Season of interest: Late spring

Mature size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 7 

Care Notes: Can be cut for indoor enjoyment. Cut back this plant in midsummer.

Goatsbeard

Goatsbeard, a tall sun-to-shade native perennial, has creamy white flowers.

Goatsbeard is dioecious, meaning there are male and female plants. Plants are not marked or sold as male or female, so shop when the plants are in bloom. The male plant’s flowers are showier and more dense.

Bonus points? Goatsbeard tolerates rabbits.

Scientific name: Aruncus dioicus

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun, part shade. Provide afternoon shade in the south.

Soil: Plant in margins of bog garden

Season of interest: Summer

Mature size: 4 to 6 feet tall, 2 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 8

Care Notes: If goatsbeard gets too dry, the leaves quickly decline.

Blue flag iris

The blue flag iris blooms in May and June, sporting showy violet blue flowers. Each stalk produces three to five flowers about 4 inches wide with a faint splotch of yellow at the throat of the fall or petal. This iris’s eaves are blue green.

This lovely native perennial can tolerate growing in 2 to 4 inches of water along the border or edge of a bog garden, and it is a deer-resistant plant. 

Several other types of irises can be grown in bog gardens, including Japanese iris (Iris ensata), water iris (I. laevigata) and Siberian iris (I. sibirica).

Scientific name: Iris versicolor

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun, part shade

Soil: Grow along the edges or margins of bog garden

Season of interest: Blooms in May and June

Mature size: 24 to 30 inches tall and wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Care Notes: Cut back leaves in late summer. Divide rhizomes in late summer to get more plants. Flowers can be cut for indoor enjoyment.

Joe Pye weed

Joe Pye weed, a native perennial, is a pollinator magnet from midsummer to early fall, when the showy, fragrant purple-pink flowers teem with bees, butterflies and other insects.

Although a tall plant, Joe Pye weed is good as a late season blooming backdrop in a bog garden. The flowers can be cut for indoor enjoyment.

It’s unfortunate that weed is associated with this plant because that can be a deterrent for some gardeners. Joe Pye was a Native American who used the plant in several herbal remedies, including treatment of typhoid fever, according to the Adirondack Almanack. 

Scientific name: Eutrochium maculatum

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun

Soil: Edge or margin of bog garden

Season of interest: July to September

Mature size: 4 to 7 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 8

Care Notes: In late winter, cut the plants. The plant tends to self-sow, so remove flowers to help reduce that.

Lady fern

Lady fern is a perfect plant to tuck in the shade of a shrub or tall perennial. Fronds (leaves) are upright and finely divided. The fern develops a dense clump.

Interestingly, this fern is considered a circumglobal species. It is found throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Lady fern tolerates rabbits.

 Scientific name: Athyrium filix-femina

Type of plant: Native perennial fern

Light: Full to part shade, tolerates deep shade

Soil: Moist, plant along edges of bog garden

Season of interest: Spring and summer

Mature size: 1 to 3 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 8

Care Notes: If grown in full sun, keep the soil constantly wet. Divide clumps every few years. Be sure to keep the crown of the plant at soil level.

Ligularia

Ligularia, also called leopard plant, has large, dark green leaves with purple undersides. Showy spikes of yellowish-orange, daisy-like flowers bloom in early summer. 

The “Britt-Marie Crawford” variety has glossy chocolate leaves with purple undersides. “Desdemona” has yellow, daisy-like flowers 2 to 4 inches wide in summer. “The Rocket” has lemon yellow spikes, rather than daisy-like flowers.

Care Notes: Grow ligularia where it’s protected from full sun and wind. The plant will wilt in full sun. Ligularia is tolerant of deep shade. Flowers can be cut for indoor enjoyment.

Scientific name: Ligularia dentata

Type of plant: Perennial

Light: Shade to deep shade

Soil: Consistently moist, plant along edge of bog

Season of interest: Midsummer

Mature size: 3 to 4 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 8

Great blue lobelia

The great blue lobelia, sometimes called blue cardinal flower, has stalks of blue flowers. Like its sibling, it does well in wet soil, but this one tolerates heavy shade.

Great blue lobelia grows in a clump and can form a colony if happy. Once it drops seeds, the flowering stalk and roots die. The seeds germinate and begin to grow roots to form new plants. 

Bonus points? This plant tolerates deer. Flowers can be cut for indoor enjoyment.

Scientific name: Lobelia siphilitica

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Light to full shade

Soil: Evenly moist, plant in margins or edges of your bog garden

Season of interest: Mid to late summer

Mature size: 2 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 1½ feet wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 9

Marsh marigold

The marsh marigold may have marigold in its name, but it’s not, nor does it look like one. The marsh part is true, however. Marsh marigold has cheery, shiny yellow flowers in mid spring to early summer. 

Although the flowers appear yellow to people, parts of the petals are a mix of yellow and an ultraviolet color called bee’s purple, according to the U.S. Forestry Service. As an early blooming perennial, it’s a good plant for spring bees foraging for food after their long winter’s nap. They are pollinated by hoverflies.

Note: An oil in the plant may cause skin irritation when handled. The plant is poisonous to cattle and horses, although not when the plant is dried.

Scientific name: Caltha paulstris

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun to part shade. Blooms best in full sun

Soil: Needs wet soil. Plant along the edge or toward the middle of your bog garden.

Season of interest: Spring to early summer

Mature size: 1 to 1.5 feet tall and wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 7

Ostrich fern

This fern brings upright, slightly arching, feathery textures to your bog garden. Found throughout Eastern North America, Europe and Asia, ostrich fern dies back to the ground in winter, or it can be cut back.

Also known as fiddlehead fern, ostrich fern fronds emerge and slowly unfurl. The last to unfurl are the very tops of the fronds called fiddleheads, which are edible when cooked. (Don’t eat them raw.) The green fronds are sterile. Stiff brown spore-bearing fronds emerge from the center of the plant.

The ostrich fern spreads by underground stems called rhizomes to form a colony. When grown in consistently moist conditions, ostrich fern may reach 6 feet tall. 

Scientific name: Matteuccia struthiopteris

Type of plant: Native fern

Light: Part to full shade

Soil: Consistently moist area of bog garden.

Season of interest: Spring to fall

Mature size: 3 to 6 feet tall, 5 to 8 feet wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 7

Pickerel weed

Pickerel weed’s soft blue flowers rise 3 to 6 inches above glossy, arrowhead-shaped green leaves. The plant forms a dense colony. This long-blooming native thrives along the edges of bogs. 

Dragon- and damselflies lay eggs on the stems near the water surface. More than pickerel fish shelter among the plants, despite their name.

Scientific name: Pontederia cordata

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun

Soil: Wet, plant along edge of bog garden

Season of interest: Summer into fall

Mature size: 2 to 4 feet tall, 1½ to 2 feet wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 10

Pitcher plant

Pitcher plant, one of nature’s bug-eating plants, thrives in boggy, acidic water. The flowers have a musky fragrance. The best color comes when pitcher plants are grown in full sun.

Bugs land on the lip of the pitcher, where colors and nectar lure them down. When the bugs fall in, the carnivorous plant’s nectar paralyzes them and they fall farther into a liquid that digests them. 

The dead insects provide the nutrients necessary for the plant. Plants will not do well unless cultural requirements are met.

Care Notes: Endemic in the Southeast U.S., soil must never dry out. However, the crown of the carnivorous plant should not sit in water. 

Scientific name: Sarracenia flava

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun

Soil: Murky wet soil.

Season of interest:  April-May through summer

Mature size: 1.5 to 3 feet tall and wide

USDA Zone: 6 to 8

Primrose

Primrose means “little earliest one,” according to the Missouri Botanical Garden, and that’s an apt description for this early blooming perennial. Flowers rise from a tight rosette of leaves that hug the ground.

Most primroses are small, delicate plants. However, the Belarina series gets 5 to 8 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide. Select these cool-weather perennials for flower color, and form. 

Newer varieties also are more heat resistant. They should be grown where soil will not dry out.

Scientific name: Primula spp.

Type of plant: Perennial

Light: Part shade, especially in afternoons

Soil: Consistently moist. Plant on the edge or your bog garden.

Season of interest: Spring into summer

Mature size: Half inch to 1 inch tall and wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 8

Queen of the prairie

You might be thinking – what does a prairie plant have to do with a bog garden? There are dry and wet prairies, and this queen likes wet feet. Leaves may get sunburned and scorched if the soil dries out. 

The pink fragrant flowers in summer look like astilbe.

Queen of the prairie is a decent size plant and can act as a summer flowering shrub. It is a good cut flower. The perennial will self-sow and form a colony. Removing spent flowers does not promote more blooms. 

Queen of the prairie tolerates deer.

Scientific name: Filipendula rubra

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Consistently moist.

Season of interest: Summer

Mature size: 6 to 8 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 7

Rodgersia

Rodgersia has pink or cream flowers, depending on the species, and.forms a bold clump of large leaves that range from deep green to a rusty brown. One of the nicknames of rodgersia is pigsqueak, because if you rub a leaf between your thumb and forefinger, it sounds like a pig squeaking.

Rodgersia is named for Rear Admiral John Rodgers (1812-1882), who commanded the Pacific expedition (1852-1856), where the plant was discovered.

Scientific name: Rodgersia pinnata, R. podophylla

R. pinnata’s leaves turn bronze in fall. 

R. podophylla’s leaves emerge bronze-green, turn green in summer and then rust red in fall. 

Type of plant: Perennial

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Plant along the margins of edge of your bog

Season of interest: Spring, summer and fall

Mature size: 3 to 5 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 5 to 7

Care Notes: Cut back to ground in fall.

Sedges

Sedges are among nature’s most versatile plants – there’s one for about every garden situation, and many are native. Sedges are grass-like plants, so they add a light, frothy texture to the bog garden. 

Sedges bloom, but their flowers are not necessarily showy. There are many sedges that thrive in bog gardens. Here are three to consider:

·  Bowles’ Golden (Carex elata ‘Aurea’), has golden blades edges in green. It takes full to part sun and gets 1 to 2 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. It’s hardy to USDA Zones 5 to 9. Tolerates deer.

·  Mace sedge (C. grayi), native and semi-evergreen. Its name comes from the flower’s resemblance to a medieval spiked metal ball. Grow in full to part sun. It gets 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. Tolerates deer. Hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 8.

·  Palm sedge (C. muskingumensis) gets its name because leaves branch from a main stem like a palm. It gets 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. This dense native is deer resistant. Hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 9.

 Scientific name: Carex spp.

Type of plant: Perennial, many native

Light: Sun to shade, depending on variety.

Soil: Usually moist, but well-draining. Plant along the edges of your bog garden.

Season of interest: Summer and fall, evergreen varieties in winter.

Mature size: Varies, depending on varieties (see above notes).

USDA Zone: Varies, depending on varieties (see above notes).

Skunk cabbage

In late winter, the mottled purple and green spathe of skunk cabbage emerges from chilly, muddy soil. It’s one of the first signs of spring in nature. A pale-yellow flower and highly veined green leaves grow from the hooded spathe. The plant’s leaves may reach 1 foot wide and 2 feet long, making a nice show in the bog garden.

The Eastern skunk cabbage’s epithet foetidus means stinking, really stinking, and describes the flower’s odor. The stench spreads far and wide to draw in carrion flies and other pollinators. 

Scavenger beetles, flies and other insects also visit the Western skunk cabbage. The odor permeates the plant. 

Note: Use care when handling skunk cabbage because it has calcium oxalate crystals. These crystals cause skin irritation.

Scientific name: Symplocarpus foetidus (Eastern skunk cabbage), Lysichiton americanus (Western skunk cabbage)

Type of plant: Native perennial

Light: Shade to part shade

Soil: Edges of bog garden toward middle

Season of interest: Spring through summer

Mature size: 2 to 3 feet tall, 2 to 4 feet wide

USDA Zones: 4 to 7 (Eastern), 6 to 9 (Western)

Snakehead fritillaria

A diminutive bulb plant, grow this where you can see it. Plant in a large group in the front edge of your bog garden. Also called checkered lily or Guinea flower, the epithet meleagris means spotted like a Guinea fowl, according to the University of Wisconsin Extension.

Two-inch nodding flowers grow on upright stems above slender leaves that sprawl a bit on the ground. Snakehead fritillaria is a slender plant in general, almost whispy. It pairs well with marsh marigold. Tolerates deer and black walnut juglone, which inhibits growth.

Scientific name: Fritillaria meleagris

Type of plant: Perennial bulb

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Moist soil, even when dormant.

Season of interest: Spring

Mature size: 9 to 12 inches tall, 4 to 6 inches wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 8

Swamp rose

The hybrid rose’s reputation of being finicky can be thrown out the window when it comes to swamp rose. This native, wet soil loving rose, attracts butterflies and birds with fragrant, pink flowers in summer.

Swamp rose spreads by underground and above-ground stems. It is quite thorny, so protect yourself when pruning. Flowers can be cut for indoor enjoyment. Rose hips, about a half-inch long, follow the flowers. 

The hips have winter interest and can be harvested for teas, jellies and other edibles. The leaves frequently turn shades of red in fall.

Scientific name: Rosa palustris

Type of plant: Native shrub

Light: Full sun

Soil: Wet, plant toward center of bog garden.

Season of interest: Summer, fall and winter

Mature size: 3 to 6 feet tall and wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Sweet flag

Sweet flag’s leaves are reed-like with a citrusy-spicy fragrance, something like tangerines. The native plant’s flowers are tiny and may not even be noticed. Spathe-like (hooded) flowers are followed by tiny, reddish-brown berries.

Note: There’s a European introduction of sweet flag (Acorus calamus) that has naturalized in the U.S., and some states label it an invasive species.

Scientific name: Acorus americanus

Type of plant: Perennial

Light: Full sun to part shade, provide afternoon shade in hot climate

Soil: Wet, can be planted in water 9 to 12 inches deep

Season of interest: Summer

Mature size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide

USDA Zones: 3 to 6

Care Notes: Divide sweet flag by digging and cutting the rhizome into 4-inch sections and transplanting. 

Venus fly trap

Venus fly trap, endemic to the Carolinas, can be grown in other areas, but like the pitcher plant, needs the correct environment. There’s not a lot of forgiveness if the planting area dries out.

This carnivorous plant’s trap is a hinged leaf. Each side of the leaf has three hairs or triggers. When an insect hits one of the triggers, the leaf snaps shut. 

After several days, it will reopen ready for its next meal. Stalks topped with a white flower grow from the center of the plant in late spring.

Note: This is an endangered, protected species and may not be collected in the wild. Buy only from nursery-propagated plants.

Scientific name: Dionaea muscipula

Type of plant: Native perennial        

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Wet, plant along the edge of your bog.

Season of interest: Blooms in May and June, summer for trapping insects

Mature size: 6 to 12 inches tall, 6 to 9 inches wide

USDA Zones: 5 to 8

Winterberry holly

Talk about a plant with winter interest. This native shrub drops its leaves in fall to reveal red berries all winter, attracting the attention of humans for its beauty and wildlife for the food.

Winterberry holly tends to be a large shrub, but several dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties have been introduced for small spaces.

There are male and female plants, with the females producing the fruit. Usually only one male winterberry is needed to fertilize six to 10 female plants. The plant tag should indicate male or female.

Can be planted as a specimen plant or as a colorful hedge.

Scientific name: Ilex verticillata

Type of plant: Native shrub

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Wet, plant on edge to middle of bog

Season of interest: Flowers in early summer,

Mature size: 3 to 12 feet tall and wide, depending on variety

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

FAQ about bog garden plants

When to call a landscaping pro

Creating a bog garden is a sloppy, muddy job. If that doesn’t appeal to you, call a local landscaping pro to do the mucky work. Don’t get bogged down trying to select your bog garden plants or creating your bog garden in your yard.

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