The Bog

At the other end of the gardens from Lake Amanda we have a bog. Around the edges are hibiscus and iris and a few other things. It follows a normal wet/dry cycle as bogs like, more wet in the winter when it looks more like a pond and sometimes totally dry in the summer. It's kind of long and not terrible wide, maybe only 15 feet and goes from very shallow at the end where the skunk cabbages grow to the dam at the other end where the water is about a foot deep. It is a favorite place for the frogs in the springtime and they just hang out there and sing and sing and sing. Right now it is full of wriggling tadpoles. On good years they turn into little frogs before it gets dry. On bad years we feel sorry for them and run a hose back there and refil it for them so they have time to finish growing and get out. There are a whole bunch of ponds near the bog, so the frog population in that part of the garden is huge. All mostly small frogs. The bullfrogs, the huge guys with the deep voices, live in the upper pond. I guess you can see by now that I love water gardens. Just something so relaxing about water. In the pond with the miniature water lilies our newts babies are swimming everywhere. They seem to only go in a 'herd' unlike the tadpoles who just scurry everywhere as fast as they can go.