On the mossy ground around the pools and in crevices between the stepping stones, the Sundews (Drosera) would be quite at home. On beds of   Sphagnum they thrive splendidly. A few tufts of Cotton Grass (Eriophorum), so plentiful on the brown bogs of Ireland , should not be omitted. Of Heaths, there is the Marsh Heather (E.tetralix) and E.hybrida, a beautiful variety flowering through the winter and early spring.

From the stream sides of the Sierra Nevada comes a charming Saxifrage, S.peltata, unique as to its target like leaves and loose clusters of pale pink flowers. The Rockfoils are not particular as to treat­ment, and several other kinds, including the native S.granulata, might be grown in the drier portions of the bog. Soldanellas, Pinguiculas, Parnassia, and the Bog Asphodel (Narthecium) will, if irregularly grouped, lend interest and charm to the smaller colonies.

Close beside one of the small pools we must have a patch of the Bog Arum (Calla palustria), a small trailing plant with delicate white spathes. It increases rapidly, and may be associated with a plant or two of the Golden Club (Orontium), which blooms profusely in early summer. During the dull, cheerless days of late winter, the golden yellow Pilewort (Ficaria grandiflora), seen from a distance, looks almost like a rift of sun­shine on the neutral tinted bog.

Artificial bog gardens, though somewhat costly to construct, may be found in places at high elevation. In fact, a large amount of interest and pleasure may be evoked by a small garden, only a few feet square. I have seen miniature bog gardens, charming in their way, which have been formed in disused fountain basins, though as a rule the position occupied by these - lawn centres and highly cultivated parts - renders them unsuitable.

The bog garden should be situated in semi wild surroundings, and for its due appreciation the eye should have lately contemplated natural effects, such as a woodland path or the grouping of wild plants by the meadowside. Therefore, before decid­ing on a position, we should endeavor to secure a site, the approaches to which betray few signs of cultivation.

Simple gardens, varying in size with the means and inclinations of the owner, may be formed on ground which has a slight incline. On the level it is always difficult to provide the necessary drainage. Plants will not thrive in stagnant water.

The usual method of constructing artificial bog gardens is by digging out the soil to a depth of eighteen inches, there by making a shallow basin. The basin is then rendered watertight by a lining either of brick­work or concrete. To quite small gardens it is possible to supply water by hand, in those of larger size pipes connected with a supply tank or reservoir will be needed.

Nothing is more satisfactory than a constant steady trickle of water through the bog garden, and for this reason an automatic arrangement is preferable to any other. A small outlet pipe or valve should be fixed at the lowest point in the basin, so that the bog may be completely drained if necessary. At eight inches from the top of the basin an outlet in the side will permit the surplus water to trickle away. Of course the basin may be of any shape, the more irregular the better, there being no need whatever to make it circular.

Having made watertight the site of the proposed garden, and provided for the inlet and outlet of water, we may prepare for planting. First cover the bottom with six inches of broken bricks and rough material to act as drainage, and upon this lay a good depth of peat soil. The surface should be rendered uneven by suitable knolls, small plateaus and depressions, rough blocks of stone being used to keep the soil in place.

The wettest parts will naturally be found where there is least depth of soil; the driest on the mounds and small rocky eminences. In a short time the stones will be covered with mosses and small ferns; the constant dampness too, will cause myriad tiny growths to spread a filmy veil of green over bare rock and black soil.

Larger bog gardens cannot be concreted, but must depend upon a steady flow of water, with branch drains, to provide the necessary moisture. Such gardens are, however, very costly to build, and require great skill to prevent their looking unnatural and out of place.

Once planted, the bog garden requires little attention, and increases in interest and beauty as the plants become firmly established and seed themselves. From time to time it will be necessary to check the more vigorous growers, or to clear away the mosses from some tender seedling which is in danger of being crowded out in the struggle for existence. For the rest, we may leave the plants to re-group and arrange themselves.