Expanding Horizons

Bogs or Regeneration Zones are utilized to to filter the water from a Natural Swimming Pool. In order to accomplish this a second water vessel is constructed. The bottom of the vessel is lined with a distribution network of pipes and then filled with washed aggregate. A wide variety of water loving plants are seeded throughout the bog and their roots grow down into the gravel. The result is an extremely attractive garden of water plants that attract a wide variety of wildlife and insects.

For those of you that are interested: In the foreground and to the left are Cannas. The bottom right along the drainage channel are dwarf horsetail (Equisetum kansanum). In the center there is a small pond with Water Hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes). To the right in the background is a group of Umbrella Palm (Cyperus alternifolia). At the center left is Cyperus Papyrus and to the left and behind the boulder is Giant Pickerel Rush (Pontederia lanceolata). There are multiple groupings of  Taro (Colocasias esculenta) and a selection of rushes. Ground cover bog plants consist of Water Mint (Mentha Aquatica), Water Cress (Rorippa nasturtium aquaticum), Water Pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides). For further information on water plants visit http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/photos.html for a pretty good data base.