I made a mini bog garden, and you can too!

I really like plants, and really don’t like bugs, so I’ve always been interested in plants that eat bugs! One day I decided to make a little mini bog garden and I recorded what I did in case anyone else is also interested in making a little garden that eats bugs.

Supplies

Carnivorous plants such as: Venus Fly Trap, Pitcher Plant, Sundew Plant

Peat Moss

Sphagnum Moss

Sand

Pebbles

Shallow pot that holds water

Extra plastic pots

Distilled water

The first step is to find some carnivorous plants. I choose a mature Sundew plant from a local nursery, and Pitcher Plant / Venus Fly Trap bulb kit from Lowes. I also bought a mature Venus Fly Trap from Lowes to bring to work.

Carnivorous plants thrive in poor soil and fertilizer and minerals will actually harm them! It is important for them to be in low mineral soil and only use distilled water. To keep these plants happy, a mixture of 3:1 Peat Moss to Sand works best. Also it is not 100% necessary for them to eat bugs. They will grow just fine in a bug free environment. But I’m hoping mine will rid my home of any rouge gnats or flies that might make their way inside..

Because these plants live in marshes and bogs, a shallow pot that could hold water was chosen so the planter pots could sit inside and always stay nice and humid.

The plants were placed inside the shallow outer pot, and then three empty plastic pots were put inside to avoid the whole thing getting filled with rocks and being really heavy. The planter pots were just a little bit shorter than the outside pot, so they wouldn’t be too visible when the rocks were added.

The pots were covered with pebbles and some sphagnum moss to give it a natural look. Then distilled water was poured into the planter pots and into the bottom of the outer pot.