The bog at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, natural bog, plant community of the bog

The Bog at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

The Geography and the Mallard Pool

The small bog in the center of the Woodland Garden, while less than 2 acres, gives visitors a glimpse of a unique community. Many similar bogs occurred throughout the Bryn Mawr and nearby Golden Valley neighborhoods, but none survived development. All were either drained and filled for housing or dredged to create the myriad of pastoral ponds so prevalent in Golden Valley. Because it is the sole survivor (along with the Quaking Bog across Wirth Parkway), and a habitat virtually impossible to recreate, special care is given to assure its survival.

On the plan map at the right (click on image for enlargement) one can see the bog area at or below the 840 foot contour level, significantly below the 906 foot contour level at the south end of the Woodland Garden, and even further below the 921 foot high point in the Upland Garden. In Eloise Butler's time the path through the center did not exist. It was created in 1946 as explained further below. At the north end (top in the image) one sees the blue of open water which is the "Mallard Pool." This was the last creation of Eloise Butler. Prior to dredging out this pool, there was only one small pool of open water in the bog. Not large enough for the plant community she envisioned.

In the photo below, we see Eloise crossing the rustic bridge at the head of the Mallard Pool. The year is 1932. She has physically weakened due in part to neuritis and from burns received in 1929 when a heating pad caught fire while she was sleeping.

Mallard Pool: The development of this pool was long on gestation and short on actual building. She had dreamed for many years of creating an aquatic pool for special plants and the site at the north end of the Garden where the bog drains out was the best site in the Garden, but she could not move the idea to reality until 1932 when the pool was quickly constructed by an unemployed man and another was employed to build a rustic bridge of tamarack poles to span the small stream from the bog that flowed into the pool. When a mallard was soon seen in it, it became the “mallard pool.” The pool was renovated some years ago and is under consideration for restoration again today, as the progress of time and changes in the environment have worked their ways on the area. Eloise had planned extensive plantings around the pool but these were uncompleted at the close of 1932 and she passed away the following spring before more planting could be done. It was up to Martha Crone to complete the work which she did in 1933.

Eloise wrote in late 1932: "Ever since the Native Plant Preserve was started I have wished to have a pool constructed where two small streams converge in an open meadow, the only pool in the Preserve being too shady for aquatics. The hard times gave this joy to me, for a jobless expert did the work for a sum that could be afforded by the Park Commissioners. The pool is about 75 feet long, several feet narrower, and of irregular outline. Indeed, the contour is beautiful. The excavation was made in a dense growth of cat-tails. While digging, the workman saw a mallard duck wending its way through the meadow with a train of four little ones. Hence the name of the pool, as this duck had never been listed before in the garden."

Eloise Butler on the new bridge of Tamarack poles at the Mallard Pool. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society MH5.9 MP4.1 r354

She then lists an extensive group of almost 100 different plants to be planted and explains - "This may seem too large a number of plants for a border, but the border is of indefinite width. It comprises nearly an acre and extends across the sunlit area of the marsh. I shall probably think of more (such) desirable plants!"

There is much trouble immediately with muskrats eating the plants. Her "adviser" thought wire netting top and bottom would keep them out but it did not. So they encircled the pool with netting, sinking it down two feet, but they had the uneasy feeling that muskrats may still burrow under it.

Above: Modern day Mallards at Mallard Pool (Spring 2008)

Views of the trail through the bog.

In 1907 when the Garden was formed, it was a true bog with some open water and a large number of Tamarack Trees. Over the years, the decrease in water flow to the bog, the decrease in the number of Tamarack and the encroachment of shade tolerant shrubs has resulted in the transformation of the area into a shrubby swamp. To maintain a certain amount of water in the swampy area, the dam at the far end of the lowland was rebuilt in 1947.

Above: The new path in winter (Nov. 8, 1951) leading to the bog in the background. Below: The path on May 7, 1957 showing Marsh Marigolds. Both Photos from Kodachromes by Martha Crone, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society, Martha Crone Collection.

Above: The trail through the center of the bog in August 2009

The trail through the center of the bog was added in 1946 by Garden Curator Martha Crone, in order to give visitors a better view of the area. At the time there was a small open pool in the bog and Martha wanted visitors to have a close-up view of aquatic plants that were in and by the pool. In 1939 a spring had been tapped on the west shore of that open pool in the bog and it supplied a good flow of water. Another stream bed was dug at the same time to assure water movement during exceptionally rainy years. A stream bed exists today and occasionally has to be dug out due to silting.

Saratoga Springs was the original name of Wirth Park and, as the name suggests, there was a time when the area’s water table was much higher and springs and seeps were everywhere.

Friends' member J. S. Futcher remembers that when he was a kid in the 1940s there were three main springs in the area of Garden - the Great Medicine Spring, considered the main one; another on the northwest corner of Glenwood and Theodore Wirth Parkway; and one to the east of the back gate of the Garden. Wirth Lake is fed by springs and he remembers swimming there and feeling the cold spring water coming up from the sandy lake bottom in certain spots. (Read more of Futcher)

Gardener Ken Avery kept track of many of the springs in the Garden area and their rise and fall with changes in ground water level. In the 1970s many began to dry up but sometimes springs he counted as dead, might return to life a year later but he remembered that 1959 was the last year than any spring ran continuously. Still, as the area continues to become drier, and as the bog gradually loses its acidity because of natural processes and the use of supplemental city water, much of the original community remains. [City Water: A city water supply was added to the Upland Garden in 1947 to supplement rainfall in that drier area of the Garden. It would be years before the supply was extended to the lower garden area. In 1961 Ken Avery specifically requested that the water lines be run to the Woodland Garden to avoid having to lug hoses around and run them from the water source in the Upland Garden. in 1964 Ken's suggestion of running plastic hose was approved and the lines were run.]

As a result of the dryness that could seriously affect the bog area in certain years, Martha Crone had several more pools dug out in 1947. There were three in total and one may have been the original bog pool. In 1948 she had them enlarged. These pools in the bog subsequently silted in and had to excavated several times. Gardener Ken Avery and assistant Ed Bruckelmeyer did the first excavation in 1961, removing swamp grass and digging out to a depth of 18 inches. The pools were not connected and if rainfall was not sufficient, the pools would be filled with a hose run from the city water supply in the Upland Garden, one pool at a time. So when Ken and Ed dug out the pools they created a channel from one to the other so that filling one would cause the others to fill also. By 1965 the pools were only 6" deep so Ken dug them out again, this time to a depth of two feet. By 1979 the pool channel was silted in and had to be dug out once more.

Above: Pool #3, Oct. 19, 1948, just after the enlargement. Below: Pool #3 in the bog two years later on May 27, 1950. Photos from Kodachromes by Martha Crone, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society, Martha Crone Collection. Click on image below for a larger photo.

Eventually, the pools and channel were left silted in and today, while there can be standing water in the bog, there is not the large open pool that existed from the 1930s to the mid 1970s. The small steam in the bog still flows when rainfall is adequate. A hazard of the drier periods of today is that it is easy to start a peat fire in the bog. This has happened several times when Garden cleanup debris is burned.

The bog plant community

Wetland plants are generally classified in three categories: Submerged (e.g. milfoils, pond weeds, wild celery), floating (e.g. water lilies, duckweed) and emergent (cattails, bulrushes, purple loosestrife).

Another broader group of plants prefers moist conditions, though not necessarily acidic or bog habitats. This group included jewelweed, forget-me-nots, turtlehead, queen-of-the-meadow and cow parsnip to name just a few (more are detailed below).

Here is some detail on three plants of the wetland: Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis Meerb and I. pallida Nutt., Broadleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) and Pink Turtlehead (Chelone lyoni).

Jewelweed, both Pale Jewelweed (Pale touch-me-not) and the Spotted Jewelweed, are two of the relatively few wildflowers that are true annuals. Because of this their abundance varies from year to year - and they are found only in moist areas of the Garden during drier years. "Touch-me-not" is the common name given to jewelweed because when ripe, the seed pods explode with just the gentlest “touch”. Also the crushed leaves make an excellent poultice for soothing poison ivy rashes. Jewelweed can be quite aggressive and cover large areas, preventing the growth of less aggressive plants. The photo at top right shows a good swath of Spotted Jewelweed in the bog on Aug. 27, 2009.

Above: A good crop of Spotted Jewelweed. Below left: Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis Meerb). Below right: Pale Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida Nutt.)

This is a good spot to insert a story about the aggressiveness of Jewelweed. In 1976, Clinton Odell’s daughter Moana Odell Beim (who was president of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden at the time) wrote in the Friends Newsletter, The Fringed Gentian™ about an argument her father had with Eloise Butler about planting Jewelweed. At the time Odell (the future founder of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden) was a student of Butler’s and a frequent Garden visitor and helper. Eloise believed everything wild had a place in the Garden. She believed that what were called “weeds” should not be so called. The argument was whether Jewelweed should be maintained and planted when necessary. She won. Odell reported in his journal “The first year jewelweed marched through the bog . . . the second year it started up the hill. The third year it went up and over the hill and something is darn well going to be done!” Workers were brought in and they pulled Jewelweed for days. Moana Odell Beim remembered many hours spent with her dad in later years pulling Jewelweed, particularly in 1945 when Curator Martha Crone reported another major effort to reduce the quantity of the plant. Martha had written a year earlier "The later flowers [of the season] found difficult competition in the abundant growth of jewelweed and nettle. The seedlings of the jewelweed appearing in such great numbers as to take complete possession of the garden. The program of their removal will greatly aid the establishment of desirable plants."

Pink turtlehead flowers in late summer. Located at he intersection of the bog trails, it draws a lot of attention from both visitors and bees. The pink turtlehead (Chelone lyoni Pursh) is often identified incorrectly as the native Red Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua). The turtlehead in the bog is actually pink turtlehead - a garden escapee that is native to southern states. It has been kept both for the pure pleasure of its floriferousness and the desirability of keeping one of Eloise Butler’s naturalized plantings. These plants came from a Mr. Rohl's garden in Minneapolis, 1931, to replace a stolen clump. This plant was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time and has presumably been in the Garden continuously. The Red Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua L.) which the Garden does not have, is considered native to Minnesota but distribution in the state is not well documented. It (Red Turtlehead) is on the threatened or endangered list is several states, Michigan, being the closest to us in Minnesota.

Other plants of the Bog Area

The section below lists a number of plants that grow in the wetland area of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.

These are all located close to the pathways so the visitor may easily get a look at them. Flowering time is given. Go to additional information and photos by clicking the link on the plant name.

Broadleaf Arrowhead or "Duck Potato" is a true aquatic plant growing best in 6 to 12 inches of water, and it would be a mistake to try to grow it in a a home garden. Our species (Sagittaria latifolia Willd.) is one of 15 arrowheads found in the region. It is a a striking plant with a raceme sporting three-petal white flowers that emerge in late summer. Tending to colonize when conditions are right, its effect - standing erect - above the water, is quite dramatic. Plants can be 2 to 3 feet tall. As the common name infers, the seeds and tubers provide food for waterfowl, wading birds, muskrats and beaver. While it is growing the plant extracts large amounts of nutrients and metals from the water, while reducing turbidity.

The plant has a range from New Brunswick to British Columbia and south throughout the United States to Mexico with only Nevada reporting no population. In Minnesota it is reported in all counties in the eastern part of the state and the majority of counties in the western part.

Photo at right ©Elaine Haug @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

A glossary of other bog area plants

Arrowleaf Tearthumb
Polygonum sagittatum L.

Tearthumbs are weak-stemmed plants that sprawl in moist areas. The stems are covered with recurved spines that can tear flesh. Leaves are arrow shaped and whitish-pink flowers are borne in terminal clusters. Late summer to autumn

Beggars-tick or Bur Marigold
Bidens cernua L.

A low plant (up to 3' but usually much less) of wet places with lance shaped stalkless leaves in pairs. The yellow flower head is 1/2 to 1 1/2" wide and nods when the fruit forms. The seeds (achenes) stick to clothing and animal fur. Late Summer

Blue Flag Iris
Iris versicolor L.

1 to 3 feet high with 3-petal flowers about 4 inches wide that are blue with yellow veins. Very showy. Leaves are sword-like typical of Iris. Early Summer

Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum L

Up to 5 feet high, the stem with long hairs, with 9 to 23 small white flowers in each of the broad branching clusters at the top of the stem. Leaves are opposite, toothed, and with a wide base distinctively pierced by the stem. Late Summer

Common buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis L.

This unique wetland shrub, named for the round flower heads, begins bloom in early summer. The small white tubular flowers that grow out of the round 1" wide head have a long protruding style.

Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis L.

The brilliant scarlet Cardinal Flower has the flowers on a tall spike above lance shaped alternate leaves that are toothed. 2 to 5 feet in height. Late Summer

Broadleaf Cattail
Typha latifolia L.
Narrowleaf Cattail
Typha angustifolia L.

There are two different cattails. The leaves and flowers vary in appearance. Early summer to fall.

Cow Parsnip
Heracleum maximum Bartram

Broad cluster of very small white flowers in fairly flat-topped umbels that are atop a hairy stem of up to eight feet high. Early Summer.

American Cranberrybush
Viburnum opulus L. var. americanum Aiton.

A large shrub, common at the north end of the bog. Showy white blooms in late spring and brilliant red berries in Autumn.

Flat-topped Aster
Doellingeria umbellata (Mill.)

Small flower heads (1/2 to 3/4") with 7 to 14 white rays growing atop tall stems, 3 to 6 feet high, in a flat-topped cluster. Late summer to autumn

True Forget-me-not
Myosotis scorpioides L.

The downy stems are weak and sprawling, small blue flowers up to 3/8 inch wide, that have a yellow eye; the flowers grow on short racemes. Early to late summer

Joe Pye-weed (spotted)
Eupatoriadelphus maculatus (L.)

Stems are purplish and speckled, about 5 feet high. Leaves in a whorl. Flowers in grouped terminal clusters at top of stem, 12 to 20 flowers per cluster. Late summer.

Yellow Marsh Marigold
Caltha palustris L.

Found throughout the bog. One of the first splashes of green to show in the bog, followed by the brilliant yellow flowers. Flowers persist while the bog greens-up. Early May.

Common Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius (L.)

A shrub with showy white flowers in clusters. The branches are long, re-curved, and the old bark on branches will peel in layers or strips. The fruit is a small seed capsule. Early summer flowering.

Pale (Silky) Dogwood
Cornus obliqua Raf.

Tall shrub. The leaves are pale beneath and tapered at both ends; fruits in Autumn are deep bluish; flowers are white, 4-part, appearing in a flat branched cluster in late May to through June. Stems are purplish. Grows near the Ninebark.

Queen of the Meadow
Filipendula ulmaria (L.)

Growing in prolific numbers near the bridge, The small white 5 part stalked flowers appear in dense clusters near the tops of the stems of up to 6 feet. Leaves are pinnately divided and doubly toothed; the underside the leaves are gray-white, hairy and prominently veined. Early Summer.

Purple (RED) Stemmed Aster
Symphyotrichum puniceum (L.) A. Love & D. Love

Tall aster with blue-violet to purple rayed flowers, 1 to 1 1/2" wide, with 30 to 60 rays, the stems stout, hairy and reddish. The larger leaves have shallow teeth and taper to a base that clasps the stem. Autumn.

Pussy Willow
Salix discolor Muhl.

A small tree of wetlands and swamps. It can grow from 10 to 20 feet. The catkins of early spring are showy and in Minnesota at least, considered a harbinger of spring temperatures.

Red Osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea L. ssp. sericea

Common dogwood of the woodland. The "red" refers to the color of the younger branches in fall, winter and spring. Flowers are white and fruit is white to lead color. Grows to be a large shrub, up to 9 feet high and tends to form thickets. Flowers end of May through the summer.

Golden Ragwort
Packera aurea (L.) A. Love & D. Love

Basal leaves that are bluntly rounded, heart shaped at the base and longer than wide. The flower heads are a deep golden color with shiny yellow petals. The flower stem can be from 6 to 30" high. Late May.

Showy Lady’s-slipper
Cypripedium reginae Walter

State flower of Minnesota. The sepals and lateral petals are white while the lip or pouch is white, with pinkish tinges and streaked with rose or purple. Stems are usually about two feet high, the slippers about 2" long. Usually blooms first 2 weeks of June.

Skunk Cabbage
Symplocarpus foetidus (L.)

The earliest sign of spring. The flowers on this plant are on a spadix (knob shaped cluster) contained within a spathe, which on this plant is mostly purple-brown and mottled with green, hidden once the large green leaves appear. March to early April.

Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata L.

The most attractive species of milkweed with striking flowers (in umbels at the top) vary from pink to rosy-purple. Blooms early to late summer.

Tamarack (Larch)
Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch

A conifer with the distinction of being deciduous. The new needle growth begins in early spring, forming as clusters of more than five on short shoots. The needles turn gold in the Autumn

White Turtlehead
Chelone glabra L.

The white flowers (can have a pink tinge on top) have two almost closed lips. The lower lip has three lobes with the center one bearded. Flowers are on a short spike at the end of the stem and above the long lance shaped, toothed and hairless leaves. Late summer

Water Horsetail
Equisetum fluviatile L.

The stem is green, 80% hollow, jointed, with 15 to 20 dark brown tooth-like points on a membrane at each joint from which the cylindrical leaves emerge. Some stems may branch near the top, Fertile stems end in a small spore producing cone. Early summer.

Wild Calla
Calla palustris L.

The basal leaves are large and heart shaped with a 2 to 6 inch stalk. The inflorescence having a white spathe beside a knob shaped 1 to 2 inch spadix covered with tiny yellow-greenish flowers that have six stamens. Late spring.

Winterberry
Ilex verticillata (L.) A. Gray

A large shrub growing in the bog, forming red 1/4 inch berries in the fall, The small greenish-white flowers form in the leaf axils in early summer. The leaves are sharply and double toothed. Fruit is poisonous to humans.

Yellow Flag
Pale Yellow Iris
Iris pseudacoris L.

1 to 3 feet high with yellow flowers about 4 inches wide and as it spreads via rhizomes, it forms clumps. It is not native and is considered invasive in Minnesota. Flowers last half of June.

Research and text by Gary Bebeau. Portions of the text for this article were adapted from "The Bog Survives" written by Cary George and published in The Fringed Gentian™ Fall 2001, Vol. 49 #4. All photos are the property of the Friends of the Wild Flower Garden Inc, except where otherwise credited. Martha Crone images courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. Other sources are the Annual Report of the Garden Curator to the Board of Park Commissioners, various dates, submitted by Martha Crone and Ken Avery. Martha Crone's Garden Log. Papers and letters from the Martha Crone Collection including the 1932 summary of the creation of Mallard Pool, courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society; and articles published in the Friends newsletter The Fringed Gentian™.