Northeast Gardening: plants for a bog with shade, zone 6, 0 by NancyGroutsis

NancyGroutsis wrote:
What kind of plants would be best for a bog in zone 6? I need suggestions of plants that grow well along a stream and in permanently waterlogged flatland and hillsides. Also, the bog is almost entirely covered with a pine and deciduous canopy so it's raining pine needles and rainbow colored leaves for three months during Autumn, therefore I need plants that can tolerate shade and dappled sun and preferably begin dormancy in September. I have considered ferns, but there are already a few hundred deciduous ferns in the area so I'm searching for a different kind of plant.

There are ponds and a stream. Some areas near the stream are constantly muddy unless there's a drought. Often I walk on a 6 inch blanket of leaves which looks safe but my foot disappears like it's quicksand. A great variety of plants grow there but I don't know most of them.

DoGooder