Looks like you are on your way to a cool setup.
I like the wetland garden you are starting. I have yet to devote an
entire space to such but have three "bogs" attached to my ponds. They
are underlaid by a flap of extra liner and filled with sand and quartz
gravel that is topped with a layer of sandy peat and live sphagnum.
These are acidic bogs that support a variety of shrubs, carnivorous
plants, orchids and other bog flora.
>
> The first step was to rip out all the Asiatic ground cover and wiley
> juniper bushes and get some All-American gold like coneflowers, black
> eyed susans, bergamont and big bluestem in the front beds.
>
You should try some Marsh Blazing Star- Liatris spicata. They do well in
both moist and mesic conditions- you can get them as corms at Walmart or
KMart or maybe even get locality matched genotypes from mail order
nurseries that specialize in native plants- or collect wild seed locally
if you really want to get fussy about it. Same for many native plants.
Good luck with your endeavor.
Also I hope you get a spotted turtle some day. They are one of my
favorite herps.
Jeff
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