You’ll take your garden to a whole new level with a water feature and lots of aquatic plants!
Watch: How To Make An Affordable Garden Pond
Plants in and around your garden pond create a visual feast, but also do much, much more. Pond plants help create a balanced ecosystem in that they absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, are a natural filtration system, and cast shade that stops algae growth by blocking the sunlight that algae need to spread.
Pond plants also provide sanctuaries for aquatic life – fish and frogs – and keep them safe from predators and the hot sun. Your pond plants not only come with beauty, they come with brains and brawn, as well!
What sort of water plants do you need?
Pond plants have different needs and habits. There are floaters, submersibles, deep-water dwellers and marginals, and they all do different jobs in your pond.
Floaters
These don’t take root on a pond’s bottom or sides. Many floaters, including the once-popular water hyacinth and water lettuce, are now declared weeds because they have invaded wetlands and waterways, killing wildlife and interfering with recreational use. Try our native duckweed – it’s great food for fish, tadpoles and birds but can double in size in just weeks in summer. Dispose of excess duckweed carefully – use it as a mulch or in your compost.
Deep-water plants
The leaves and flowers of these plants sit on the surface of water that is 30cm-1.5m deep and emerge from long stems with roots sitting on the pond floor where it’s cool. The native wavy marshwort (Nymphoides crenata) is a delightful option.
Submersibles
These mostly remain underwater, apart from partially-emergent water milfoil. They are vital if you have fish in your pond as they add oxygen to the water.
Marginals
You can have deep marginals that happily sit in 15-30cm of water and shallow marginals – try Japanese iris, or bog plants that grow where land and water meet. The canna lily loves this environment.
Let’s take a look at the best water plants for an aquatic area of the garden.
The best water plants for your pond
Veronica
Veronica (V. longifolia) thrives in moist soil around a pond. Plant it to add an explosion of colour and, as here, to complement the tall reeds growing opposite it in the pond.
Milfoils
Some milfoils are nasty weeds, so be sure to get our native Myriophyllum crispatum.
Water lilies
Water lilies should only be grown in still or very slow-moving water.
Pickerel rush
Plant this pickerel rush in shallow water – up to 20cm – or boggy soil.
Marshwort
Golden wavy marshwort (Nymphoides crenata) is a frilly floater.
Thalia
Red-stemmed thalia grows in boggy soils or shallow water.
Canna lilies
Plant cannas on the edge of a pond – they love having wet feet.
Marsilea
Marsilea creates a carpet on top of your pond.
Japanese irises
Japanese iris flourishes in ponds in summer, but dies in winter. Because they don’t like to be in water during winter, grow them in pots so you can move them to a dry spot. In spring, return them to the water.
Japanese sweet flag
Japanese sweet flag is a great clumper for a pond’s edge.
Lily pads
Large, flat lily pads are an iconic image for a pond, but the scene needs height. You can plant tall reeds and rushes – or go for clumps of large paddle-leafed thalia. It grows to almost two metres and produces purple and white flowers.
Using pebbles
Pebbles, rocks and boulders not only create an attractive perimeter to your pond, they also form plant ledges in the water. As well, they hold your pool liner in place and gravel or pebbles at the bottom protect it from the sun’s UV rays.
How to grow aquatic plants
- If you’re building a pond from scratch, create layers or ledges where you can place marginals. For established ponds that are deep, build height with bricks or crates.
- Many pond plants stay in their pots, so cover the container with pebbles or gravel to prevent the soil or growing medium escaping and contaminating the water.
- You can buy water plant baskets from aquatic plant nurseries to put floaters and submersibles in.
- When repotting every year or so, use quality clay soil, not potting mix. At the same time, add a fertiliser tablet. You can order these from aquatic plant nurseries.
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