10 Aquatic Plants to Consider for your pond

Introduction

Having a pond in your garden can bring many benefits to both yourself and wildlife that may visit your garden from time to time. They provide a safe haven for wildlife, such as toads, newts, hedgehogs and birds. The list goes on.  However, ponds can very quickly become an eyesore to yourself with overgrown plantation and weeds to having bad water quality which can lead to uninhabitable conditions for fish. Our guide “Maintaining Your Pond, The Basics” ensures to give you the necessary know how on how to maintain your pond in your garden.

We will get to the how-tos and dont’s shortly, but first, let us explain why pond maintenance is so important.

Ponds need maintenance throughout the whole year.  Without it, you’re just asking for future problems. Occasional cleaning and regular maintenance is essential, while having a pond contractor is beneficial. There are things you can be doing to ensure your pond’s ecosystem is thriving all year round.

1

Water soldiers, stratiotes aloides

Water soldiers are a type of floating plant, where in the summer will rise up and float on the surface of the pond and in the winter, they retreat and sink into the ponds depths.  They are unique looking and a lovely addition to anyone’s water garden.

2

Yellow flag iris, iris pseudacorus

Any iris is a lovely addition to any pond, the Iris pseudacorus is a marginal plant that flowers yellow buds, dragonflies love it and you’ll love it too.

3

Water mint, mentha aquatica

Known for it’s minty aroma, this plant is perfect for adding a fragrance to your pond that you’ll never want to walk away from.   This is best grown on the pond edging or in bog areas of your pond.

4

Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum Salicaria

Beautiful purple flowers that add a pop of colour into your pond or lake. Perfect for wildlife such as bees and butterflies!

5

Spiked water milfoil, myriophyllum spicatum

An oxygenating plant that floats and grows near the surface area of your pond. This plant is great for shading your pond and also provides good protection for amphibians found in ponds.

6

White water lily, Nymphaea alba

You can’t go wrong with a water lily in your pond. The white water lily is the most common lily in the UK. They are great for adding colour to your pond when it flowers and again, perfect for providing shade.

7

Hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum

Often mistaken for the “Spiked water milfoil”, the Hornwort is another oxygenating plant which also provides shelter for newts and frogs.

8

Water crowfoot, Ranunculus aquatilis

A perfect plant that sits on the surface of your pond, giving shade and cover for amphibians.  This plant flowers in may time with beautiful white petals.

9

Water forget-me-not, Myosotis scorpiodes

The water forget-me-not is one of my favourite marginal plants that you can add to your pond. This is a long flowering plant that grows from March all the way through to September. This marginal plant is grown in wet soil but it can also be fully submerged. Newts absolutely adore it, giving them safe haven when laying eggs.

10

Marsh marigold, Caltha palustris

The marsh marigold produces yellow flowers which are full of pollen for your bees and tall stems for dragonfly nymphs. Simply Perfection.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading, we hope to have inspired you with the above list. Please note, these plants are not in any particular order, we just feel your pond would benefit from them.

Keep an eye out for more of our favourite plants for your ponds!

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