Flowering & Aquatic Plants in and Around Garden Ponds
Q: Is it possible to have flowering plants in and around my pond for most of the year, rather than a huge display just for two weeks in late spring and a few lilies towards the end of the summer? We have had our pond for two years now and feel that it could look a bit more interesting.
A: After 2 years things should be just beginning get into full swing, however if you have not started with the right ingredients then things can look a bit dowdy and uninteresting. Right at the very first rays of spring sunshine, usually by the middle of March you should be having the first Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris. There is a double version of this called Caltha palustris Plena and a small white Caltha palustris Alba. The Bog Bean, Menyanthes trifoliate, is hot on their trail, which brings into April and the beginning of May when the American Skunk cabbage sends up its spectacular arum spathe. The Latin name is Lysichiton americans and it is yellow. The white version is called Lysichiton camtschatcensis.
In May things start coming thick and fast with the Mimulus of all different varieties and species, the Water Forget-me-not (Myosostis palustris) and the Spearworts (Ranunculus flammula). Before the end of the month and into June the Irises start and need I say more? After that blaze of glory you need to think seriously about the next acts. My favourite is the Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus), there is also the yellow and purple Loosestrifes (Lysimachia punctata and Lythrum salicaria) all with new and diverse forms. July sees the bog garden in full bloom and you can borrow from that. The Lobelias (L. cardinalis, L. fulgens, L. syphilitica) are spectacular late flowering plants for both areas.
The huge blue Pickerel weed (Pontedaria cordata) and the white Arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)takes you through August and into September. If you are lucky or have religiously deadheaded and cut back tall plants that have flowered things like the Spearworts, Marsh Marigolds and the Forget-me-nots will be coming back for more.
By September your lilies should have really got some momentum going. Some
varieties take at least two years to really settle in so be patient. Feed them
with a slow release fertiliser pellet if there is no joy be the end of July.
To see yourself through the winter the foliage brigade is essential the yellow
Carex Bowles Golden, the variegated Acorus gramineus and the variegated foliage
of Iris laevigata vareigata. The tall reeds at last come into their own too.