Post by rowanberry on Oct 10, 2015 21:24:07 GMT
When we first moved to where we are now, the pond was a mess- full of debris and twigs and so much rotting leaf matter that it was more like a swamp. 
After dredging and refilling it, it has taken me a few years to learn what plants would do well in it... it is very shaded, and only gets a few hours of direct sunlight in late spring and summer.
I've tried to stick with British Natives, and I thought I'd share which ones have thrived for me, in case there is anyone else here with a similar sort of pond situation.
It's a hard-shelled fiberglass shell, with shelves for pond baskets.
The first plant I got because it was recommended as being good for oxygenating the pond was hornwort, (Ceratophyllum demersum) and it's done extremely well... I have to get a rake and thin it out by the end of summer, but then it sinks and hibernates over the winter and comes back again without any problems.
The Veronica beccabunga, (Brooklime) did better last summer- it flourished in a pond basket then, but this year decided it would rather scramble down the shallow bank around the pond instead. I'm wondering if it was looking for more light, since we've not had the sunniest of summers. It provides really good cover for the tadpoles and frogs, and I'm going to try it in the pond again next year because I don't want to loose it.
Two of the larger plants I've got in pond baskets were taken from cuttings found in a local bog- Water Plantain (Alisma plantago) and Marsh Marigold, (Caltha palustris) and they are both two years old now... I cut them back and they return in the spring. The Marsh Marigold did really well this year, and I found dragonfly nymph casings on both of these.
The Fringed Water Lily (Nymphoides peltata) nearly died last year... it's been a very slow starter for me, but it's doing better this year, and even flowered once. I hope it makes it through the winter, and if it does I'll put it in a different (larger) basket and see if it does a bit better. I think it's got an ongoing struggle going with the duckweed.
The reeds, (and I cannot now remember which ones they are specifically) have also been slow to get going but have started looking better. Once they break off, they come back thicker and stronger, so now I don't worry about them.
The Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) was a bit of a fluke- the pond went a bit cloudy and I read that one thing that might help is to get a bag of watercress from the salad aisle in the supermarket and just toss it in. That's what I did- a bit of it took root, and it's done fine ever since. In fact, it will take over given half a chance, but fortunately it's easy to weed out.
The Water Soldier (Stratiotes aloides) I got from a pond plant store last year, and they are amazing- almost immediately it started producing off-shoots, and then MORE off-shoots until I had about a dozen or more. Another one that is easy to 'weed'- they separate the minute they are picked up, so every few weeks I just pick out the older, battered ones, (they look a bit like floating Spider Plants.) Once autumn comes they sink to the bottom and come back in the spring.
The Mare's Tail (Hippuris Vulgaris) took ages to establish itself, but went a bit mad this year. It is quite difficult to thin out, (it tends to break off rather than come out from the roots) and it sprawls all over the place. It looks great until it rains, and then it all flops over,(it does stand back up again eventually) but don't be fooled by the photos of it on plant website! I like it- but I'm going to keep it thinned out from early spring next year so it doesn't get out of hand again.
The Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is more ground-cover than pond plant- it started out life in a large pot by the side of the pond, and it grew down into the water last year, and this year emerged to almost complete cover the ground on one side of the pond where it's damp and a bit boggy. Easy to thin out, it has really pretty yellow flowers... it grows very quickly!
Bugle (Ajuga reptans) and Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) also have done well on the boggy, more shady side of the pond... and they seem to grown in together nicely without choking each other out. The bugle has lovely bluey-purple flowers in the spring, and with it's dark leaves it made a nice contrast with the lighter Woodruff leaves. They both provided good cover for the froglets when they emerged out from the pond.
Another good ground-cover plant was Baby's Tears (Soleirolia soleirolii). Once this gets going, it really goes- covers everything- rocks, ornaments, the tree stump the bird bath sits on, the bricks around the pond...but the frogs love it! They get down in it, and all you see is two big eyes staring out. I just take a pair of scissors and trim it back when it needs it. The other plant is Forget-me not (Myosotis scorpioides) which I found struggling in the front garden and transplanted- it's supposed to do well in damp soil, and I'm hoping it will come back next year and flower.
One more shade-loving boggy plant was Water Figwort, (Scrophularia auriculata)... these one came up on their own. There were too many in one spot last spring, so I transplanted them and they didn't seem to mind- flowered and came back again this year. Another one that I've found works really well in shaded spots that tend to be damp are primroses... and they provide good cover without growing too tall. Whenever the garden centre sells them off cheaply after they've bloomed, I get a tray of them and set them out. So far, most have come back again the next year. Some do better than others, but they provide a bit of colour around the pond.
After dredging and refilling it, it has taken me a few years to learn what plants would do well in it... it is very shaded, and only gets a few hours of direct sunlight in late spring and summer.
I've tried to stick with British Natives, and I thought I'd share which ones have thrived for me, in case there is anyone else here with a similar sort of pond situation.
It's a hard-shelled fiberglass shell, with shelves for pond baskets.
The first plant I got because it was recommended as being good for oxygenating the pond was hornwort, (Ceratophyllum demersum) and it's done extremely well... I have to get a rake and thin it out by the end of summer, but then it sinks and hibernates over the winter and comes back again without any problems.
The Veronica beccabunga, (Brooklime) did better last summer- it flourished in a pond basket then, but this year decided it would rather scramble down the shallow bank around the pond instead. I'm wondering if it was looking for more light, since we've not had the sunniest of summers. It provides really good cover for the tadpoles and frogs, and I'm going to try it in the pond again next year because I don't want to loose it.
Two of the larger plants I've got in pond baskets were taken from cuttings found in a local bog- Water Plantain (Alisma plantago) and Marsh Marigold, (Caltha palustris) and they are both two years old now... I cut them back and they return in the spring. The Marsh Marigold did really well this year, and I found dragonfly nymph casings on both of these.
The Fringed Water Lily (Nymphoides peltata) nearly died last year... it's been a very slow starter for me, but it's doing better this year, and even flowered once. I hope it makes it through the winter, and if it does I'll put it in a different (larger) basket and see if it does a bit better. I think it's got an ongoing struggle going with the duckweed.
The reeds, (and I cannot now remember which ones they are specifically) have also been slow to get going but have started looking better. Once they break off, they come back thicker and stronger, so now I don't worry about them.
The Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) was a bit of a fluke- the pond went a bit cloudy and I read that one thing that might help is to get a bag of watercress from the salad aisle in the supermarket and just toss it in. That's what I did- a bit of it took root, and it's done fine ever since. In fact, it will take over given half a chance, but fortunately it's easy to weed out.
The Water Soldier (Stratiotes aloides) I got from a pond plant store last year, and they are amazing- almost immediately it started producing off-shoots, and then MORE off-shoots until I had about a dozen or more. Another one that is easy to 'weed'- they separate the minute they are picked up, so every few weeks I just pick out the older, battered ones, (they look a bit like floating Spider Plants.) Once autumn comes they sink to the bottom and come back in the spring.
The Mare's Tail (Hippuris Vulgaris) took ages to establish itself, but went a bit mad this year. It is quite difficult to thin out, (it tends to break off rather than come out from the roots) and it sprawls all over the place. It looks great until it rains, and then it all flops over,(it does stand back up again eventually) but don't be fooled by the photos of it on plant website! I like it- but I'm going to keep it thinned out from early spring next year so it doesn't get out of hand again.
The Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is more ground-cover than pond plant- it started out life in a large pot by the side of the pond, and it grew down into the water last year, and this year emerged to almost complete cover the ground on one side of the pond where it's damp and a bit boggy. Easy to thin out, it has really pretty yellow flowers... it grows very quickly!
Bugle (Ajuga reptans) and Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) also have done well on the boggy, more shady side of the pond... and they seem to grown in together nicely without choking each other out. The bugle has lovely bluey-purple flowers in the spring, and with it's dark leaves it made a nice contrast with the lighter Woodruff leaves. They both provided good cover for the froglets when they emerged out from the pond.
Another good ground-cover plant was Baby's Tears (Soleirolia soleirolii). Once this gets going, it really goes- covers everything- rocks, ornaments, the tree stump the bird bath sits on, the bricks around the pond...but the frogs love it! They get down in it, and all you see is two big eyes staring out. I just take a pair of scissors and trim it back when it needs it. The other plant is Forget-me not (Myosotis scorpioides) which I found struggling in the front garden and transplanted- it's supposed to do well in damp soil, and I'm hoping it will come back next year and flower.
One more shade-loving boggy plant was Water Figwort, (Scrophularia auriculata)... these one came up on their own. There were too many in one spot last spring, so I transplanted them and they didn't seem to mind- flowered and came back again this year. Another one that I've found works really well in shaded spots that tend to be damp are primroses... and they provide good cover without growing too tall. Whenever the garden centre sells them off cheaply after they've bloomed, I get a tray of them and set them out. So far, most have come back again the next year. Some do better than others, but they provide a bit of colour around the pond.
