Choosing Pond Plants

Aquatic plants don't just enhance a pond or water garden. They also keep the ecosystem balanced and healthy. Choose from marginal plants that thrive in the moist soil around pond edges, plants that bob and float on top of the water and submerged plants that grow underwater.

Easy-to-grow aquatic forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides) produces delicate, pale blue, pink or white flowers from June until frost. Hardy in zones 5 to 9, this species can be invasive if it escapes into public waterways or lakes. Check the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services plant database for information on plants that may be restricted or illegal in your area.

Dwarf cattail, or Typha minima, produces small brown catkins in the summer. The foliage is narrow and grass-like. Grow these attractive plants, which reach 36 inches tall, in moist soil around ponds and other water features.

Parrot’s feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) has fine-cut, lime-green to bluish-green foliage that helps oxygenate the water and shelter fish. Hardy in zones 6 to 11, the plants take sun or shade. Since they can be invasive, use them only in containers, lined ponds and other water gardens; check to be sure they're legal to grow in your area.