There’s just something tranquil and romantic about a water garden. This special type of gardening style holds a beauty all its own, offering a little bit of everything to delight the senses. While there are so many accessories we can use to decorate water gardens today, the biggest draw still remains the plants themselves. And with so many amazing aquatics to choose from, no water garden should ever drown in disappointment.
Blooming water lilies and cannas add color to a newly created water garden.
Photo Credit: Lane Greer
This lily pond provides a mirror for the hillside plantings above it and supports many a salamander.
Photo Credit: Lane Greer
Aquatic plants are usually grouped into categories based on their oxygen requirements:
Submerged plants, sometimes called oxygenators, can have their roots in or out of soil, with all plant parts underwater.
Floating plants have their roots in the soil, while their leaves float atop the water’s surface.
Submerged and floating plants can often be found at stores that sell fish and aquarium accessories, as well at garden centers selling water garden paraphernalia.
Bog or marginal plants include aquatics that thrive around pond edges. Some of the most common bog plants are sweet flag, papyrus, cannas and Louisiana irises. Many garden centers and nurseries also offer bog plants.
Good water gardens contain plants, because plants are necessary for water oxygenation. Good water gardens also contain gardeners, since most water plants grow very quickly and need to be well-maintained.
Perhaps the two most common plants that come to mind when thinking “water gardens” are water lilies and lotus. (These pretty floating plants are suited to water more than 1 foot deep.) But we can go deeper than that! With a few choice plants, anyone can have a great water garden. So go ahead…Get your feet wet!
Some recommended aquatic plants:
Submerged Plants
Can live underwater and without soil
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Name
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Description
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Planting Comments
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Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum)
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Free-floating green plants with 1- to 2-foot stems.
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Plant 2 feet below water surface; can be planted in still or moving water. Hardy to Zone 3.
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Water violet (Hottonia palustris)
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1-3 feet tall with lavender flowers.
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Plant 1-2 feet deep; grows in still or moving water. Hardy to Zone 6.
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Common bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris)
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Cold-hardy perennial that, like Venus flytrap, captures flies and other insects.
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Plant as far down as 3 feet deep. Hardy to Zone 5.
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Floating Plants
Roots in soil, leaves float
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Name
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Description
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Planting Comments
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Fairy moss (Azolla caroliniana)
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Green fronds (leaves) turn red in bright sun and in autumn.
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Free-floating. Hardy to Zone 8.
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Yellow pond lily (Nuphar lutea)
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Yellow, aromatic flowers that resemble water lilies. Very large leaves and plant.
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Plant 1-8 feet deep; good for in running or still water. Better in large water gardens in shade. Hardy to Zone 4.
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Water poppy (Hydrocleys nymphoides)
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Yellow flowers and thick, shiny leaves.
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Plant 6 inches deep in topsoil. Requires high light. Hardy to Zone 6.
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Marginal or Bog Plants
Placed at the edge of the water garden
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Name
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Description
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Planting Comments
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Sweet flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’)
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Grasslike plant with variegated foliage; 1 foot tall.
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Plant in soil up to 3 inches below water level. Hardy to Zone 6.
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Dwarf papyrus (Cyperus haspan)
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Grown for its foliage; 12-18 inches tall.
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Plant in soil up to 3 inches below water level. Hardy to Zone 9.
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Louisiana iris (Iris)
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Numerous flower shapes in colors including white, yellow, blue, maroon and rust; 1-3 feet tall.
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Plant in container up to 4 inches below water level. Hardy to Zone 4.
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