The Designer Gardens

There are 6 groups of plants that i suggest you consider for the fishpond. This article and a few of the following ones are all about what we call Marginals. When we discuss Marginal plants we think of them as purely ornamental because they do not play any part in managing a satisfactory balance in the fishpond. They only serve 2 functions. The boundary linking the water and also the water garden side can be softened by making use of these plants that is certainly frequently desirable in a Formal fishpond and is always essential in an Informal one, they supply floral colour and/or interesting leaves through the growing season. Many varieties are obtainable. Based on the variety of plant, the recommended depth for planting is 0 – 6 inches.

Their home is usually on the marginal shelf or in the shallows of the water garden. The standard method of growing them is to plant them in soil at the bottom of the shelf, but it is better to plant them in baskets. You should not mix different varieties in one container. Here’s a couple of plants that I have placed into my water garden so as to add a bit of colour.

Carex (Sedge). The Sedges are included here as theyre generally found in the Marginal plant section of the many catalogues, although, these grassy perennials are commonly happier developing in wet soil as compared to growing within the pond. Planting depth when grown as a Marginal is 0 – 2 inches. Theres nothing special about these plants, however the yellow-leaved Carex stricta ‘Bowles Golden’ is becoming rather fashionable in recent years. The tall Sedges can look attractive at the water’s edge of a large fishpond, but they have no place in the average sized one. For the ordinary garden fishpond there are more interesting Marginals than Carex.

Cyperus (Umbrella Grass). These charming members of the Sedge family are foliage plants which bear lance-shaped leaves which radiate from the tops of the stems similar to the ribs of an umbrella. The summer flower heads are branching spikes of tiny brown or reddish flowers. The favored one would be the sweet Garlingale (Cyperus longus) which is used to consolidate the banks of natural pond sand and is cut for flower arranging. An persistent plant growing to about 3ft high. Planting depth is 3 – 5 inches. The dark green leaves are coarse and spiky. C.vegetus is more compact and therefore more suitable for the typical garden fishpond. The leaves are broader than the ones from C. longus but the stems are only 1- 2ft high. The advisable planting depth is 0 – 4 inches. and it can even be grown in a bog garden.

Cotula (Golden Buttons). A valuable Marginal, particularly for the small ponds. The spreading leafy clumps are no more than 6 inches in height and are covered all summer long with tiny yellow button-like flowers. The foliage is fragrant. Cotula coronopifolia is definitely an annual and that means that it dies after the flowering season is over. This lapnt normally does not create a problem as the plant readily sets seed along with a flush of self-sown seedlings in spring replaces last year’s specimens. The recommended planting depth for Cotula is 0 – 5 inches.

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