Wildlife area coming together slowly

funwithsheep

Started this project late last Autumn. It was previously just lawn. I made a bit of a mistake with the shelf in the pond - I think I made it too deep so the soil slips in several places. There's native wildflowers and meadow grasses around the pond and marginal plants at the edge - I hope they'll do OK they have full sun until the afternoon then the house shades them. There's branches behind and under the bench. Need some oxygenating plants, and for the frogbit to fill out. Any ideas to improve the area would be gratefully received. I have some wildlife in the pond and I'm sure more will arrive but one thing I'm not keen on is this beast of a plant:

It doesn't fit with the vision I had of the area, can anyone identify it and tell me it's a wonderful plant before I rip it out? It's about half a metre tall and wide. Thanks.

josusa47

Oxygenating plants, I have plenty of Canadian pond weed, aka Elodea, if you like to send me your address in a PM, I'll post you a bunch.  It's zero maintenance, just chuck it in the pond and it grows.

fidgetbones

It looks like one of the brassica weeds like charlock. I'd rip it out.

 You could do with a few marginals, something with tall stems so that dragonfly nymph can climb up when they grow their wings.  I like purple loosestrife.(Lythrum salicaria) Easy to grow from seed, but there is a double form available as a plant. Emerging froglets like a bit of long grass to hide in as well. maybe one of the dwarf bulrushes,(Typha minima) or a sedge or two.