Plants around a pond advice

martin longhurst

Hello,

Do any of you have any ideas for a low growing ground cover plant located around a pond?

Dovefromabove

We'll need a bit more information - is the soil damp and boggy or is this a dry area?

How much sun/shade does the area get?  

What else do you have growing there?

And is your soil acid or alkaline?

punkdoc

Hi Martin

Assuming the soil around your pond is damp and has reasonable light, I would consider geum rivale and oriental primula hybrids [both short] or for something a bit taller how about astilbes, lythrum and rodgersia

martin longhurst

Partial shade, moist. a large variety of plants already there. Bergenia, mimulus, monarda etc. Slightly limey soil but has been enriched with topsoil

Thanks for the advice Nigel

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auntie betty

I've got some lovely lime green frilly heuchera I use to edge my pond. Mine's called 'Key Lime Pie'. 'Lime Rickey' is good too. Foliage stays on all year and trails slightly into the water, hiding the edge of my liner, and both above will stay vibrant lime in partial shade rather than going yellow. I have it with bergenia and polemonium in conditions much like yours and it does beautifully. xx 

pam3482

Reading all these posts with interest as I've just made a new pond in my garden. I've edged it with rockery stone and pebbles and would like to put plants between the stones to cover the liner. How do I prevent soil falling into the pond or is this not too much of a problem?

 

 

Fairygirl

You don't want too much soil ending up in the pond as it contains a lot of nutrients which encourages algal growth. Is it a wildlife pond Pam? If so, normally you would have a slope, or beached edge, of gravel so that creatures can get in and out safely. The gravel then blends into the planting areas and soil doesn't really get washed in much because of the gradient.

If you just have an edging of rocks etc, you can use a strip of  landscape fabric as a barrier between your planted areas and the rocks which will prevent the soil slipping in. The plants will cover it or you can use some smaller rocks and stones to disguise it. 

I created a small pond last year. The first pic shows the little barrier I have between the planting area and the little pool which now has some marginals. I used some heavy duty plastic over a few rocks :

This is the same area planted up and top dressed with gravel to hide any bits of plastic etc :

 The plants are all quite mature now 

 

pam3482

I have a gravel beach where the lawn meets the pond but the other side has rocks to the edge. I intended to make the pond do the water came up under the rocks and plant marginals in aquatic soil between the rocks but it hasn't quite worked. Like your idea of using landscape fabric to hold soil. Do you think landscape membrane would be ok?

Fairygirl

Yes- I used that in a former pond to do the same job, and the little pool in that first pic has landscape fabric lining the rocks as there's some aquatic soil in with the water for the marginals  

pam3482

I take it the plants outside the pond are planted in ordinary soil?