Small Pond

Here are a few suggestions for planting up a small pond to give ideas about how you might plant up your own. Plants can be bought as singles if desired; where we recommend threes or sixes of the same plant it is simply to give impact more quickly, especially if your pond is at the larger end of the range we give.

Small Pond. Defined as: Bigger than a half-barrel pond but not over 6 feet by 4 feet.

Surface/Floating (Choose 1 of the following options) 

• Any waterlily from the Miniature Waterlilies or Small Waterlilies sections on our website
• Hydrocharis morsus-ranae x 6 (a native option, but quite small and in leaf less than half the year)
• Nymphoides peltata x 2 (a native option and very easy and attractive but will probably need to be thinned after two or three years)
• Aponogeton distachyos x 1 (lower cost than a waterlily and in leaf most of the year, also a more suitable option for shady locations)
• Marsilea mutica x 6 (for an unusual tropical look, but no flowers)

Oxygenators/Underwater (Choose 2 of the following options, all are native) 

• Ranunculus aquatilis x 6 (beautiful flowers and delicate foliage but dies away in summer so would ideally be combined with another oxygenator)
• Ceratophyllum x 4 (no need to pot but dies away in the winter leaving the pond bare)
• Myriophyllum spicatum x 2 
• Hippuris vulgaris x 4 
• Callitriche x 8 
• Lemna trisulca x 2 (much more slow-growing but a good option for very shady locations)

Marginal Plants (The number of marginal plants is mostly personal preference but we would suggest choosing 3 - 4 of the following options)

• Caltha palustris x 2 (yellow flowers in spring, also native) or Caltha palustris 'Flore Pleno' x 2 (more showy flowers but not quite native)
• Baldellia ranunculoides x 8 (pink flowers and seedheads all summer, also native)
• Eriophorum vaginatum x 6 or Eriophorum angustifolium  x 4 (white seed heads spring to summer, also native)
• Myosotis scorpioides 'Mermaid' x 4 (blue flowers all summer)
• Ranunculus flammula subsp. minimus x 4 (yellow buttercup flowers from spring to autumn, also native)
• Potentilla palustris x 4 (unusual colour flowers, also native)
• Anemopsis californica x 4 (unusual white flowers)
• Juncus ensifolius x 4
• Veronica beccabunga x 2 (good for covering the pond edge, also native)
• Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' x 4 (evergreen, a suitable option for shade)
• Equisetum hyemale x 4 (evergreen, a suitable option for shade, gives a lot of height, and is also native)
• Carex elata 'Aurea' x 6 (gives height)
• Typha minima x 6 (gives height)
• Cyperus involucratus x 2 (gives height and an exotic look)
• Any Iris laevigata variety x 2