Tub Garden

Here are a few suggestions for planting up a tub garden to give ideas about how you might plant up your own pond. Plants can be bought as singles if desired; where we recommend twos or threes 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.  

Tub Garden. Defined as: Half-barrel pond approximately two feet across

Surface/Floating Plants (Choose 1 of the following options)

• Waterlily Nymphaea 'Pygmaea Helvola' x 1
• Hydrocharis morsus-ranae x 1 (a native option but in leaf less than half the year)
• Aponogeton distachyos x 1 (lower cost than a waterlily and in leaf most of the year, also a suitable option for shady locations)
• Aponogeton desertorum x 1 (lower cost than a waterlily and in leaf most of the year, not as suitable for shady locations as its cousin Aponogeton distachyos, but smaller so more in proportion for a barrel)
• Marsilea mutica x 1 (for an unusual tropical look, but no flowers)

Oxygenators/Underwater (Choose 1 of the following options, all are native)

• Myriophyllum spicatum x 1 (will need to be thinned occasionally but in leaf all year)
• Ranunculus aquatilis x 2 (beautiful flowers and delicate foliage but dies away in summer so not ideal in a situation where it is the only oxygenator)
• Ceratophyllum x 1 (no need for a pot which can be useful with limited space but dies away in winter leaving the pond bare)
• Callitriche x 2 (in leaf all year, miniature and slow-growing so good for very small containers)
• Lemna trisulca x 1 (best for locations in deep shade, very slow-growing and no need for a pot which can be useful with limited space)

Marginal Plants (The number of marginal plants is mostly personal preference but we would suggest choosing 2 - 4 of the following options).

• Caltha palustris var. radicans x 2 (yellow flowers in spring, also native) OR Caltha palustris 'Flore Pleno' x 1 (more showy flowers but not quite native)
• Anagallis tenella x 2 (dainty evergreen foliage and pink flowers in summer, native, but only suitable for very shallow water)
• Hydrocotyle vulgaris x 1 (very good at covering the pond edge, native, and in proportion for a small container, but will probably need to be thinned after a while)
• Baldellia ranunculoides  x 3 (pink flowers and seedheads all summer, also native)
• Eriophorum vaginatum x 2 (white seed heads spring to summer, also native)
• Isolepis cernua x 2 (very numerous tiny silvery flowers, evergreen foliage, also native)
• Myosotis scorpioides 'Mermaid' x 2 (blue flowers all summer)
• Ranunculus flammula subsp. minimus x 2 (yellow buttercup flowers from spring to autumn, also native)
• Potentilla palustris x 2 (unusual colour flowers, also native)
• Juncus ensifolius x 2 
• Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' x 2 (evergreen, a suitable option for a shady location)
• Equisetum hyemale x 2 or Equisetum scirpoides x 4 (evergreen foliage and suitable options for a shady location. E. hyemale is native and will give a lot of height, around 3 feet. If this is too tall E. scirpoides, from northern Europe, reaches only 8 inches high)
• Carex elata 'Aurea' x 2 (gives height)
• Typha minima x 2 (gives height and a traditional 'pond' look)
• Cyperus involucratus x 1 (gives height and an exotic look)