Lifestyle
Plants to compliment water features
GARDENING
Following last week’s article about creating a water feature, I received many enquiries about planting it up and related bog gardens.
A bog garden is easily constructed as part of the pond. A continuous liner from the pond under the bog garden will serve as an overflow as well as ensuring the level of moisture required for bog plants. A layer of gravel underneath the soil gives some drainage, and stones hiding a fine mesh, or even weed suppressant, will prevent soil falling into your pond and muddying the water. Bog gardens can also become part of the filtration system of your pond, if they are supplied with slow running water the roots of water plants will have an antibacterial effect. Bog gardens can also be independent from the pond, at its most basic it is a hole in the ground lined with polythene or pond liner and back filled with soil and peat. The minimum depth should be 30cm as it can dry out very quickly in warm weather, and when it does it tends to be even drier than the surrounding ground. Access to a hose is handy!
When planting up water features and ponds, it is extremely important to bear in mind the size of your feature. Many water plants grow very quickly and become invasive, especially reeds and grasses! There are three zones to a pond which you will notice on the labels of water plants. Zone one is shallow, up to 30cm deep, zone two is up to 60cm deep, and zone three is anything deeper. Always plant at the recommended depth or they will not grow successfully.
WATER LILIES
Generally, we tend to think first of water lilies when it comes to pond plants, and, indeed, they are probably the most spectacular. Water lilies, or Nymphea, are available in different sizes, which enables almost anyone to grow at least one. As a general rule of thumb, they tend to grow about 1.5 times the width of their depth, so a lily planted at a depth of 60cm, will spread about 90cm on the surface of your pond. N. Attraction is ideal for a large pond, growing to a width 1.5m with deep red flowers. A smaller red lily to try is N. Froebelii, growing to 50cm wide. Laydekeri lilies are ideal for a small pond, they will happily grow in only 30cm of water. I have several in different colours, but really it is their leaves which are quite unusual, being striped green and maroon.
IRIS
Iris are also a beautiful marginal plant. In my garden the Iris laevigata varieties grow best. These are a true aquatic plant which will grow in shallow water. Available in blues, pinks and a pure white, they are worth adding to your pond. Iris pseudocorus is the typical ‘flag’ we see in many ditches, but is better used as a bog plant, as in the winter its crown prefers to be dry.
In the case of both lilies and iris, it can be quite difficult to find specific varieties, and unfortunately we often have to make do with what the local garden centre has to offer! Unfortunately, I have had the experience of ordering them on the Internet go horribly wrong – once I had to pay damage costs as water leaked out from the package, and another time the plants arrived rotten. So, be warned if you are tempted!
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