Puddleplants

Marginal plants are so named as they inhabit the shallower water at margins (edges) of the pond. Many marginal plants are also happy in waterlogged or wet bog areas surrounding the pond, as long as the soil doesn’t dry out during the summer or drier spells, so they overlap with the Bog garden plants and may appear in both categories of our site.

For a well-balanced pond, you should aim to have surface cover plants taking up at least 50% of the surface area when in growth and Water lilies are one of the best, most attractive and effective ways of contributing to this. Water Hawthorn is also a favourite of ours and is an excellent companion to lilies as it flowers either side of the main lily season and has a fabulous scent.

Oxygenating pond plants (oxygenators) are an essential part of any pond ecosystem and perform a number of important functions that help maintain your pond in the best possible condition. They are so named as any foliage that grows naturally underwater will produce oxygen during the day and so help to oxygenate the water, which will benefit all pond life.