Good pond plants for a tiny pond

Hi,

I’m doing a mini pond in my back garden. Mainly to help with wildlife a little bit. I’ve got 2 young children so it won’t be big at all.

Any ideas on a couple of pond plants I could put in that are readily available at garden centres?

Thanks

Lee

 

Hi Lee, i did a small pond last year my progress here i listed the few plants i put in and around it somewhere in the thread.
Small pond advice please

 

Hi Lee - when you say a "mini pond" what are you actually speaking of? A bucket? A washing up bowl? A barrel? A pre-form? Excavation and pond liner?

The best "tip" I can possibly give you regarding buying aquatic plants from a garden centre (gc) would be ... WAIT! ... now is not the time. Give it a month or two first. Why? Because, in my experience, even gc pond plants might be contaminated with certain pond "weeds" (which only become evident once the pond plant growing cycle is well under way). The very last thing you want to do is to buy a plant, in good faith, only to find it has introduced something less than favourable into your water - the smaller the water feature, the greater the potential problem!

Where do you plan on siting your mini pond? Sun? Shade? Sun/partial shade?
Which type of water do you plan on filling it with? Rain water? Tap water?
Which size surface area do you plan to have?
Will it be a raised pond or a submerged pond?
Do you plan on keeping any fish in it? Or, will you let nature take its course?
Will you include a bog garden? Perhaps a fountain of some kind?

I know: that is a lot of questions, but, from my own experience from newbie to trial and error pond keeper, these were things which "cropped up"

 

Lobelia cardinalis will provide lovely red/ purple foliage and scarlet flowers on 60 cm high plants to give height in the pond.
Acorus Ogon is an evergreen yellow grass-like plant good in water
For brilliant foliage colour......not for the garden though....check out houttynia chameleon. Orange scented white flowers too.

 

I have this in my garden. The first year I had it, I put it in my pond as a marginal; it didn't do too well there. Was rather disappointed in fact.
When I moved here, I kept a piece and planted it in a tub with other boggy liking plants. It is happy (well, it is still alive) but not in a pond environment. Not quite a "garden" environment either, to be fair, but it isn't invasive because it is "contained". I rather like it

 

Lobelia Cardinalis is an excellent pond plant here and in a much larger wildlife pond I planted up elsewhere. I will post pictures of it in the summer. I grow it as a contrast to white arum lily, that also will grow in water.
However, I remove it from the water in winter and replant in spring as it is likely to rot off then in cold winters

 

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for the all the suggestions really helpful.

M in answer to your questions I will be just submerging a decent sized storage tub and keeping it topped up with a mixture of tap water and rain water if possible.

It will be situated in sun for some of the day then in shade as the sun moves over.

Again it was only a little project which I thought would be a nice little addition so welcome any other input.

 

Sounds like a good plan It will work a treat too. Do you know the surface are of the tub? Something you may wish to consider, if we are speaking about a "tub" pond would be how wildlife would enter and exit it? By that I mean, you may have hedgehogs visiting who could fall in if there isn't an easy way for them to get close to the water levels if there is a possibility they could fall in and drown. Just something to consider; not deter.

 

Don’t know exactly the surface area has not yet bought it but I will be considering wildlife such as hedgehogs

Thanks again for the help

 

Oops, sorry, I got a bit carried away
I'm sure that, whatever you choose, will make a wonderful feature for your garden and for wildlife
Please do not be daunted by my questions, just trying to throw a variety of thoughts your way so you can make the best job of it for both you and the wildlife

We did have a very inspiration thread some while back, which you may find an interesting read ...
Can't have a pond so I'll have a bucket
... great ideas for planting, plus pictures so you can get a "feel" for the plants too.

 

Thanks M some brilliant info on there.

Not daunting at all really helpful and just the sort of stuff I needed to know.