You will discover six groups of plants which you ought to think about for the fishpond. This article and a few of the subsequent ones are all about what we call Marginals. When we speak about Marginal plants we think of these as just ornamental because they do not play a part in building a satisfactory balance in the water garden. They only serve a couple of functions. The boundary between the water and also the fishpond side can be softened by using these plants which is sometimes desirable in a Formal millpond and is always essential in an Informal one, they provide floral colour and/or remarkable leaves through the growing season. Many types are available. Depending on the variety of plant, the advisable depth for planting is 0 - 6 inches.

The home is more often than not on the marginal shelf or in the shallows of your water garden. The normal approach to growing them is usually to plant them in soil at the bottom of the shelf, but it is better to place them in baskets. Do not mix different varieties in a single container. Here's a couple of plants that I've placed into my pond to add a bit of colour.

Carex (Sedge). The Sedges are included here as they are generally found within the Marginal plant section of your numerous catalogues, however, these grassy perennials are usually happier developing in wet soil as compared to growing within the fishpond. Planting depth when grown as a Marginal is 0 - 2 inches. There is certainly nothing special about these plants, but the yellow-leaved Carex stricta 'Bowles Golden' has become fairly popular in recent times. The tall Sedges can look attractive at the water's edge of a large pond, but they have no place in the average sized one. For the ordinary garden pond there are more interesting Marginals than Carex.

Cyperus (Umbrella Grass). These graceful members of the Sedge family are foliage plants which bear lance-shaped leaves which spread out from the tops of the stems similar to the ribs of an umbrella. The summer flower heads are branching spikes of little brown or reddish flowers. The popular one is the sweet Garlingale (Cyperus longus) which is utilised to consolidate the banks of natural fishpond sand and can be cut for flower arranging. An invasive plant growing to about 3ft high. Planting depth is 3 - 5 inches. The dark green leaves are rough and spiky. C.vegetus is more compact and so more suitable for the average garden fishpond. The leaves are broader than those of C. longus but the stems are only 1- 2ft high. The recommended planting depth is 0 - 4 inches. also it can be grown in a bog garden.

Cotula (Golden Buttons). A handy Marginal, particularly for the small ponds. The spreading leafy clumps are no more than 6 inches tall and are covered all summer long with small yellow button-like flowers. The foliage is scented. Cotula coronopifolia is an annual and meaning that it dies when the flowering season is concluded. This lapnt normally doesn't cause a problem as the plant quickly sets seed and a flush of self-sown seedlings in spring replaces last year's specimens. The suggested planting depth for Cotula is 0 - 5 inches.