Water features and ponds add more interest to your garden or landscape, but they can appear a bit bare if nothing grows in them. As a matter of fact, a water feature will not thrive to its full potential without some plants. That is because water plants provide a vital function, including providing cover for land mammals, fish, insects, and birds. Also, the plants help to filter the water and oxygenate, prevent the build-up of algae and help to oxygenate the water.

Along with the ecological purpose they serve, water plants add texture, depth, and color to your garden. A pond filled with water lilies and ferns, and surrounded by taro, cattails, and arrow arums, is a much more fascinating place to have than a barren pond. 

Eden has gathered a list of some plants best for water gardens. Let’s check them in detail:

Sweet Flag

Sweet flag is a bright green monocot, adding a bit of texture around your water garden. Sweet flags develop in clumps, growing via underground rhizomes. It can produce a dense ground cover with time, though it’s not regarded as invasive. Slit off its leaves to get the plant’s sweet scent. 

USDA hardiness zone: 6-9. Some varieties are hardy in 4-11. 

Growing conditions: These marginal plants tolerate full sun and partial shade. They will require more water, if they receive more sun. Sweet flag does not tolerate dry soil. Sweet flags flourish in persistently standing water or moist soil about 4 to 6 inches deep.

Purple Pitcher Plant

Carnivorous purple pitcher plants can be some of the first installations in the boggy areas of your water garden. They’ll grow welI in a bog garden, too. It is a low-maintenance plant, as you don’t need to feed these hungry aquatic plants; they set their own traps.

USDA hardiness zone: 2-9

Growing conditions: Plant these bog carnivores at the edge of your water garden. They thrive in moist soil that isn’t too fertile or rich. Various pitcher plants will need a particular soil mixture, most flourishing in peat moss. Plant it in full sun.

Water Lily

The two main water lily types are: tropical and hardy. If you plant hardy water lilies below the water’s freezing line, they’ll weather the winter. Tropical water lilies cannot survive the cold and will need to be stored through the winter or treated as annuals.

No matter which type you select, tropical and hardy lilies will add color to your water garden, and the lily pads may serve as a resting place for frogs. 

USDA hardiness zone: Hardy water lilies (4-11), Tropical water lilies (9-11)

Growing conditions: Plant your water lilies at the bottom of your water garden in containers and watch their flowers blossom over the surface of the water. Most water lilies can bear only 6 to 18 inches of depth, however, you may need to adjust the depth based on the variety you choose to grow.

Pickerelweed

You can mix up your water garden with different plant heights. Pickerelweed can grow up to 5 feet in height above the water’s surface. A pleasant view is the plant’s purple spears developing toward the sky. 

Pickerelweed offers another benefit for water gardens: It is often used to stabilize natural bodies’ water banks and retention ponds. 

USDA hardiness zone: 3-10

Growing conditions: Pickerelweed thrives well in shallow waters about 3 to 5 inches deep with ample sunlight. Plant it in containers to prevent any unwanted spreading. 

Cardinal Flower

The cardinal plant’s excellent red flowers will be the showstopper in your water garden, and the trumpet-like flowers will attract ruby-throated hummingbirds to your backyard getaway. 

USDA hardiness zone: 3-9

Growing conditions: Cardinal flowers flourish well with morning sun and afternoon shade, the exception is the colder regions where they require full sun. They prefer fertile, moist soil and can withstand poor drainage.

Mosaic Flower

The mosaic flower will change your water garden into a beautiful art piece with its yellow blooms and diamond leaves. 

USDA hardiness zone: 9-11

Growing conditions: Mosaic plants can’t tolerate alkaline water. It requires a pH between 5.5 and 7.5 and may die in a pH above 8. It grows best on pond’s shallow edges and floats on the water’s surface. Grow Mosaic plants in full sun to part shade. 

Corkscrew Rush

Corkscrew rush will fit perfectly into your container garden or water garden, especially if you want an unruly, wild look. Its long blades curl and twist from the base to the flowering foliage. You can add corkscrew rush’s crazy twists and turns for visual interest in your water garden.

USDA hardiness zone: 4-9

Growing conditions: Corkscrew rush thrives best in full sun. The plant will tolerate partial shade in areas with extreme heat. It flourishes in boggy areas and will look perfect close to the water’s edge.

Blue flag iris

The blue flag iris is a clump-forming plant that sprouts up to 3 feet above sword-shaped leaves. Its leaves either arch or stand erect, often growing around 2 feet in height. 

Note that blue flag iris can spread rapidly. It’s best for water gardeners to keep this plant under control if they want their water garden to show off this interesting bloom while also preserving native plants.

USDA hardiness zone: 3-9

Growing conditions: Blue flag iris prefers loamy, organic-rich soil. It can thrive up to 4 inches of standing water or at the water’s edge.

Lotus

Turn your water garden more interesting with the lotus flower’s striking colors and symmetry. 

These pond plants are often confused with water lilies. Keep in mind that the water lily flower floats, while the lotus flower rises well above the water.

USDA hardiness zone: 4-10

Growing conditions: Lotus plants prosper at the bottom of your water garden in submerged containers without drainage holes. The flower will bloom above the surface of the water. These plants favor full sunlight and can tolerate some shade.

Cattail

To bring relaxation to your water garden, plant swaying cattails. Its brown flower will pop open when they are ready to spread their seeds, showing a mass of soft fluff. The wind then disperses these fluffy seed clumps to new areas, allowing cattails to spread easily. 

USDA hardiness zone: 3-10

Growing conditions: Cattails thrive well in moist soil or up to 12 inches of water. Plant the cattails in pots to keep their aggressive rhizomes from spreading. They can handle partial shade but favor full sunlight.

To know the best night-blooming flowers, read the article – 10 Best Night-blooming flowers for your garden. 

In conclusion, the best plants to grow in your water garden are ‒ Sweet Flag, Purple Pitcher Plant, Water Lily, Pickerelweed, and Cardinal flower, to name a few. Choose the ones that best suit your water garden, and also consider their USDA hardiness zone and growing conditions.

Contact Eden today to hire experts to maintain your water garden.