Water Hawthorn (Aponogenton)
Aponogeton distachyos is probably one of the most effective Deep-water aquatics, undoubtedly an easy plant to grow with leaves which are often evergreen and flowers that appear for months on end. These curious flowers borne on spikes which float at the surface, each flower has waxy white petals and black anthers. The fragrance is strong, variously described as 'vanilla and 'Hawthorn-like'. The oblong leaves can be blotched with brown and also the eventual spread is about 2 ft. Unlike a Water Lily it will eventually flourish in partial shade and moving water, but be sure that it is deep enough for those tubers to be below the ice in winter.
Pond Lily (Nuphar)
This is certainly a relative from the Water Lily family nonetheless it isn’t as attractive as it's illustrious cousin. The flowers are small, rather plain and are carried on thick stems above the water. There are, however, one or two distinct advantages, light ans shade is not a problem and neither is moving water. For an average sized pond choose 'Nuphar minima' (N. pumila). The yellow flowers are about 1inch across and the under-water foliage is translucent. Unfortunately, the types on offer can be the enormous ones for example N. lutea (Brandy Bottle) with its 3 inch bottle shaped yellow flowers which smell strongly of alcohol. This really is only ideal for a huge pond or lake.
Water Fringe (Nymphoides)
There is just one basic species - Nymphoides peltata, commonly known as Floating Heart. In the catalogues you may find it listed as Villarsia bennettii or Limnanthermum nymphoides. The miniature Water Lily-like leaves measure about 2 inches across and are sometimes crinkly edged and blotched or spotted with brown. The 11/2 inch yellow flower is more sort of a Buttercup than a Water Lily, and also the petal edges are fringed. The blooms are borne in small clusters. This is certainly a useful plant for giving rapid surface cover before Water Lilies have become established, but it could get out of hand.
Golden Club (Orontium)
Orontium aquaticum is mostly a trouble free and non-invasive plant with just one fussy requrement, it does need a lot of soil, so remember to plant it inside a deep Water Lily basket. It will grow in shallow water, but it reqiures a planting depth of not less than 1ft. if you'd like the leaves to float on the water surface rather than standing erect out of the water. The foliage is attractive with blue-green above and silvery below. The superlative feature of this member from the Arum family is the weird flower head. This stands above the water like a pure white pencil with a tip that's coloured gold by a mass of small yellow florets. This is one aquatic plant that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.
Author Resource:
For my next article I’ll be writing about the floating plants that you may consider placing into your pond. There are eight in particular that I want to mention so I may have to separate them into a couple of small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would also like to take this chance to thank the 'gardener london ' company that have given me help and advise throughout the countless years that I’ve been gardening.
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