Winding Stream Garden
If you have a sloping yard you can build a lovely water garden. 1st choose your site, then decide what type of water garden you would like to have, a waterfall where the top part is higher than the lower with a lip for the water to fall over into the lower pond or a simple meandering pond. After you have dug your pond, line it with a water garden liner available at your local home improvement store. Set large flat rocks atop the liner, along the bank to hold the liner in place.Now add a pond pump to keep the water circulating from top to bottom.
Hosta Crispila: this tall hosta with leaves reaching 2 1/2 feet high with a equal spread has pale mauve, trumpet shaped flowers in mid summer with heart shaped leaves edged in white. Needs moist, well drained soil and should be planted around the banks of the pond. Zones 4-9.
Holly Fern is another plant for the outer edges of the pond. This plant has holly like leaflets and dark green, leathery, fronds. Likes moist, rich, well drained soil in semi-shade. Zones 7-9.
Pickernel Rush is to be planted in the water. Sometimes called a weed this is a deciduous, perennial, marginal water plant. Dense spikes of blue flowers, emerge between glossy, lance shaped, dark green leaves. Needs full sun and wet soil. Height 30 inches ( 75cm ), spread 18 inches ( 45 cm ). Zones 4 - 9.
Striped Sweet Flag is to be planted in the pond. This lovely plant with it's tiny, white flowers on dense clumps of narrow, green leaves will grow in as little as 3 to 6 inches of water. Height and spread 1 1/2 feet. Zones 5-9. 4 Leaf Water Clover has floating leaves of brown, green and yellow and will grow in 3 to 12 inches of water. Height 1/2 inch and spread of 2 to f feet. Zones 6 -11.
Additional Water plants:
Water Hyacinth: this beautiful evergreen or semi-evergreen perennial has glossy leaves, floating on air filled leaf stalks. Bears spikes of blue and lilac flowers in summer. Can become invasive in warm conditions. Likes full sun, wet soil. Spread 9 inches ( 23cm ).
Myosotis scorpisides " Mermaid" is a deciduous, perennial, marginal water plant for very shallow water or mud. Narrow leaves form sprawling mounds of small blue forget-me-not flowers throughout summer. Needs full sun and moist soil. Height 6 inches ( 15cm ), spread 12 inches ( 30cm ). Zones 4-10.
Dwarf Cattail is a deciduous, perennial, marginal water plant with grass like leaves. Spikes of rust brown flowers in spring are succeeded by decorative miniature cattails. Needs full sun and wet soil. Height 18 to 24 inches ( 45 to 60cm ) spread of 12 inches ( 30cm ). Zones 6-9.
Water Chestnut is a annual floating plant with diamond shaped leaves, often marked purple, arranged in neat rosettes. Bears pretty white flowers in summer. Needs sun and wet soil. Spread 9 inches. Zones 6-10
Flowering Rush is a deciduous, perennial, rushlike, marginal water plant with narrow, twisted leaves and umbels of pink to rose-red flowers in summer. Needs sun and wet soil. Height 3 feet. ( 1 m), spread 1 1/2 feet ( 45 cm ). Zones 6-10.
Caltha leptosepala is a deciduous, perennial, marginal water plant with heart shaped, dark green leaves and buttercup like white flowers, produced in spring. Needs full sun and moist soil. Height and spread 12 inches ( 30cm ). Zones 5 - 9.
Maidenhair Fern is to be planted beside the pond and is a semi-evergreen or evergreen fern with dainty, triangular to oval, segmented, arching, light green fronds on black stems. Half hardy. Height and spread of 12 inches ( 30 cm ).
Cardinal Flower to be planted around banks of pond. This bright, clump forming, perennial bears racemes of 2 lipped, brilliant, scarlet flowers from mid to late summer. Lance shape leaves may be fresh green or red bronze. Height 3 feet ( 1m) and spread of 9 inches ( 23cm ).
Camassia Quamash is a clump forming bulb plant that produces long, narrow, erect, basal leafs. Each leaflet's stem bears a dense spike of star shaped, blue, violet or white flowers, 3 inches or 7cm across. Height 8 to 32 inches ( 20 to 80cm ), spread of 8 to 12 inches ( 20 to 30cm ).