Then there is the Clyde Redmond which blooms a little later in the season. Its nice to have different iris blooming at different times of the season. The Wedgwood blue color of this iris adds alot to the pond.

Other than dividing the iris in the early spring they require little care and the rewards of color in your pond are worth it.

The Variegated Cattail is a nice addition to any pond and provides a taller backdrop  for smaller plants around your pond.  In addition, it also is a great pond plant that will attract dragonflies and other wildlife to your water garden.

Graceful Cattails grow in sun to part shade in moist soil to water 12 inches deep and do well in Zones 3-11.  They don’t mind having water above their crown even during winter months and tolerate freezing temperatures well.  Again Graceful Cattails are the same as other cattails and will propagate quickly from division of the rhizomes or easily grown by seed.

This is a hardy plant in Zones 5-11.  It is very free-flowering and a fast grower with a running spread.  It ideally grows in 4-24 inches of water.  The leaves are slightly toothed and an even green, sometimes showing a hint of brown throughout the leaves.  It will bloom throughout the growing season with little to no care.

You can find floating hearts here.

Bog bean has a highly fragrant scent and will bloom late May through July but the flowers don’t last long.   It needs full sun to partial shade and is hardy is Zones 2-7.  It can freeze solid in the winter as long as you leave it in the water and will come back early the next spring.  You can divide it after it has flowered by cutting off the rootstock.

Its a nice plant for your shallow water along the edge of the pond.

You can purchase bog bean, buck bean, Menyanthes trifoliata here.

When you first plant a young iris they require less water until they become established, moist soil, little to no water above the soil line.  Since an iris is considered a marginal pond plant it is best to plant around the perimeter of your pond or bog area.  Most iris will tolerate a range of water depths from moist soil to a few inches of water over their crown once they have become established water plants.  Just make sure the crown of the iris always remains moist or in the water.  The water garden irises benefit greatly from early spring fertilizer and fertilizing throughout the growing season.  You should begin fertilizing irises when the pond temperature reaches 65 degrees and continue to feed them once a month through the growing season, well after they begin to sprout.  You can stop fertilizing them about a month before the last frost free date in your area.  This will allow the iris to harden off for the winter.  If you have no frost in your area stop fertilizing when the plant begins to show signs of going dormant.  This would be when the leaves begin to brown and new growth has stopped.

Depending on the iris you have determines the winter care for it.   Once the foliage dies back and the water temperatures begin to cool down you can trim the leaves back to about an inch or two above the crown of the plant.  You want to make sure they will stay wet throughout the winter.  They do best just by leaving them on the shelf of your pond or marginal area of your pond.   The main goal is to make sure the iris stays moist throughout the winter.   If you do remove the irises from your pond during the winter months where temperatures don’t drop below 25 degrees, make sure you don’t let them dry out.  You can place them in a container filled with 1-4 inches of water or enough water to keep their crowns above the water level.

Buy iris,marginal bog plants here.

It will grow well in sun to part shade and is hardy in Zones 5-11.  It grows best in moist soil to water no more than 4 inches deep.

Sweet flag grows well in sun to shade and requires soil that is constantly moist, and doesn’t like alot of water over their crown.   It will tolerate freezing temperatures and even can freeze solid providing they remain in the water while frozen.  Your dwarf sweet flag will keep its foliage throughout the winter where the regular sweet flag will lose it foliage during the winter.

Another great evergreen type water plant that adds a clean appearance to your water feature.

Variegated Sweet Flag, dwarf variegated sweet flag found here on our site.

A good choice for the water gardeners who have container water gardens.

A graceful cattail’s catkins are very thin and can be used in floral arrangements and are quite attractive.