Ground Cover Plants Around Ponds
Ground cover plants stay low to the ground, keeping the soil cool by giving shade. The areas around ponds stay wet most of the year and this water retention can drown many plants that favor normal to dry dirt. On the other hand, the best-growing ground covers tolerate wet or sloping dirt. Mix a variety of plant types to achieve a natural appearance when planting around ponds.
Ornamental Grass
Ornamental grass plants provide vertical elements to the landscape, forming clumps of foliage. Ribbon grass (Phalaris arundinacea) creates an evergreen upright clump of pastel green spiky leaves reaching 14 inches tall with yellow stripes on the broader leaves. In U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, green blossoms blossom in the summer. This bud is a fast grower, but not considered invasive in California. “Northern Lights” tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa “Northern Lights”) grows best in USDA zones 5 through 9 with narrow variegated blades in gray, green and gold reaching 1 to 3 feet tall and 12 inches wide in clumps with 3-foot-tall airy flower plumes. This evergreen grass turns gold with pink tips in the autumn.
Flowering Ground Compatibility
Flowering ground covers provide a burst of color during the warmer months of this year, adding extra beauty to the pond. Fragrant carpet (Pratia angulata) creates black creeping comes covered in small green leaves and white pink-tinted blossoms from late spring through early summer. In USDA plant hardiness zones 6 through 10, these dense mats reach only 1 inch tall spreading 8 to 12 inches wide. Toad lily (Tricyrtis formosana) grows star-shaped blooms in white, pink and lilac with reddish-purple spots in USDA zones 6 through 9. All these upward-facing blooms appear in the autumn along arching stems reaching 2 to 3 feet tall and two feet wide. This shade-loving perennial creates green leaves with lemon-yellow edges.
Low-Growing Shrubs
Low-growing shrubs stay close to the ground spreading over a wide area. Dwarf fetterbushes (Leucothoe fontanesiana “Nana”) hit only two to three feet tall whilst spreading up to 6 ft wide with leathery evergreen leaves and upright divisions in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 through 8 . This North American native covers itself with urn-shaped white spring blooms and develops a bronze-red tint to its autumn leaves. “Stoke’s Dwarf” yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria “Stoke’s Dwarf”) creates an evergreen 2- to 3-foot-tall mound of small leaves spreading 4 feet wide in USDA zones 7 through 11. The white spring blooms of the North American native bush attract birds into the pond.
Showy Foliage
Showy foliage plants put on a screen using mostly their leaves, giving the pond a tropical appearance. “Chameleon” houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata “Chameleon”) grows in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 through 11, spreading rapidly with vertical stems reaching 12 inches tall, covered at heart-shaped variegated leaves in gray-green, gold and cream colors and fragrant white summer blooms . “Fortunei Albo-marginata” hostas (Hosta “Fortunei Albo-marginata”) grow best in USDA zones 3 through 9 with deep green shield-shaped leaves edged in white, forming clumps that are 3 feet tall and wide. This shade-loving plant creates funnel-shaped purple-pink summer blossoms in addition to 32-inch-tall stalks.