Marginal Pond Plants

Geum rivale is water avens, a native perennial for damp meadows and bog edges. It flowers in late spring with nodding dusky pink blooms. Appearance...

Caltha palustris is marsh marigold, a native marginal that starts the season with bright yellow spring flowers. It’s one of the best early plants f...

Ranunculus flammula is lesser spearwort, a UK native buttercup for wet ground and shallow margins. It’s a simple plant that looks right in natural ...

Lychnis flos-cuculi is ragged robin, a classic damp meadow plant with airy pink flowers. It is ideal for natural bog gardens and damp meadow edges ...

Lysimachia nummularia is creeping jenny, a fast ground cover for wet soil and pond edges. It’s perfect for trailing over rocks and basket rims, and...

Mentha aquatica is water mint, a UK native that thrives in wet ground. It smells like mint when you brush it, and it produces round clusters of lil...

Menyanthes trifoliata is bogbean, a native plant for pools, ditches, and very wet bog ground. It’s a brilliant choice for pond margins because it f...

Pontederia cordata is pickerel weed, a classic pond-margin plant with upright blue-purple flower spikes in summer. It’s a solid choice when you wan...

Iris ensata is Japanese iris, also commonly sold as Iris kaempferi. It is one of the best irises for bog gardens because it loves rich wet soil and...

Cyperus alternifolius 'Gracilis' is a slender form of umbrella sedge grown for its fine stems and airy umbrella heads. It adds vertical lines witho...

Anagallis tenella is bog pimpernel, now often listed as Lysimachia tenella. It’s a tiny native creeper for acidic, peaty wet ground. Use it when yo...

Persicaria amphibia is amphibious bistort. You may also see it listed under the older name Polygonum amphibium. It’s a flexible plant that grows in...

Persicaria bistorta is common bistort, also known as adderwort. It’s a clump-forming perennial for damp soils with pink flower spikes in early summ...

Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' is golden creeping jenny, a fast ground cover for damp soil and pond edges. It’s often used to trail over rocks and b...

Juncus effusus var. spiralis is corkscrew rush, grown for its twisted stems. It’s a strong marginal for pond shelves and bog gardens, and it gives ...

Iris louisiana 'Arabian Bayou' is a Louisiana iris selected for bold colouring and strong growth in wet soil. It is well suited to UK bog gardens w...

Filipendula ulmaria is meadowsweet, a native plant for damp ground with creamy flower heads and a strong scent in warm weather. It’s a solid pick f...

Butomus umbellatus 'Schneeweisschen' is a white-flowered form of flowering rush. It keeps the same upright habit, but the flowers come out clean wh...

Acorus gramineus 'Variegatus' is a variegated sweet flag with cream-striped leaves. It’s a tidy, grassy marginal that brightens pond edges and rais...

Iris pseudacorus 'Variegata' is a variegated yellow flag iris with cream-striped leaves. It gives strong foliage colour from spring onwards and han...

Iris versicolor is blue flag iris, a North American species that thrives in wet soil and shallow water. It flowers in early summer. Appearance It f...

Lobelia siphilitica is a moisture-loving perennial with tall spikes of blue flowers. You will also see it listed as blue lobelia or blue cardinal f...

Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon' is a low, spreading marginal that brings colour even when nothing else is flowering. You might hear it called chamel...

Juncus inflexus is a UK native rush with upright, blue-green stems. It is usually sold as hard rush or blue-green rush. It is one of those plants t...