Plants in and around the water.

I thought I'd share some of what is growing in and around the pond and water garden now.  It was so sunny, that after my plant shopping yesterday I went to work in the yard.  I'm starting a little water garden this year in a new area.  I've moved this planter around the yard, like I do furniture in the house.  Last year it was on my front porch, but it doesn't get much sun there so around to the back it went.  This is just a "whiskey barrel" with a 20 gallon liner in it.  I have just two plants in it right now.  One is my new water hyacinth which will get lavender flowers.  It floats on the surface of the pond and sends down very long roots.  It is a great natural filter in a pond with fish in it.  I do know that in some states it's illegal to plant these because they will quickly take over natural ponds, lakes and rivers.  Here it is an annual and dies with the first frost.

The other new plant is Miniature Cattail (typha minima).  I have one of these in my pond and I just love it.  It gets to be 2 to 3 feet tall and small versions of cattails grow in the late summer.   I put a plant like this up on bricks so that the crown isn't too far under water.

I'm trying to find yellow flag iris (iris pseudacorus) and another plant or two to add to this container, hopefully a Lobelia siphilitica (Cardinal Flower).

I bought a new floating plant for the pond as well called Fairy Moss (azolla caroliniana).  I planned to take a picture of it since it's such a small amount when you first buy it.  As I was doing something else my littlest gardener told me she needed some new water.  She was holding the cup it came in, empty!

Trying to get information from a 2 year old is not easy.  I kept asking her where the water was, did the dog drink it?  Where is  it?  She pointed to this ground cover and told me it was in there.  Trying to pick it out of there wasn't easy, I only found some of it.

So here is part of what I was able to recover.  A very small amount will quickly multiply over the summer and cover the whole pond if I let it.  The foliage gets a very reddish hue in the fall and occasionally it will survive the winter.

Some of the plants growing on the shady side of the pond are really starting to look good. I've tried to plant spring, summer and early fall blooming flowers and ground covers in this area. Astillbe, hostas, chelone glabra, ligularia 'Othello', oxalis oregana, sweet woodruff and ferns are mostly what are here.

This is one of the many hostas and you can see the Water hawthorn floating in the pond in the background.

I love the new growth on this fern, it even feels as soft as it looks.   I wish I could remember the variety.

Having the option to buy water plants makes plant shopping even more fun.  The nursery we went to has a very large selection of floating, marginal and deep water plants.  Now I have an excuse to go back so I can replace the missing Fairy Moss!

Don't forget to enter my water garden book giveaway, it's located at the top of my sidebar.

Compost, Cosmos and Clematis!

Yesterday ended up being a fairly productive day in the yard.  At first it was kind of cold and I thought I wouldn't make it outside.  There are some days I don't mind being cold while I work, but yesterday wasn't one of them.  Luckily the sun came out in the afternoon and it warmed up a bit.  I managed to get another 10 bags of compost spread.  I know I need at least 15 or 20 more, but it sure is starting to look nice now.  That black gold really makes everything stand out.  Plus after all that work I didn't feel guilty finishing off a chocolate Easter bunny!

 I had a packet of Cosmos 'Bright Lights' that I planted too.  I have an area where the colors sort of clash.  I'm hoping these will help to transition from a pink and purple flower area into a yellow and red area. If it doesn't look great I just won't plant them next year, that's the nice thing about annuals.

Recently I bought a couple of  large blue planters that I wasn't sure what to do with.  I decided to put one in the middle of a flower bed.  Sometimes a large container with a few tall plants gives some nice added height.  I planted a few of the winter sown Cosmos 'Sensation Mix' in it and I'll probably just add more annuals for now.  

I wanted to plant the winter sown larkspur and hollyhocks but I ran out of time.  I also have some other seeds that I'd like to get planted, once the frost date is past I can plant almost all of my seeds except the sunflowers and zinnias.  Those I usually wait to do until the weather is a little warmer. 

Next, I tied up some clematis.  They seem to really just come back so much stronger each year.  I really don't do anything special for them other that try to prune them at the right time.  There's almost always one that will be the perfect height for growing up a post or along a fence or over a trellis.  You can usually find different ones that can tolerate anything from shade to full sun.  I think I counted I have about 7 different varieties now, and am always adding more.  Now that I have the nice blank space on the new fence I'll be looking for a new one.  The clematis jackmanii is growing like a weed, it's really probably my best performer.  It's already getting flower buds.

I also have 'Nelly Moser' growing with it.  It doesn't grow nearly as fast.

Today is supposed to be another nice day, my best garden friend and I have plans to go plant shopping.  I have a long list of plant wants, but I'm trying to pace myself!

Yeah for April Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

It's already time for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  I find that I start looking through my gardens days ahead to see what might be in bloom.  The fun part is I still find more the day I take my pictures along with signs of what will be blooming soon.  Lots of flower buds appearing overnight right now.

Here is brunnera, I don't know the variety, but love the forget-me-not looking flowers.

Muscari, lots and lots of it.   This is the first year I've seen hummingbirds on it!

I finally was able to get this identified, it's leucojum 'Snowflake'.  Thanks to all of you who helped me the day I posted another one of these blooms.  I think I need to add more since there are only a few that came up.  I don't even remember planting them.

Ribes sanguineum I know I've posted pictures of it quite a few times, but this is a new picture of a flower all the way open.

White vinca minor

White marsh marigold (caltha palustris).  A very dependable water plant.

Water Hawthorn (aponogeton distachyus).  Lots of blooms on this now, they look so pretty floating on the water.  I still haven't gotten close enough to see if they smell like vanilla.

Primula denticulata, the only one not damaged by the late snow.  The rest look very sad.

The weeping cherry tree is in full bloom.  I love how the petals look like snow on the ground below it.

Daphne x transatlantica  'Summer Ice' This one is hard to photograph, it never looks as good in a picture as it does in person.

Clematis armandii Still not in full bloom and the flowers are about half of their normal size.  Maybe next year...

Camellia japonica 'Kumasaka'  Lots of blooms finally opened, although there are still quite a few buds.

Pieris japonica 'Purity' It's first year in bloom in my garden, I can't wait until it's larger and even more showy.

For more blooms today, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.