Marginal Plants For The Garden Pond.

This plant deserves the full article all of its own. You can get three species of Iris that are considered for being true aquatic plants for growing all year round within the shallows of your pond and i believe it to be unthinkable to have a group of Marginals without having one of these gorgeous plants growing in your pond. The most important variety for the ordinary garden pond is Iris Ieavigata (Japanese Water Iris). The 3 petalled blooms are somewhere in the area of about 5 inches across and they are borne on 2 ft. high stems. The 1st flowers usually start to open in June and are clear blue in colour with a yellow line down the centre of every petal. A second flush of blooms may well appear in September depending on the environment that you live in.

There are a number of varieties that you are able to choose from 'Snowdrift' (white with 6 petals), 'Dorothy' (blue with a white line down the centre of each petal), 'Variegata' (blue, leaves variegated yellow and green) as well as the hybrid I. 'Rose Queen' (rose-pink).

The planting depth for I. laevigata and its varieties is 0 - 3 inches. I.pseudacorus (Yellow Flag or Yellow Water Iris) is more vigorous and taller than I. Iaevigata. The foliage is 3 - 4ft. lond and the yellow flowers are on stems which can reach as high as 3 ft. The variety is simply too course for ordinary garden ponds but the variety 'Variegata' (2 - 2.5 ft. high) with its more restrained growth habit and cream leaves edged with green makes it an exceptional choice. Other varieties include 'Sulphur Queen' and 'Bastardii'. The planting depth for I. pseudacorus and its varieties is 2 - 4 inches.

The 3rd aquatic variety is I. versicolor (American Blue Flag). This is a restrained plant for the smaller pond. Its leaves are 2 ft. long and the flower stalks are 1.5 - 2 ft. in hight. The violet blue flowers begin to show in June or July and they have narrow petals blotched with gold at the base. The popular variety is 'Kermesina' with claret red flowers dotted with white. The planting depth for I. versicolor and its varieties is 2 - 4 inches.

Propagation: To propagate the individual plants, all you need to do is divide the clumps when the flowering has finished and your plants will thrive.

That virtually covers all that I want to say about this gorgeous plant. I do hope that I have not gone on too long about the Iris, but I do feel strongly them. From a personal perspective, if you haven't got an Iris or two growing in your pond then you really need to add them. You certainly won't regret it. The vibrant colours and sizes of these plants will amaze you as well as any visitors which you may have. I could have made this short article considerably longer but I do not want the readers getting bored. Please, give the Iris a chance.

A lot of my time is spent in my garden. I have been looking for help regarding how to develop the perfect pond habitat for those fish which I will stock it with without much luck. To get the help I will need I have decided to make use of a company called Landscape Gardeners. Up to now they have given me all the help and advice that I have asked for, as and when I ask them for it.