No garden is entirely complete without a water feature. Every garden needs at least one, whether it is a birdbath, a fountain, a planted tub or a pond filled with beautiful plants, fish and frogs. As you can see I am getting carried away, water gardening is my passion and I grow a variety of water plants in my little nursery. This month I like to show you how easy and rewarding it is to put together a little water garden in a tub or any other beautiful container. The choices of containers are endless and the variety of water plants is big and so is the fun. Water plants are easy to grow and keep in mind, as long as you keep your water garden filled, you cannot under- or over water the plants. Large ponds or small containers, the basic rule of good water gardening remains the same: planting and stocking the pond or container to achieve a natural ecological balance, which results in clear water. A wonderful first choice for a miniature pond is a half whiskey barrel lined with a plastic insert (available at Ace or Home Depot), or a big plastic flower pot without holes (holes can be plucked up with a cork and silicone). Copper or tin containers should be avoided or lined with an EPDM liner because the material is toxic to aquatic plant and animal life. Clay pots need to be also lined with a liner or painted with non-toxic aquatic paint to make them water tight. The non-toxic paint is very expensive, it is better to choose another container. A half-barrel makes a perfect miniature pond. It holds about 18 gallons and has room for all the basic plants that make a water environment attractive and working. It has room for a miniature water lily like Helvola; this plant has Dollar sized leaves and very light small yellow flowers. This little gem is a very good bloomer and does well with some shade opening its flowers a little later than most lilies and staying open longer. It is one of my favorite. Other good choices are Perry's Baby Red and Variegated Four Leave Clover. These plants go on the bottom of the tub and will shade the water. This is very important because it will give the algae less light to grow. Another very important plant to make it all work is Elodea or Canadian Pondweed. This plant grows fully emerged and will oxygenate the water and filter it. Add one marginal upright plant like Cattails or Bull Rush or Horsetail for the vertical look and another lower growing plant, maybe something flowering like Hytthunia with its white flowers or miniature Pickerel Rush flowering in bluish-purple or white or Mimilus flowering in blue, yellow and red to soften the looks. Nice are also the miniature grasses, there is the miniature variegated Acorus, a plant from Japan, or the Fiber Optic plant that drapes over the tub or the grass-like Rain Lilies that blooms in white. To finish the look I add some floating plants.

Unfortunately my all-time favorite, the Water Hyathints are not available anymore, they are considered invasive species and banned. There is still Water Lettuce and Frog Bit and Duckweed available. In the right conditions these plants are also invasive as are most aquatic plants, if they grow to well, take some out and share them with friends or compost them. Aquatic plants are rich in nitrogen and make great compost. I also like to add some bare rooted plants to my water gardens. These are easy to add, just tuck them in where you want them. The best ones are Parrots Feather, a very airy looking light green plant that floats on the water surface and Ludwegia or Primrose Creeper; the flowers are yellow and look like Primroses. This plant likes to have its roots in the water but like to drape over the edge. To complete the set-up it is nice to add a little pump and some kind of spitter to have the sound of the water and to get things moving, but it will work also without it, as long as you keep adding water and keep the water level up. The marginal plants like to have water over there crowns to one inch. I do not advise to add fish to this set-up; it is just not practical for the new tub owner. Goldfish will soon outgrow this environment and than what? If you have bigger ponds like me, it is no problem. As soon as a fish has out grown a tub garden, which is in one year I add him to my existing ponds or find a good home for him. Guppies are a good choice for a tub garden but they do not survive the winter cold here and need to be kept in an aquarium. Mosquito fish are hardy but really need more swimming space than a tub garden can offer. To avoid Mosquito problems, the running water will help, but to be on the safe side it is better to add a Mosquito Dunk. This is a Doughnut-shaped devise that contains a Bacillus that is toxic to Mosquito Larvae but will not bother Birds or Dogs or other aquatic life. Your little Water Garden will soon attract Dragonflies and Damselflies. These wonderful insects will breed in your little garden and take care of the Mosquito larvae and when they immerge they will be very beneficial to your garden. To keep everything going the plants need to be fertilized. There is a special fertilizer for Water Lilies; Marginal Plants are usually fertilized for the season. For the floaters and bare rooted plants it would be helpful to buy some aquatic fertilizer at your pet shop. Never use regular plant fertilizer, it will spoil your little set up and give you an algae bloom. Now go out there and buy that pot and set yourself something up you always wanted and have fun with it. What a wonderful summer it will be, and in our climate the hole thing is hardy, most plants will survive in a little pond like this.