Landscaping Around Your Pond

You have dreamed of a pond or water feature for years and now you are ready. You have a vision of what the finished project will look like, but need help getting there. If you are like many of our clients, your water feature and landscape is a complete package. Meaning not only do you have a beautiful pond or water feature, but also beautiful landscaping around your pond or water feature. Below I will share just some of the possibilities.

Your pond is done and it looks and sounds beautiful. It is new to you and it seems perfect, but it is only halfway complete. To finish and really enhance the already beautiful feature, we need to landscape the area around your pond. Landscaping around your pond might include hardscapes such as a sitting area/patio made of natural stone. It will most certainly include planting around the the pond edges and also plants venturing out into your already existing landscape. Then mulch to give the landscaping around your pond a finished appearance.

Planting around your pond will have the largest impact on the overall look. Plants will soften the hard look of natural stone and break up the overall appearance, providing a naturalization of your ponds landscape.

Recommended ground covers include (depending on sun conditions)

Dymondia ground Cover

1. Dymondia Margaretae ‘ Dymondia’  a variegated bladed evergreen, hardy ground cover that has a yellow bloom. It’s great for full or partial sun, and between stepping stones.
2. Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin Thyme’ is a very lush and thick ground cover that provides a wonderful fragrance when stepped on or disturbed. Great from full sun to partial shade and is an evergreen.
3. Sagina subulata ‘Aurea’ Scotch Moss is a very popular ground cover due to it’s chartreuse yellow coloring and carpet like appearance filling between stones. Sun exposure is full sun to partial shade, but can show signs of stress mid summer. It will however comeback in the fall season. Scotch Moss is an evergreen and will bloom in the late Spring and Summer.
4. Sagina subulata Irish Moss is another very popular ground cover used between stones and has a very lush bright green foliage. Like Scotch Moss it can dry out during mid-summer but does come back in the fall. Irish moss does not like dry conditions or wet conditions, it is critical to keep moderate watering levels. Irish Moss is also an Evergreen.

Recommended Perennials (keep in mind some perennials in our zone 9b may be annuals in another zone)

1. Heuchera Coral Bells is an evergreen perennial native to regions in North America. Heuchera is one of my favorites because of the many varieties and how the varieties perform in different sun exposures. If you are looking for texture, color and showy blooms Huechera is your plant. Choose wisely for your sun exposure.
2. 

   Everything! Water, Landscaping, Hardscape, Color!

   Coreopsis is a beautiful ‘Daisy like’ flowering perennial with many varieties and colors to choose from. Very easy to care for, low water use and a great plant for flower cuttings. Coreopsis is a very showy plant and blooms from Spring to the end of Fall. Full sun.

3. Verbena is a genus in the family Verbenaceae and contains about 250 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas and Asia (Wikipedia). In our Northern California climate, this prolific blooming plant performs as a perennial, however the lifespan can be just a few seasons without providing occasional fertilizing. Either as a mat of color or creeping over and around boulders, Verbena is an incredible looking plant around ponds and water features.
4. Perennial Grasses need a category of their own since there are so many varieties and looks to grasses. Many varieties work amazing and perform well around your water feature.
5. Sedums are also a Perennial that could be classified in their own category because of the many different varieties in color and texture. They are very drought tolerant and require little care.

Recommended Trees and Shrubs

1. Acer palmatum Green Japanese Maple and Acer palmatum ‘bloodgood’ red Japanese Maple are just two of many wonderful choices of Japanese maples for around your pond. From Sun to partial shade there are varieties to suit your landscape.
2. Juniperus scopulorum ‘Tolleson’s Blue Weeping’, Yes this is a juniper, but not like what you would normally envision. This weeping juniper tree has amazing structure and sure to be a focal point in your landscape. Full Sun.
3. Nandina domestica ‘Firepower’ Heavenly Bamboo is a dwarf variety that we use often because of the color variations troughout the year. Look it up, you will be amazed at this compact shrub. Full Sun.
4. Pieris japonica is a very showy shrub with many varieties including ‘Cavatine’ which grows to a height of 2’-3’ and has very lush white blooms. Full sun to part shade.

Hardscape’s – Patios, Walkways, Walls, Stairs, Stepping Stones

Stults Pondless Waterfall, Landscaping and Hardscape

Hardscape’s include patios, walkways, stepping stones, sitting walls, and stairs. A variety of materials can be used. Our favorites are natural stone materials to blend in naturally with your pond and landscape. With natural stones a formal look and a very organic natural look can be achieved by the type of material chosen and the style of construction.

These are just a few of the possibilities for landscaping around your pond. There are so many other great plants and I know I left out some favorites. Please, if you have any questions regarding your entire pond or water feature project including the landscape, contact us here.