Perfect plants for Ponds

WITH their sparkles and reflections, darting of pond skaters, lily pads and the lazy flick of a newt’s tail, who doesn’t love a pond? These watery worlds come to life in spring, and now is a good time to assess the balance of aquatic plants working to keep the water clear and fresh.

I prefer to keep disturbance to a minimum, especially as plants such as frogbit and carnivorous, yellow-flowered bladderwort () sink to the bottom for winter and are only just returning to growth. An occasional dredge of leaves and silt one section at a time, or the removal of a large marginal plant for division and replacement, means there will always be safe havens for resting plants