Ask any homeowner which room they’d like to upgrade most in their house and they’ll jump to answer “the kitchen!” or “the bathroom!” When rooms aren’t freshened with a coat of paint or updated with a new dishwasher or plumbing fixtures, they start to look tired and outdated. It can be the same for your water garden. Sure, that yellow waterlily looks beautiful year after year, but you might find yourself wanting to add a bit more visual interest. Perhaps the easiest way to lend more pop to your pond is by adding aquatic plants. You can use a few interior design principles to assist in giving your pond a plant makeover. Mix TexturesA variety of plant textures creates visual interest in your water garden. Frothy parrots feather contrasts nicely against spiky, architectural sweetflag. When you’re at the water gardening store, set two plants next to each other and see if you find the pairing pleasing to your eye. You can even turn a critical eye to terrestrial plants. Container gardens are highly popular, and it might help to look at some of the nursery’s plant combinations before choosing your aquatic plants. For example, the velvety, rounded leaf of a geranium is often paired with a taller spiky plant and a dainty trailing plant. Use this same design concept for the water garden. The Tall and Short of ItInterior designers always combine a variety of furniture heights in a room in order to avoid monotony. Likewise, you want the eye to travel around your pond, exploring hills and valleys that you create with plants. An expanse of water lettuce bobbing on the pond’s surface draws the eye toward a stately hibiscus. When placing plants in and around the pond, be sure to position shorter plants in front of taller ones. Otherwise, the view of the short plant is blocked. Considering the Color WheelWhen it comes to flowering plants, quite often you’ll choose your favorite colors. But if yellow is your favorite, your pond might look a little ho-hum with yellow waterlilies, marsh marigold, and yellow snowflake. By adding purple, directly opposite of yellow on the color wheel, you’ve just created colorful drama in your pond. Consider too, the surrounding colors of the landscape and house. Why not choose a color or two from terrestrial plants (or even the trim colors on your home) and bring them into your pond to tie the entire landscape together? Focal PointsSeasoned designers know the importance of providing a focal point, a place where the eye can rest for a moment. In a dining room, it might be an elegant china cabinet. In your pond, it might be a grand lotus or colorful grouping of waterlilies. The focal point must be impressive enough to captivate the eye and invite it to linger awhile. Some type of flowering plant is always a good choice! Real Life InspirationIf you’re like most people and need to see things put together before deciding if they’ll look good, then simply turn to visual sources to help you choose plants for your pond. A water gardening magazine or website will have photos to peruse for ideas on plant combinations. Attending a local pond tour provides first-hand opportunity to see plants together in a pond. You’ll also benefit from asking the homeowner for information about the performance of the plants in their pond. Have FunThe great thing about plants is, if you decide you don’t like the way they look, you can always move them! So have fun and experiment with color and placement. Be brave and try some new aquatic plants, too. Water gardening should be enjoyable, so no need to be a perfectionist when designing your pond plant layout. Remember the overarching principle when it comes to design … “Rules are made to be broken!” For more information on aquatic plants or pond installation and maintenance, call Waterscapes Pro at 704-365-6700 or log ontowww.waterscapespro.com.
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