Pond Side Perennials
Unfortunately, it is not all-inclusive and the thing you should watch for in picking your plants is that while some members of a family love the damp soils, some other members might not.
A perfect example of this is Coreopsis or butter daisy. C. rosea does very well in damp situations. C. verticillata also survives quite nicely with a lot of water but C. lanceolata (commonly found in garden centers) will not grow well at all when kept damp. Or, rather I should say that it might grow well for a while but it won’t overwinter in damp soils.
So when looking for pond side perennials, do ensure your choices fit your situation. Here’s a good starting point with this list of plants. Note that some of them are linked to growing instructions and these numbers will continue to increase as I build up the sites. Please use the search box below to check on specific plants.
Acorus is a grass/iris/sedge resembling plant for bog or shallow water planting. One of the most popular are the Sweet Flag Acorus and the much shorter Japanese Rush Acorus
Andromeda or Bog Rosemary is a fine woody plant for always-damp, acidic soils. Rock hardy.
Anemone
Angelica
Arundo donax or Giant Reed is a dynamite bog garden plant for a large garden.
Astilboides
Astrantia or Masterwort(pictured) is an excellent plant for shady sites or wet spots. Here's how to grow it and propagate it.
Athyrium
Artemisia
Aruncus or Goatsbeard is a wonderful plant for sun or shade.
Asclepias
Astilbe are one of the highlights of the spring-summer-fall pond side garden.
Calceolaria
Caltha
Carex is a grass like plant that thrives in damp soil
Chelone
Coreopsis
Dodecatheon
Eupatorium
Euphorbia
Filipendula
Geum
Gunnera pictured is one of my favorite pond side perennials even though it is quite tender. Making up for its tenderness is it's "hugeness". :-
Q&A - I've got gunnera problems The stems are being eaten - what can I do?
Helianthus
Hosta care is easy in a damp garden if you take care of slugs. Here's how.
Houttuynia
Inula
Hibiscus are one of the tallest and biggest blooming plants in the damp perennial garden. Here's how to propagate and grow them.
Iris for the pond side garden come in several different "flavours". One of the stateliest - and most intriguing are the Japanese Iris.
Juncus
Ligularia
Lobelia
Luzula
Lysimachia or Loosestrife is a vigorous spreading plant that will grow almost anywhere.
Mazus
Mertensia
Milium
Mimulus
Myosotis scorpoides or Aquatic Forget Me Nots are wonderful blue flowering spring plants for the bog or shallow water.
Persicaria
Petasites
Phalaris
Physostegia
Primula
Ranunculus
Rheum
Rodgersia
Rumex
Saccharum or Northern Pampas Grass is easily grown if you follow one growing rule.
Salix
Sanguisorba•Senecio
Sisyrinchium
Smilacina
Trollium
Selaginella
Symphytum
Tradescantia is a fine pond side perennial and is one of those plants that bloom almost all summer if happy and one that doesn't appear in most gardens. Here's how to grow it.
Trollius
Typha
Vernonia
Veronicastrum
Woodwardia
Questions and Answers
Please use the form below to ask questions about pond side perennials.
Please also understand that while we'd both love to get your question answered right away, I do get hundreds every week across my gardening sites. I do my best but there are always some that don't get answered. If yours is one of these, please accept my apologies.
Need to ask a question about Pondside Perennials
If you want to ask a question, please do so here. Please give as many details as possible - the more details we share, the more likely it is that you'll get a helpfuli answer for your climate and problem.
I do try to answer as many questions every week as possible but I can't make any guarantees I can answer every one.
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See What Other Visitors Haves Asked About Perennials for Damp Spots
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Ducks!!!
Do you know of any plants which the ducks will not consider a buffet?
Doug says - ducks usually aren't a problem in ornamental ponds but can present ...
Japanese Iris
