Rancho Santa Fe Ponds
Plants in Your Water Garden
Let's face it. Water gardens really wouldn't be gardens if they didn't have plants. Most of us add aquatic plants to our ponds because of the beauty they bring to the scene. And while plants do improve the aesthetics, they also play an important role in the function of our pond ecosystems. So, while you're lazily relaxing by your pond, the aquatic plants are busy fighting algae and keeping your pond balanced and health.
A Little Biology Lesson
Water Plants provide valuable biological filtration by removing excess nutrients from the water that algae would otherwise use to feed on, resulting in green water, string algae, or both. But algae control is not the only way plants help your water garden.
Submerged aquatic plants also provide food, shade, and protection for the fish and other wildlife that live in and around your pond, and they provide a place for spawning fish to lay their eggs. Plants that are placed around the edges of your pond attract humming-birds, dragonflies, butterflies, and others to your aquatic paradise.