Grasses are one of the most versatile pond garden plants, whether you’re looking for tall ornamental grass or carpet-forming aquatic grasses these plants elevate any pondside or garden. Variegated grasses such as Reed Sweet Grass, are colourful, self-propagating grasses that grows in wet or submerged conditions, sometimes producing feathery panicles tinged with pink in spring and purple in autumn. Sedges, rushes and reed grass varieties also prefer moisture retentive or submerged conditions, and Dwarf Hairgrass has fine vibrant green stems that grow along the pond floor and is great for brightening and oxygenating murky ponds.
Nestled amongst wildlife meadows and resident ducks, Caroline’s award winning pond plant nursery in Enfield has been making a splash since 1965, when they invented the (recycled, obvs) aquatic basket. Sixty years and multiple RHS gold medals later, they’re still surprising us with new varieties every year!
Need help picking?
Which pond grass?
There are a huge number of different pond grasses from which to choose, including the bulrush with its corndog-esque flower spikes, the sweet flag with its slender, blade-like leaves and the pendulous sedge with its hanging, catkin-like flowers. If you want to create a native pond garden, choose rushes, sedges or reed sweet grasses. For the most dramatic impact, choose a corkscrew rush for its spiralling, twisted foliage. If you’re creating a pond/bog garden with sensory elements, then opt for the tactile fibreoptic plant or the sounds of a sweet galingale rustling in the breeze.
Pond grass planting schemes
Pond grasses are as versatile as they are lovely to look at. Pond grasses that prefer to be submerged, like Brazilian micro sword and water soldier, go particularly well with water lilies and water crowfoot. More marginal pond grasses, like rushes, flags and sedges, look great planted alongside water irises, bog pimpernel and ragged robin. In a bog garden featuring damp, moist soil but not any open water in the form of a pond or stream, plants such as star grass pair brilliantly with hostas, ferns, astilbes and euphorbias.
Caring for pond grasses
Pond grasses are typically nice and easy to look after. Unsurprisingly, they prefer perennially moist conditions, while full sun to partial shade is typically preferable in terms of light levels. If you’re planting a pond grass in submerged conditions, plant it in an aquatic pot/basket; this helps the plant’s roots to spread but also keeps it nice and secure. If you notice your pond grasses becoming overcrowded, consider lifting and dividing.
