Informal Water Garden Planting: Naturalistic Design with Hidden Structure

Creating a Naturally Beautiful Informal Water Feature

Informal planting is deeply personal—what delights one gardener leaves another cold. Water's visual qualities (reflections, movement) are as important as plants. The challenge: a well-balanced, manageable scheme that looks cared-for without evidence of control.

Baskets help—place potentially invasive plants cheek-by-jowl, confident they'll stay put. But containers create rigid blocks; soften edges with ingenuity and occasional underplanting.

Pair stiff uprights (Schoenoplectus, zebra rush) with low marginals in the same basket: brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) or water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)—non-invasive roots, one upright + one lower per basket. Don't repeat pairings or formality returns.

A Summer-Centric Feature

Accept that water gardens peak in summer. Winter stillness is less effective than in formal pools. Plan for mid-summer impact. Synchronize adjacent groups' flowering: cotton grass (Eriophorum) + water forget-me-not; pickerel (Pontederia) + flowering rush (Butomus). Spring: bog bean (Menyanthes) + marsh marigold (Caltha). Contrast gold/green variegated Iris pseudacorus 'Variegata' with glossy bog arum (Calla palustris, white sail spathes).

Theming Informal Plantings

Cottage-garden style suits some, but if your garden isn't that tradition, theme your planting. Pink/white theme: red water lily 'Firecrest' centerpiece, vanilla-scented white water hawthorn (Aponogeton) in deep water (2–3 groups in large pools). Clear water essential—no floaters. Margins: Houttuynia cordata (purplish foliage, white flowers), plum Iris versicolor 'Kermesina', silvery-white Caltha leptosepala, pink Butomus. Extend into bog garden: deep carmine Primula pulverulenta, pink candelabra primulas, stately P. japonica 'Postford White'. Later distraction: Aruncus sylvestris, Astilbe 'White Gloria' (feathery white spires, handsome foliage).

Disguising the Mechanics

Conceal pond edges, liners, containers. Done well, it elevates the display; done poorly, it detracts. Where container pairings are impractical, use creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia): push short cuttings into container tops, let bright green foliage cascade. Equally at home carpeting bog plants. Modest roots, well-behaved foliage—perfect.

Formal gardens may prefer fewer plants, prioritizing open water or moving water. Then plant selection/positioning becomes even more critical.