Plants for Your Pond by Nancy Shepard

Nymphaea 'Colorado' Hardy Water Lily
Photo: Gardenia.net

If water gardening hasn't been in your landscape routine, don't be intimidated by the challenge of a new learning curve. It's not as difficult as you might expect. I have a small pond I got when I bought my house and over the years I've experimented with putting plants in it. (Fish will be my next year's experiment.)

And if you don't want to do an actual pond, there is always the option of a pond-in-a-pot.

https://balconygardenweb.com/pond-in-a-pot-create-a-container-water-garden/ 

Photo: Balcony Garden Web

The Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado have a list of hardy pond plants for Colorado gardens. Below are some examples from their website. To see the complete list: https://www.alcc.com/water-gardens

Lotus Nelumbo lutea
Photo: Altairisfar

Lotus empty seed pods

The Water Lotus is sure to be the star of any water garden it occupies. Water lotuses are exotic, majestic and dramatic. They flourish in the sunlight and fill the water garden with vibrant colors and exotic fragrances. A relative of the water lily, the water lotus will spread across the pond and compete for its attention. More than one lotus plant can look overwhelming in smaller ponds, so pond owners must choose the correct variety for the area they have available. (Source: ThePondDigger.com) 

Water Canna
Photo: Tessalaar Plants

Aquatic cannas are hybrid cultivars that tolerate being grown in shallow water. Most are crosses between Canna glauca and several terrestrial species. Canna glauca is a water canna native to South America and is noted for its blue-green foliage and its ability to grow well in shallow water.

Canna is a genus of around 10 species of rhizomatous, tropical and subtropical, herbaceous perennials that produce flower spikes in summer atop erect stems sheathed in large paddle-shaped leaves. Cultivars are available with colorful foliage and flowers in a range of warm colors including red, orange, yellow, pink, and creamy white. Genus name comes from the Greek word kanna meaning a reed. (Source: Missouri Botanical Garden)

 Eichhornia crassipes Water Hyacinth 

Photo: Ian Richard

Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8–15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in color with six petals. When not controlled, water hyacinth will cover lakes and ponds entirely; this dramatically affects water flow and blocks sunlight from reaching native aquatic plants which often die. The decay processes depletes dissolved oxygen in the water, often killing fish. This plant is considered invasive in parts of the U.S. (Source: Wikipedia)

Cyperus alternifolius Umbrella Plant
Photo: Gardening Know How

The Umbrella plant is planted in gardens in the ground, pots, in ponds, and as a house plant. I used this plant in my pond last year and over-wintered it in the bathroom in a bucket of water. It survived nicely and is now back in the pond.

For more information see: https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/annuals-perennials/1026-water-gardens-planting-aquatic-plants/