Water is wonderful in the garden, but many people simply don’t have the space for waterfalls, lakes or large water features. In our segment Don showed that where space is limited, it’s still possible to have a water garden in pots.
Pot preparation
- Choose pots without drainage holes, or block up the drainage holes.
- Treat the pots with a sealing compound (often called pond sealer or waterproofing membrane) available from hardware stores and some nurseries, following the directions on the container. Leave to dry.
- Choose the position of the pots carefully, as they will be too heavy to move once planted and filled with water. A sunny spot is best for most water plants.
- Make sure the pots are level before putting in the plants and adding water. Use a spirit level to get your levels perfect to avoid problems down the track.
Potted lotus
Setting up a lotus water pot is easy. Don simply placed an upside down terracotta pot in the bottom of a large pot, to support the lotus and raise it to the desired height. The pot was then filled with water and a mulch of black gravel was added as a finishing touch. (Tip: if you’re worried about mosquitoes add a few small goldfish to the pot!)
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
Commonly known as the sacred lotus, this lovely water plant has pale green foliage similar to oversized nasturtium leaves. The fragrant pink or white flowers develop into decorative seed pods, which can be used in flower arrangements. Lotus plants die back at the end of summer and early autumn. In winter allow the water level to drop to around 15cm in cooler regions, so that the water remains warmer. Overcrowded pots can be divided in late winter or early spring.
Potted water garden
Don filled a larger pot with a mix of plants, including canna, elephant’s ears, variegated acorus and eleocharis (but you can visit your local water plant nursery and make your own choice). Again he used upside down pots, bricks and timber chocks to sit the pots on so that they were at the correct level. The pot was then filled with water.
Canna (Canna cv.)
Canna flowers come in reds, oranges and yellows through to pinks, apricots and creams. The foliage can be green, bronze, purple or variegated. Don chose an orange flowered cultivar with purple leaves to add colour to the water garden.
Taro (Colocasia esculenta ‘Fontanesii’)
These frost tender plants are related to arums and have arrow-head or heart-shaped foliage with black stems. They prefer a sheltered, sunny position in moist soil to shallow water.
Variegated acorus (Acorus calamus ‘Variegatus’)
This grass-like perennial has cream striped leaves, which take on a pink tinge in spring.
Pale spike rush (Eleocharis pallens)
An Australian native sedge. These leafless plants have green flowering stems, which look like giant matchsticks. They are easy to propagate by division.
Further information
The large pots cost approx. $160. -$380
Pond sealer/waterproofing $25-$40 per litre at hardware stores.
Your local nursery may stock some aquatic plants, or you may like to visit a specialist water plant nursery.