While water features are one of the most incredible ways to transform your backyard into something truly unique and special, adding landscaping around it completes the look. After all, adding plants and flowers is what puts the “garden” in water garden! You don’t just want to add any plants, either. Being strategic about choosing the best pond plants for Upstate NY will help your landscaping thrive while also helping with parts of pond maintenance like algae control.
Today, we’re taking a look at some of the best pond plants for Upstate NY to help you decide how to create the oasis of your dreams. From colorful blooms to green grasses, these plants will help your water feature installation stand out and be the envy of family, friends, and neighbors!
Best Pond Plants for Upstate NY
When it comes to water features, there are so many designs, sizes, and shapes to choose from. It’s important to remember the effect landscaping will have on the overall look, as well! Choosing the best plants for around a pond (or in it, in some cases) can fully transform your backyard into a show-stopper. Our water feature installation professionals will be able to help you figure out what are the best pond plants for Upstate NY to keep maintenance at a minimum while giving you the look you’ve envisioned.
Some of our choices for best pond plants in Upstate NY include:
- Water lilies
- Pickerelweed
- Cardinal flowers
- Marsh marigolds
- Water iris
- Sweet flag
Pro Tip: NVS Waterscapes is a division of NVS Landscapes, providing you with the best water feature installation and landscaping services in Albany, Saratoga, Colonie, Schenectady, and the surrounding areas from start to finish! Our professionals will design your water feature landscaping using the best pond plants for Upstate NY and have you fall in love with your backyard all over again.
Water Lilies
Kicking off our picks of the best pond plants for Upstate NY is the iconic water lily. Water lilies come in both tropical and hardy varieties. You’ll want the hardy types that thrive best in hardiness zones 4-7 to use for water feature installations in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, and the surrounding areas.
Characterized by their stunning colorful flowers that float atop the water, water lilies also make some of the best plants for algae control. The reason for this is because they block enough sunlight from the water to slow down algae growth while simultaneously helping balance the nutrients in the water and protect fish (if you’re considering backyard koi pond ideas). Whether you’re looking to add landscaping elements of Japanese garden water features or simply love the tranquil look water lilies provide, you can’t go wrong with this choice.
Pickerelweed
Pickerelweed, also called pickerel rush or pickerel plant, is another stunning option that makes one of the best pond plants for Upstate NY. These native North American plants have a wide zone range (hardiness zones 3 to 10) and come with blue, white, and pink lavender spiked flowers surrounded by lush green foliage.
Growing upwards of two feet tall at full maturity, these are some of the best plants for around a pond as they give some height to your landscaping. Adding visual levels to landscaping makes it appear more dynamic and stunning. Additionally, pickerelweed plants have long-lasting blooms, so they’ll provide plenty of splashes of color all season long!
Cardinal Flowers
Cardinal flowers also make our list of the best pond plants for Upstate NY because they offer beautiful pops of color to your pond landscaping ideas as well as help create a water feature for birds, if you’re a wildlife lover. Part of the bellflower family, cardinal flowers have deep burgundy foliage and bright red blooms. Perfect for shallow edges of ponds to soften the look of rock water features, these plants are relatively low-maintenance, meaning you can spend more time simply enjoying your pond installation!
Marsh Marigolds
Marsh marigolds, also known as King Cup, come in next on our list of the best pond plants for Upstate NY water features as another wildlife-friendly option. The bright yellow flowers on upright stems are attractive to bees and butterflies. This is great for those homeowners wanting to incorporate pollinator garden ideas into their backyard water feature.
Important Note: While very beautiful, these plants are toxic to humans and mildly toxic to dogs, so be sure to consider safety elements for children and pets before adding them to your water feature landscaping.
Water Iris
Doubling as some of the best pond plants for Upstate NY as well as the best plants for algae control, water irises are next on our list. In addition to being a stunning addition to your flower bed water feature ideas, water iris plants are known to be one of the best aquatic plants for removing toxins from the water. This means they’ll help control algae growth and balance nutrients within your backyard pond. Some of the first plants to bloom in spring, water irises are a definite wow factor for any pond.
Sweet Flag
Not all the best pond plants for Upstate NY have to have colorful blooms. Last on our list is sweet flag, a perennial aquatic plant with sword-like leaves that is extremely popular as one of the best plants for around a pond.
While it’s not an ornamental grass, its grassy texture and appearance offers a diverse look to your pond landscaping. Small greenish-yellow flowers appear on spikes in spring and early summer, followed by red berries. The “sweet” part of sweet flag comes from the pleasant and spicy aroma of the leaves when crushed or cut.
As you can see, there are tons of options for you to choose from when planning your water feature landscaping. If you’re unsure what will work best for your yard, don’t worry! Our Capital Region water feature installation professionals will know the best pond plants for Upstate NY to keep maintenance to a minimum and appearance to the max. Ready to get started on your water feature ideas? Check out the NVS Waterscapes Project Planner to get going! Save your plans or submit them to us and let’s get started giving you the backyard pond of your dreams.
Want more inspiration? Check out these additional resources for ideas on backyard ponds, waterfall features, and more:
