Planting your Natural Swimming Pond

By Rob from The Swimming Pond Shop

When planting your Swimming Pond, you’ll need to consider climate, biodiversity, water quality, and seasonal maintenance. The goal is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that supports clean, clear water and looks attractive year-round. Throughout this blog we will discuss the best decisions to make and which plants to choose.

A well-balanced natural swim pond should include a mix of two or three planting zones:

Marginal Zone (0–30 cm deep): Around the pond edges
Shallow Water Zone (30–60 cm): Often part of the regeneration zone
Not always necessary and dependent on pond design – Deep Water Zone (60 cm+): For oxygenating plants

Each zone should have different types of plants to help maintain water quality and support biodiversity.

Plant around 4–5 plants per square metre in the regeneration zone. Aim for at least one-third of the pond’s surface area to be dedicated to planting to maintain good filtration and water balance.

For substrate use washed gravel in the regeneration zones or aquatic soil (low nutrient) in baskets or directly in the gravel bed.

The best time to carry out any planting is Spring to early summer (April–June), giving plants a full growing season to establish.

Any required Maintanence should be carried out from late Autumn, this can include:

Trim plants prevent dead matter sinking into the pond.
Remove aggressive spreaders to keep balance.
Monitor for invasive species

Plants in a Swimming Pond do more than just look good.

They filter water naturally by absorbing nutrients like nitrogen and phosphates, which help prevent algae growth.
Provide oxygen to support aerobic bacteria in the gravel filter zone.
Create habitat for beneficial insects and amphibians.

Below we have a list of our most regularly used and favourable plants to use when building a Swimming Pond.

Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum)
Water Crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis)
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)
Greater Spearwort (Ranunculus lingua)
Water Lily (Nymphaea alba)
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

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