Waterfront or water feature – options are beautiful, rewarding

Some folks have the blessing of waterside property on lake, pond, river or stream frontage. Most others are not so fortunate, but can enjoy the benefits of water with just a little space, planning and imagination.

The magic of water can be obtained inland by created ponds, fountains, small pools, tubs and even birdbaths — and complementary plantings to provide a waterside ambiance. Several such placements are possible to enhance even the smallest landscape. The photo of one my own sites spotlights an antique birdbath backed by a large old rosebush and surrounded with Betony*, Lavender, Columbine, Valerian and Cotoneaster, all in a nest of Vinca minor (and you’ll note a few stray grasses as well). As one plant stops blooming, another takes up its own blossoms for a summer-long display.

In another section, a 90-year old washtub (in which I used to bathe as a child in the ‘30s) is filled with cattails and yellow water Iris, interspersed with annual Calla lilies and Lotus plants: All so easy and so very rewarding.

Shade — often a problem — is ideal for certain water features. Ferns, monkshood, foxglove, violets, wild ginger, shooting star (dodecatheon), tiarella, Solomon’s seal and a host of other moisture-loving natives join happily with dappled-shade lovers like Coral bells, Brunnera, Pulmonaria, Malva, Lobelia and Tradescantia. A backdrop of a small tinkling fountain can turn it into your own version of Eden. Did you know you can turn most any large urn, jug or other such object into a fountain with a simple submersible motor and tube attachment? Check them out at any of our local nurseries. You do need an electrical connection, of course.

A pond or small pool can host our afore-mentioned plants and more, including cattails, wild mints, twinflowers (on and between mossy rocks), and waterlilies in deeper water. Yes, you can grow waterlilies even in small ponds. Don’t forget to add some rocks to your watery surroundings for additional charm and focal points. Sunnier locations can host edibles such as wild raspberries, blackberries, dewberries and currants,

Larger, more spacious surroundings and/or beachfronts, can handle larger shrubs and of course, large trees. Keep them when you possibly can, and consider such natives as Thimbleberry, Serviceberry, Chokecherry, ferns, and small willow shrubs, giving way to cattails and pussywillows closer to the water. Shrub honeysuckle (Lonicera utahensis) is the spring’s first bloomer — to welcome the awakening bumblebees (one of Nature’s happiest companion pairings), and the vining honeysuckle draws hummingbirds like kids to licorice. Other beauties include the dwarf wild iris, ornamental grasses, mallow, marsh marigolds — the list is truly endless.

Regardless of your situation, large or small - water will draw birds, bees and butterflies as well as the water-loving dragonflies and green lacewings — all of which are gifts to your surroundings, pollinating flowers and keeping pests in check. Beach sites will include the water-lovers like frogs, toads, turtles and garter snakes (love them, they are your friends!).

Whatever your site, treasure the large trees if you have them — the great cottonwoods and birches provide homes and/or lookouts for our sizeable osprey and Bald Eagle population, while pines, fir and spruce house owls, woodpeckers and small mammals. Smaller aspens, willows, alders, red osier dogwood, sumac — serve the songbirds with food and shelter. Add benches under the larger trees for meditative relaxation; augment the rocks with appropriate statuary, pots, driftwood and other such items that will beautify the landscape — and enhance with water features wherever you can.

Recent restrictions regarding shoreline buffer zones between waterfront and residences have created an occasional burden for some beach homeowners due to shoreline erosion from motorboat wakes. Too, the burgeoning of certain invasive waterside plants have put some beachside owners in a quandary as to what, where and how to get rid of — and then replace them. No matter where you are, natives are, of course, the answer, and with today’s suggestions as a guide, you may find some answers. Their inbred hardiness has no need of fertilizers, no sprays or pruning, no special care at all, but they’ll benefit you for decades!

Lakeside/riverside owners may contact the Department of Lands or the Forest Service Ranger Station for a list of suggested native plants, or visit the Native Plant Arboretum at Lakeview Park for inspiration. There is a Native Plants Advisory Group that organized the “Grow Native” concept. Their goals include increasing awareness and responsible use of native plants in beautifying and restoring shoreline landscapes.

* Thanks to all the wonderful readers who answered the invitation to share my largesse of Betony plants! What a thrill to meet such lovely, delightful gardening folk who are now my friends! The Betony still abounds, and there will be more available for next summer’s sharing.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She