I am a newbie on so many levels - this forum, being a homeowner and in trying to create a nice backyard. I was hoping someone could give me an idea of some plants that I could put in and around my new pond (aquatics to marginals). The kicker is that I would prefer species that are native to the area (Langley, BC, Canada). This is partially because I would hope they would be better adapted to overwintering and require less care. I know I've seen lots of plants in natural ponds around the Lower Mainland that last from year to year, but I don't know what they are. When I go to nurseries, it seems that the only pond plants that are offered are exotics that are either annuals or are required to be pulled out for the winter. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.... Dave
If you have legal access you best bet would be to collect your own plants. One possilbe source of information on where you might could buy plants that might be native in Canada is here: http://www.burnswatergardens.ca/ One tool you can use to isolate what species occur native in Canada is the USDA site. Here is a link to their Nymphaea/Nuphar page http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?keywordquery=Nymphaea&mode=sciname&submit.x=7&submit.y=10 I noticed that there is a introduced species of water lily to British Columbia: Nymphaea mexicana which brings up the matter of just knowing what are truly "native" plants! especially with aquatic plants as they are often considered as invasives.
Yes: if you want local natives learn what these are and then track down local origin stock, either in the wild (where available, with permission) or at outlets that indicate such provenance. Other nurseries may have same species but derived from populations native thousands of miles away. "Native" public plantings here often include species not even native to the continent, such as Salix purpurea (or similar species/hybrids). Another wrinkle is that a species may have come to be represented in the wild here by a race or other sub-set that has come in from elsewhere and supplanted the local one. This may not be that frequent with local aquatics specifically but it seems much - if not most - of the canary reed grass*, nettles and self-heal for instance are of overseas origin rather than the original native kinds. *Almost an aquatic
An alternative is to trek over to the Native Plant Society of BC website, track down local native plant nurseries, and let your fingers do the walking by calling a few of your area native plant specialists. You have some excellent choices in and near Langley for native plants, but I'm not sure about aquatics specifically.
