Hibiscus coccineus
This North American plant native to coastal regions from Florida to Georgia is often sold locally as "Texas Star Hibiscus" but in other parts of the country it may be known as "Swamp Hibiscus".  Highly touted for the Austin area, Ann Marie had struggled to keep one alive in a conventional flower bed.  It required constant monitoring for moisture and had few blooms.  Taking a tip from the common name, it was moved to a pot in the pond and treated as a bog plant.  Within days the plant was flourishing and has bloomed repeatedly this summer.  It is a tall, woody perennial plant that commonly grows to six feet but in the pond it has remained slightly shorter.  The leaves are attractive with 3-7 long, thin lobes and a smooth, glaucous surface.  The five inch flowers, which are found in the upper leaf axils, are a dramatic deep red.  The stems have a reddish tint making this a lovely plant even when not in  bloom.  This hibiscus is easily grown from seed collected from the large pods that follow flowering.  To learn more about both Hibiscus species and hybrids, see if your library has a copy of Hibiscus by Barbara Perry Lawton.  This book, published by Timber Press in 2004, also includes descriptions of other members of the Malvaceae Family such as Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) and Gossypium sp (cotton).

Cannas
Another plant that struggled with conventional planting in the garden was the Canna ‘Bengal Tiger’, a large growing plant with green and yellow striped leaves and exotic orange flowers.  Following a tip from The Southern Living Garden Book, edited by Steve Bender, Ann Marie the plant was moved to a pot in the pond.  Growing with several inches of water covering the soil surface, the plant has become robust and showy both in and out of bloom.

A second canna has now joined the pond collection.  A seedling grown by horticulturist Henry Flowers, this plant is growing in a pot placed in the biological filter.  It is a petite canna, having relatively small leaves and growing only three feet tall.  Henry has reported that other seedlings have come true from seed, featuring small but showy yellow and red blooms.  Ann Marie is anxiously awaiting the appearance of flowers on her plant.

Lobelia ‘Queen Victoria’
According to The Southern Living Garden Book this plant is a hybrid of Lobelia cardinalis and L. splendens featuring deep reddish purple foliage and tubular red flowers.  Ann Marie has situated it in a pot in a shady portion of the pond where the foliage has become deep green.  It has grown very tall, at least five feet, and has not yet bloomed.  It will be interesting to find out if the lack of flowering is due to the shady site or is seasonal.  Reputed to be a good hummingbird plant, the blooms are anxiously awaited and if they do not appear the pot will be moved to the sunny side of the pond.

Other Plants in the pond include Houttuynia cordata, Mentha aquatica, Equisetum hyemale and the waterlilies 'Dauben' and 'Emily Grant Hutchings'.