NICE!! Water Hyacinths would be beautiful but you would have to tend them very regularly or they would cover up the birdbath. Just a couple would be very sufficient to start with.

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What a lovely birdbath. Great idea.

Let's see, if I were putting plants in this birdbath, some plants I would consider would be:

Dwarf cattail (also has to be controlled like WH) and pickerel plant would be two possibilities. Marsh Marigold is a lovely plant with yellow flowers and would grow well in your bird bath, but I have read it is poisonous so I wouldn't have it if pets or children have access to it.

Curly rush and bloody dock are plants that I have and like a great deal. They are non-invasive (at least for me) and are unusual looking enough to be unique.

Bloody Dock - in this picture the plant as well as the hidden curly rush are new. As it has aged the red is more pronounced making it stand out:
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Curly Rush - I just took this because the previous picture was not clear. Keep in mind that it is now winter and this plant is a wee bit sad. In the skippy in the summer it is very happy:
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Creeping Jenny and hottyunia (sp?)will cover the edges of the liner as well as grow in the water. Here's a (not very clear) little creeping jenny plant I started in a floating planter:
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Frog bit is a very small water lily looking floating plant, that has tiny blossoms on it. That is one of my favorites. It reproduces like WH does with "daughters" growing off it. I don't have a picture of that.

Please post updated pictures once you have plants established. I love to see what others have done with their water features.

Anne

I love the water hyacinth and frogbit suggestions. Creeping jenny to hide the edges is a great touch as well. Any more suggestions anyone? I'm having a lot of fun looking all of these plants up. Your pictures and experiences with these plants are greatly appreciated as well.

Are there any dwarf (or small leafed) water lilies that might work?

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden

I was wondering where you recommend for purchasing frog bit and water hyacinth. Most sites have really high shipping or you have to purchase a minimum number of plants. I only need one of each...maybe two of each (just in case one dies). Do you know of any sites with reasonable shipping and sell nice plants?
Thanks again!
Kim

Both frog bit and WH will not stand freezing. You have to either over-winter inside or toss in the compost pile and buy new in the spring. The frog bit should be easy to over-winter - I'm going to try some this winter. I have over-wintered WH in an aquarium in the past but I'm not going to do so this year.

To answer your question about where to buy plants, I usually either get them locally at the pond store or on ebay. If you find an ebay seller whose shipping and plant charges you like, email them. Frequently they will put together a buy-it-now package with your specifications. This has worked well for me in the past. I get just what I want at a price I like.

Great blogspot! I hope your nursery does well.

Anne