#cernuus

[faguscarolinensis]

Saururus cernuus / Lizard's Tail at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[fragrantblossoms]

T. Llyle Keith. Summer Wild Flowers of Pond and Swamp: Lizard's-tail (Saururus cernuus) flower spike, near shot, 1960-1970.

[dunno-u-decide]

Wild Kratts Pokemon Teams: Chris

Chris is a grass specialist. They emphasize that he loves climbing, so I tried to give him Pokemon that are known for living in treetops. Chris nicknames his Pokemon after plants.

Serperior is Chris's starter and was given to him as a Snivy. His is female and is nicknamed Trifasciata, after Dracaena trifasciata, also called the snake plant.

Chris caught a Pansage to match with Martin's Panpour, and they evolved them at the same time. Chris's Simisage is male and nicknamed Officinalis, after Salvia officinalis, also called sage.

Chris caught Shiftry as a Seedot and Tangrowth as a Tangela the same way: they followed him around until he battled and caught them. Shiftry is male and nicknamed Quercus, which is the name for the oak genus. Tangrowth is female and nicknamed Nervosa, after Argyreia nervosa, also called the elephant creeper, which is a species of vine.

I think Chris would probably get Cradily as a Lileep at the same time Martin got his fossils, and that's probably between getting Quercus and Nervosa, whoever came first. His is female and nicknamed Nucifera, after Nelumbo nucifera, also called the lotus,

Last but not least, a Treeko that Jimmy gave Chris as a present. I can totally see Chris making light-hearted jabs at Martin for being the only one of the two with a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve, and if he actually gets a Key Stone and Sceptilite, he constantly looks for chances to use them. Sceptile is male, and his nickname is Cernuus, after Saururus cernuus, also called the lizard's tail.

See also: Martin, Aviva, Koki, Jimmy

[yuriy-burmin]

С добрым утром. 🔹 🔹 🔹 #mormishka #лёд #окунь #мормышка #ловимсольда #iсе #icefishing #hardwater #frozenlakes #percafluviatilis #perch #ruff #hardwaterfishing #gymnocephalus #cernuus #pescepersico #Perca #河鱸 #abbor #perche #ahven #とまり木 #mormyska #nature #fishing https://www.instagram.com/p/B8VGUI4IIC5/?igshid=15ty21jriy7bh

[cedar-glade]

Saururus cernuus

Dolostone mixed cobble bar and Lizard Tail, one of many habitats for this species; here they can’t be aggressive and form a monoculture. Whats found instead is similar to river scour community imbrication. Allegheny Monkey Flower, Old Field Aster, Frog Fruit, Knot Weeds, a Reed Grass, and Wood Nettle are also found in this habitat. 

Bottom is Lizard Tail a few days later at a different wetland approaching full anthesis, the species is almost forming a monoculture in this corner however Burr Reed and a large quantity of sedges are mixed in. Turbulence and Muskrats are what seems to keep this species in check the most. 

The flowers are lightly aromatic and the leaves when crushed smell similar to Sassafras.

While this plant is known for historicaly having both antirheumatic (indirect and more neurological) and anti-inflamitory(direct bbb) chemicals being produced, it is not widly researched and does contain mildly toxic chemicals as well. Processing of this species was done by early Native Americans and Appalachian people but much of the cleansing process has been lost with urbanization, colonization, and taking advantage of historically marginilized people by removing their education patterns(both oral and written) and subjegating them to either the full removal of their homeland and re-educating with imperialist agenda or with the other ladder, hucking them into coal mines and keeping them in that viceous cycle of failure to educate and socializing them to think of these things as “right and proper good honest work”. 

[jurakan]

Abbo Cernuus: dealing with Vikings as an Assassin/Hidden One should.

[fernscare]

lizard's tail (Saururus cernuus), arrow-shaped micrathena (Micrathena sagittata), Eye-spotted lady beetles (Anatis mali), and various demons and imps.

[ID: an acrylic painting of a plant with arrow-shaped leaves and a long, cone-shaped inflorescence on a black background. There is a spider web stretched between the inflorescence and some of the leaves. A red and yellow arrow-shaped spider hangs from a silk thread from one of the leaves. There are two lady beetles on the plant, three small red imps scattered throughout, and a small red serpent below the plant.]

[entuacuario]

Saururus Cernuus

Saururus Cernuus cuidados y características 🌱 #EnTuAcuario #PlantasAcuario #Acuariofilia #SaururusCernuus #Plantas #Acuario #AcuarioPlantado

La Saururus Cernuus es una planta originaria de Norteamérica, más concretamente en algunos estados de estados unidos como Minnesota, Texas o Florida. En estado salvaje la podremos encontrar a las orillas de lagos y pantanos no completamente sumergida. Su nombre proviene del griego, donde sauros significa lagarto y oura significa cola. Por esto mismo se la conoce también con los nombres de cola de…

[spatheandspadix]

Lizard’s tail parasitized by Dodder, Wahkeena

[faguscarolinensis]

Saururus cernuus / Lizard's Tail at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[spnjediavenger]

Feel My Dreams Part 4

Title: Feel My Dreams Part 4 (boys x sister figure!reader)

Type: sequel

Warnings: general SPN violence, injury description, blood, mild torture description, angst AF

Spoilers: none

Disclaimers: I don’t own supernatural or its characters

Flower info: wikipedia

Latin translation: google translate

Notes: We get a bit crazy after the first 1/4th of the fit; incase you can't follow: italicized is ellie’s dream state, bold is following sam, dean, and rowena

Finally done! This was a fun one to write and i loved it. Should i write a short epilogue?

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

“That’s a black magic spell circle,” Rowena said as she looked at the symbol Y/n had drawn from her last nightmare. “It must be how Arcadia summons Y/n when she falls asleep. When she wakes up in it, she isn’t able to leave it.”

“And Y/n, you say you couldn’t talk this time?” Sam asked, brow furrowed.

She nodded. “She cast some kind of spell to make it that way so you wouldn’t be able to hear me again. She said again how each time I dreamed, the stronger our bond was and the more magic she’s able to use on me.”

“Awesome. So what are we supposed to do until we track Arcadia? We can’t let Y/n sleep again until we’re at least close, right? How long will it take to track her?” Dean asked.

“Y/n, were you able to notice anything about where you were in the dream? You said before that it’s always the same place,” Cas pointed out. “Have you seen anything that could help indicate where it was?”

Y/n thought for a moment before shooting her head up and running (as fast as her injuries would allow her) to grab her laptop. She opened the browser and began searching.

“What are you looking for?” Sam asked, approaching her from behind.

“Calochortus cernuus,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Cal-what?” Dean now hovered over her as well.

“It’s a flower. In the dream, I was able to look around quickly before Arcadia came out. I was in a basement but there was a window. Outside I could see mountains and this flower. I’ve seen it before but only in pictures; it’s not native anywhere around here,” the girl explained.

“Where is it native to, then?”

Y/n smiled when she found it. “Only one place in the world. Morelos, Mexico.”

“Wait, I’m sorry - Mexico? As in, the country Mexico?” Dean asked incredulously.

“Y/n, you’re sure about what you saw in the dream?” Sam asked. He was more than willing to make the drive, but wanted to be sure before having to go across the border.

Y/n nodded.

“Ok, so we’re going to need a plan,” Sam said, addressing the whole group. “That’s going to be over a day’s drive and we don’t want Y/n falling asleep until we need to use the tracking spell otherwise Arcadia might-...she might get the chance she needs. And we need to try and figure out a way Y/n might be able to fight back because she can’t leave the dream until we find her.”

“What about the baku?” Cas asked.

Y/n shook her head. “The baku will just pull me out of the dream. Ro, how long will the spell take to track Arcadia? If I wait for that amount of time in the dream, I could summon the baku to pull me out then.”

Rowena frowned and shrugged. “It all depends on how strong Arcadia’s bond is to you and how large the town is. If there’s traffic it’ll take longer.” This earned Rowena a quadruple Winchester bitch face. “What? We need to get to her quickly and there’s going to be crowds!”

The group rolled their eyes.

“Ok, we can’t have Y/n summon the baku, so we need to figure out something to keep her from getting strapped down in the dream.”

“What about a sigil?” Y/n suggested. She picked up her journal and flipped through the pages until she reached the right one. She pointed to a geometric symbol and pointed to it. Rowena looked at it and squinted a bit in curiosity.

“It’s supposed to protect against psychic attack and guard against black magic,” Y/n said.

“Ay, I’ve seen it before,” Rowena said, still gazing at it in thought. “Like the other things you suggested, it won’t stop Arcadia but it will be a wee bit stronger than those. It might be able to impede her magic a little bit. But we’ll have to use something more than chalk or paint.”

“Like what?”

“Blood,” she answered regrettably. “Y/n’s to be exact. If we want it to truly make a difference to protect her, it will have to be a piece of her.”

“How much would we need?” Sam asked, concern lacing his features.

“We shouldn’t need much.”

“Alright, great,” Dean said, clapping once in satisfaction. “Who’s going and who’s staying behind?”

Rowena spoke up before the others could get the chance. “I’m going with you to kill Arcadia. And we should bring as many as we can.”

“Sam, Dean, why don’t you two go with Rowena and I’ll stay here with Y/n? I can use what grace I have to heal any injuries Arcadia might inflict.”

“Is that alright, Y/n?” Sam asked.

“Best plan we’ve got,” she shrugged. She more than trusted Cas to take care of her and the others to take on Arcadia.

“Break out the coffee then,” Dean said to Y/n. “We’re gonna need to keep you up until we get to Morelos.”

~ ~ ~

The boys and Rowena made it across the border and only had a few hours left to go. Y/n and Cas were in Y/n’s room, waiting for the OK for her to sleep.

Said girl paced back and forth in her room, holding her arms in anxiety.

“Y/n, everything will be fine,” Cas assured her, though he knew that probably wouldn’t be enough.

“You don’t know that, Cas,” she said, turning to face the angel. “What if the spell doesn’t work? What if they can’t beat Arcadia? What if the sigil doesn’t work and she kills me before Ro and the guys find her?” Y/n said, gazing blankly down at the floor as her eyes stung a bit with coming tears.

“Hey.” Cas stepped up and put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them a bit to make her look up at him. “Nothing will happen to you, alright? Sam, Dean, and Rowena are more than capable of taking care of themselves. And I believe they have the skills to kill Arcadia. And if you need to exit the dream, call the baku and it will get you out like it did last time and we can try to figure out an alternative method. But you have to believe we’re going to fix this. We won’t let Arcadia kill you. Alright?”

When Cas finished, Y/n gave him a slightly teary smile and nodded. “Thank you, Cas.”

Cas smiled back and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “Always.”

The trio in Mexico arrived to the outskirts of Morelos. It was time.

When Cas received a call from Dean, Y/n walked over to the mirror in her room, made a small cut on her hand, and drew the protection sigil on her forehead from the blood. Cas wrapped her hand in a bandana and led her over to the bed. She recited the palindrome three times, noting the orange glow from under her pillow again. She let out a shaky breath and Cas grabbed her good hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Everything will be alright,” he promised again.

Y/n nodded, the kind look in his eyes putting her a little at ease.

She laid down and closed her eyes.

The table. Again.

Y/n’s heart dropped to her stomach but stopped for a moment when she realized she was able to move. Confused, she slowly sat up and noticed her body seemed to phase through the straps on the table.

Y/n quickly looked around and noticed Arcadia wasn’t there yet. She quietly hopped off the table and looked for anything she could use to defend herself. She spotted a shelf to her right, next to the staircase; on the shelf was an arrangement of tools and ingredients. And a knife.

Looking around once more to be sure she was alone, Y/n tip-toed towards the shelf only to feel a shock run through her body. She fell onto the floor and saw the spell circle. Rowena was right - she couldn’t leave it. Y/n ran a hand over it and realized it was carved into the ground; so she wouldn’t be able to alter it without some kind of tool.

A creak was heard and Y/n looked up in just enough time to dodge a knife from lodging itself into her chest. After staring at it for a moment, shocked, she looked over to see Arcadia standing at the bottom of the steps with a fuming expression on her face.

“This is the last time I play this game with you. No holding back this time,” she said, advancing quickly to Y/n. Y/n discretely grabbed the knife but slid it into her boot, not wanting to use it until she needed to. Arcadia twisted her hands and Y/n closed her eyes, preparing for her insides to twist. But it didn’t come like she expected. There was a dull pain but nothing that she couldn’t handle.

She looked up in confusion and saw Arcadia looking back at her the same.

“What did-” the witch stopped cold when she looked at the mark on Y/n’s head. Arcadia scowled. “Well done,” she sneered. “But it still won’t keep me from driving my blade through your heart.” A long, jagged blade fell from her sleeve and into her hand. Y/n gulped but pushed her fear aside and stood up, putting her shoulders back to face Arcadia.

Sam, Dean, and Rowena drove through the quiet streets of Morelos, Mexico. It was nighttime so the crowds had died down a considerable amount. Rowena held a special pendant in her hands, specific for use in tracking spells. She altered it a little for their use, a strand of Y/n’s hair in the center with a small amount of other ingredients.

The pendent began moving, pulling at the chain through the air, its only restraint being Rowena’s hand. Concluding that Y/n must have entered her dream state, the group began driving  in the directions the pendent pulled towards.

Arcadia lunged towards Y/n, bringing her blade down through the air. It was easily deflected by Y/n, pushing her arm away and landing a punch to the witch’s face. Arcadia stumbled back a few steps, holding a hand up to her nose, and removing it to see crimson streaming across it. She scowled and lunged again, tackling Y/n’s middle to drop her onto the ground. She quickly raised her hand again and drove her knife towards Y/n’s chest; but Y/n pushed her hand away at the last minute and the knife, instead, landed in her shoulder, eliciting an ear-piercing scream.

Cas had been sitting by Y/n’s side, feeling helpless as she jerked about in her sleep. But all he could do is wait. And as he did, Y/n suddenly shouted next to him and he looked down to see blood seeping from her shoulder. He quickly ripped the sleeve of her shirt away and hovered his hand over the wound. A golden glow emitted from his hand as he scrunched his face in concentration. Cas’ breathing quickened a bit as using his grace took a lot of energy from him since he didn’t have much left. Once he saw the wound stitched in the deeper parts, he let go with a gasp, wanting to save the rest of his grace if Y/n got hurt again.

Y/n sighed in relief as some of the pain in her shoulder eased up. She took the relief and used her strength to kick her legs up and throw Arcadia off of herself. Arcadia landed hard on the floor and Y/n took the opportunity to slide her own knife out of her boot.

The trio stopped the impala when they reached the end of the roads; only the mountains lay before them. They got out of the car and began jogging wherever the necklace moved.

Dean felt a buzz in his pocket and picked up a call  from Cas.

“Cas, what’s going on?” he answered gruffly while running.

“Dean, you need to hurry if possible. I believe Y/n and Arcadia are fighting and Y/n has already sustained a stab wound in the shoulder. I’m only hoping she can regain the upper hand until you get there.”

Dean cursed under his breath as he hung up. “We need to hurry,” he addressed Sam and Rowena. “Arcadia’s kicking her ass; we need to get there and kill the bitch.”

Arcadia tried with all her might to use her spells against Y/n, but none of them worked to their full power.

Y/n used this to her full advantage since she relied on combat skills and Arcadia had relied on magic up to this point. This was a fight Y/n could win. Or so she thought.

Rowena stopped in her tracks when the necklace gave a particularly hard tug to her right. She snapped her head to the side to see a small house built into the side of the mountain, partially hidden by some trees.

“There!” she exclaimed, pointing to the house.

She, Sam, and Dean wasted no more time in sprinting as fast as they could, determined to end this here and now.

Arcadia had Y/n pinned again and used the moment to smear the protection symbol off Y/n’s head. Y/n’s eyes widened and she struggled extra hard to release herself from the witch’s grip. She was able to push her off but Arcadia uttered some words and Y/n was frozen to the floor.

“Baku-san, help me. Baku-san, help me. Baku-san, help me!” Y/n cried out.

Arcadia yelled out a ‘no!’ but it was too late. An orange light materialized into the creature in front of Y/n, snarling at Arcadia when it fully appeared. It quickly pounced to knock her away, then ran back to Y/n, who held out a hand to pause the creature.

“I can’t leave yet,” she told it. “My friends need me to stay in the dream until they track Arcadia.”

Y/n felt a force of sorts in her mind, then heard the baku speak to her: Since she has a hold on you, I cannot fully interfere with her actions, but I will do my best to hold her back and I will do what I can until your friends arrive. This should help as well.

Y/n looked as the baku looked down and swiped one of its big paws at the ground, digging lines through the black magic circle that kept Y/n in. She nodded her thanks and stood up to face Arcadia again.

The boys and Rowena finally got to the house and went to burst through the door but Rowena stopped them.

“It’s guarded with magic,” she said. “We’ll need a counter-spell to get through.”

“Like what?! Can’t we just break the door down?!” Dean yelled.

“Try it and you’ll be killed. Call your angel; have him look in the notebook I left behind. It should have a counter-spell in there that requires few ingredients.”

Sam took out his phone to call Cas.

Cas jerked his head to Y/n’s bedside table when his phone rang. He quickly answered and put the phone to his ear.

“Sam, what is it?”

“We need you to get Rowena’s notebook and tell us what we need for a counter-spell, Arcadia’s place is warded by magic and we can’t get in,” Sam’s rushed voice came from the other end.

“Sam, the fight is escalating. If Arcadia strikes and I’m not in the room, Y/n could die.”

“If we don’t get this spell to get in, she’ll die! At least this gives us a chance. Just go! What could happen in a minute?!”

Cas let out an impatient sigh, gave one last glance to Y/n, then shot up and bolted down the halway of the bunker. He desperately grabbed Rowena’s book from the table in the library and furiously flipped through the pages when he heard Y/n scream again.

Y/n fell to the floor again, spitting out blood from taking a blow to the face. The baku was quick to stop Arcadia from getting too close, but she became quick. And once Y/n fell, the baku ran to lift her back up but Y/n fell through its tusks; its form began to waver and dematerialize. Y/n jerked her head up to see Arcadia blow some kind of dust from her hand towards the baku.

Upon seeing Y/n’s shocked and confused glance, Arcadia smirked. “You may have picked up a few new tricks but so did I. Say good-bye to your protection.”

The creature vanished in a burst of light, the force pushing Y/n to the ground once again.

She didn’t get a second to process anything when a sharp current of electricity shot throughout her body. Y/n screamed as much as she could, body beginning to convulse on the floor. Arcadia stood over her, muttering a chant of sorts under her breath and smirking with pleasure.

“Sam, hurry!” Cas yelled into the phone. He had read the instructions from the book as he ran back into Y/n’s room. When he entered, he saw the girl writhing in her bed, a look of pure agony twisted on her face.

The angel looked helplessly at her, knowing there wasn’t anything he could do.

“Frange ait, ista maledictio, et exaltare in hoc magicae. Huic loco lucem custodiatur.” Rowena chanted these words as she held a hand out towards the house while Sam ground up the ingredients the spell required and packed them into a glass bottle Dean retrieved from the impala. Rowena yelled the chant one last time and nodded to the older Winchester; Dean lit a match and dropped it into the bottle, lighting the contents on fire. Sam closed it and promptly threw the container at the door, causing a small explosion upon impact.

Y/n’s body screamed for relief, unable to take anymore pain. It seemed her plea was heard when the electric currents suddenly ceased. The girl let out a shuttered sigh, turning over on the cool pavement under her body and relishing in the cold feel of it. She didn’t hear the sound of an explosion but she felt the end of the rumbling under her body.

The trio entered the house and saw a few women laying on the floor; they suspected the blast knocked them unconscious. Rowena muttered a spell as they passed each one to guarantee they wouldn’t wake for awhile.

They continued on quickly through the house until they found a secret opening behind one of the bookcases in the small library of the home. They began descending the steps so Rowena spoke to the boys quickly.

“It’s likely Arcadia is aware of us entering so she’s going to try and kill Y/n quickly to get the job done so hurry and kill her before she gets the chance!”

Sam and Dean had both loaded their guns with witch-killing bullets; they each raised their firearm, quietly rounded the corner to the last set of stairs, and froze at what they saw before them.

Two ghost-like figures tumbled on the ground in front of them in a brawl.

“What am I looking at right now?” Dean whispered.

“Their dream forms. Arcadia’s body must be somewhere else,” Rowena replied, shock evident in her voice.

“Where?!” Sam whisper-yelled. “We looked through the whole house!”

“There!” Dean said, pointing to another door on the opposite side of the room. “Rowena, can they see us in this form?”

The witch shrugged. “Only one way to find out, I’m afraid.”

“If we shoot her...ghost...form or whatever, will it do anything?”

She shrugged again, making the boys sigh in frustration.

“Alright, Sammy, you go for the door, I’ll stay here and shoot the ghost if she sees you; see if it does anything,” Dean instructed.

“I’ll go with you,” Rowena said. “I have something that will make sure she doesn’t resurrect herself again.”

Dean’s brother took a deep breath and cautiously walked the remaining steps to the basement floor. Sam held his breath as he took quiet steps, thanking Chuck nothing seemed to happen yet. Y/n and Arcadia were still fighting by the time Sam reached the door. He opened it to find Arcadia’s body lying unconscious on a chair in the middle of the room.

He raised his gun again and fired, landing one bullet in her head and one in her chest.

Y/n’s eyes shot open and she took an ugly-sounding gasp for air, only to hunch over the side of her bed and cough up blood onto the floor.

“Y/n! Y/n, what’s wrong?” Cas yelled, holding onto her shoulder.

She just shook her head and clutched her stomach. She tried pushing herself off the bed but couldn’t seem to hold her own weight as she collapsed onto the floor.

Cas panicked and dialed Dean’s number as fast as he could.

“Dean! Something is wrong! Y/n woke up but she’s coughing up blood on the floor! What happened?!”

“Samuel, look for hex bags, bottles, anything that looks out of the ordinary,” Rowena commanded, running into the room with Dean.

“We’re looking, Cas!” Dean yelled into the phone as he dug around the room.

“Arcadia must have put something in place in case she was indisposed before she could kill Y/n; to make sure the job was done,” Rowena said.

The three frantically searched the room until Sam found and pulled out a hex bag from Arcadia’s jacket pocket. “Here!” he yelled. He lit his lighter, set the bag on fire, and dropped it to the floor.

Y/n stopped writhing on the floor and turned over onto her side, closing her eyes in relief.

“Y/n?” Cas, who had knelt by her side, placed a hand on her shoulder.

The girl opened her eyes, releasing tears, and looked up at him. The convulsing and the worst of the pain was gone but her body ached all over. And the horrors of what had occurred finally caught up to her and a sob escaped her lips.

Cas carefully lifted her up and pulled her into a hug, resting a hand on the back of her head. “It’s alright,” he soothed. “Everything is ok now. You’re safe.”

Y/n let out shuttery breaths and held onto Cas for dear life, ignoring the stinging of her wounds. The angel whispered soothing reassurances as she cried into his shoulder. He rubbed calming circles over her back and rested his head against hers. “It’s alright now,” he whispered to her; though he also did it for himself, glad the situation was finally over with.

It was done.

[cyprinodont]

*smacks the top of Saururus cernuus*

This baby can fit so many 'u's in its binomial.

[tangledwing]

Lizard's tail, water-dragon, swamp root (Saururus cernuus) Lizard's tail grows in wet areas or shallow water, and can be up to about a meter tall.

[yuriy-burmin]

С добрым утром. 🔹 🔹 🔹 #mormishka #лёд #окунь #мормышка #ловимсольда #iсе #icefishing #hardwater #frozenlakes #percafluviatilis #perch #ruff #hardwaterfishing #gymnocephalus #cernuus #pescepersico #Perca #河鱸 #abbor #perche #ahven #とまり木 #mormyska #nature #fishing https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TzxAaKeIQ/?igshid=jtbtde88l110

[cedar-glade]

Saururus cernuus

One of the things that I am most excited to see in bloom this coming field season is this population of lizard tail, I had no idea that this species was around Clifton Gorge and it was really cool to find these along the calcareous gravel bars along the main tributary as it is very different from the usual suspects that we commonly see. This species is in it’s own family, a very old family with only two extant members, the other species being found in China, both having a wetland habit.  Saururaceae>Piperales> > > Magnoliids 

I am also aware of a massive seap population in Shawnee Lookout Great Park in Ohio that I am dieing to see, as again it is in a remnant plot of forest that hasn’t been to tempered with. 

[marybromley]

Brian Minter: Make a refreshing patio water garden a summer garden project

Environment Canada is predicting a warmer than normal summer this year for most of the country.

During any hot summer, it’s really nice to have a cooling water feature on your patio or deck.

I’m not suggesting anything close to Niagara Falls; rather, just a simple, relatively inexpensive, watertight, shallow container. You might want to add a small gurgler, floating plants, a few tropicals, a water lily and, if the container is situated in the shade, a couple of goldfish.

For years and for many reasons, large garden ponds have been on the decline. Smaller lot sizes, the electrical costs of running large pumps, algae issues, zealous fish predators such as raccoons, and the overall maintenance required are all contributing factors.

Interest in smaller tub gardens, however, has really exploded. Filled with some of the new colourful water plants and enhanced with the calming sound of trickling water, they are an easy-care element for any patio.

In summer, there are many choices of plants, either tropical or cold hardy varieties, that are suitable for water gardens. Featuring some of each type in your water garden will create a greater diversity of colour and beauty.

Egyptian papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius) is one of the most popular plants for water containers, and it comes in a range of heights from ‘Baby Tut’ (15 to 18 inches, or 38-45 cm) and ‘Prince Tut’ (30 to 48 inches or 75 cm to 1.2 m) to the tall and exotic ‘King Tut’ (grows to six feet or 1.8 m). Even just sitting in a saucer of water, they will look stunning all summer long. They are all very heat tolerant, but they must come inside for winter.

The fibre optic-looking grass, Scirpus cernuus, with its hundreds of tiny grasslike stems topped with minuscule seed heads, is another summer beauty. It, too, needs shallow water and makes a nice spillover plant on the edge of a container.

For some splashy colour, the unique foliage of canna lilies makes an attractive, even surprising, addition to shallow water vessels. The yellow and green striped ‘Pretoria’ or ‘Bengal Tiger,’ the burgundy-red striped ‘Tropicana’ and the pure black ‘Australia’ are just a few richly coloured plants that will add interest to any water garden. These cannas will reward you with tall, elegant flower stems later in the summer.

Surprisingly hardy, pitcher plants (sarracenia) look great with their reddish, curled tips that attract unsuspecting insects into their long throats. Used in clumps by themselves, they are real knockouts.

Not to be outdone, hardy bog plants are quite at home in smaller water pots. I love the height and look of traditional bulrushes, but there are a couple even nicer looking varieties. Typha latifolia, with its stunning white and green variegated leaves and stems topped with very attractive brown seed pods, makes a great focal point. I also love the thin spikes and cute short seed pods of Typha minima.

A few traditional perennials, like the old-fashioned marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) with its round, double, yellow flower heads, adapt well to water pots. The dark foliaged cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), like the ‘Queen Victoria’ variety, look great in water all summer, but especially when their red flower spikes appear. Many iris, too, are quite at home in water. The Japanese Iris ensata, especially the variegated white and the green foliaged varieties, look great when in bloom with their striking blue flowers.

Even though it might not flower, skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) — one of my most favourite native plants — has foliage that looks dramatic in a small water garden.

Traditional pond plants, such as the purple or pink pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), with its attractive foliage and blue or pink flowers, continue to be must-haves. Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) looks great with its unique foliage and blue flower heads.

I know it can be invasive — so be careful — but the red, yellow and pink foliage of Houttuynia Variegata ‘Chameleon’ is a real eye catcher. Equisetum hyemale and members of the juncus family are also potentially invasive, but in water they are particularly beautiful, especially the twisted, curly stems of Juncus effusus ‘Unicorn.’

The addition of a few floaters will soften and enhance the effect of these plants. The elegant, red stemmed parrot feather (Myriophyllum brasiliensis) and the floating bamboo (Hygroryza aristata) are two more stunning options. No water garden is complete without floating water lettuce and water hyacinth, and both grow rather quickly.

All of these plants will help control the growth of algae and help to keep your water clean.

One B.C. company is planting up combinations of these beautiful plants in “water ready” containers so all you need do is drop them into your water garden.

As for maintenance, just top up the water level regularly to make sure the roots are submerged and snip off any spent foliage. If you run into algae, lift everything, rinse the roots off and simply change the water. How easy is that?

A water garden on your patio this summer will add a refreshing and calming element, something we all need right about now.

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Brian Minter: Make a refreshing patio water garden a summer garden project published first on https://weedkillerguide.tumblr.com/