12 Edible Plants to Grow In & Around Your Garden Pond

Having a pond in or near a garden is beneficial in a variety of ways. It helps to moderate temperatures. It attracts beneficial wildlife like frogs, toads, and lizards, as well as supplies a drinking source for pollinators and birds. It provides irrigation opportunities.

One of the oft-overlooked attributes of a garden pond is that it’s another opportunity to grow food. Numerous edible plants grow in water and/or along water edges, in bogs and shallows.

For those with a pond or interested in putting one in, these are a dozen notable edible plants that can provide both beauty and nutrition.

1. Bulrush

They love to grow in the shallow edges of ponds and boggy areas adjacent to them. Bulrushes (Scirpus spp) have edible shoots, pollen, seeds, and rhizomes. They are native to the Southern US and up the West Coast. They are actually a type of sedge.

2. Cattail

Several members of the Typha genus, cattails, are useful and edible. Cattails are edible in a number of ways. Young shoots are asparagus-like vegetables, mature stems can be peeled and roasted, and the rhizomes can be used, too. The seeds are also delicious.

3. Duck Potato

Also commonly known as arrowhead and wapato, Sagittaria latiflolia is native to most of the contiguous United States. It’s an emergent plant that loves wet soil and produces edible tubers that are compared to potatoes (cooked) and chestnuts (raw).

4. Kangkong

Ipomoea aquatica, sometimes called water spinach, is recognized as one of the fastest-growing foods. It’s a semi-aquatic, tropical green from Southeast Asia, so it won’t survive US winters. However, it can be overwintered in greenhouses or indoors near a sunny window.

5. Lotus

In addition to providing beautiful foliage and flowers, lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is renowned for its tasty rhizomes which show up in lots of East Asian cuisine. It also has edible stamens used for herbal tea and edible seeds.

6. Reed

A great choice for larger ponds, common reeds (Phragmites ssp) are another water plant with multiple edible uses. The roots can be dried and ground into porridge. The young shoots can be used as vegetables. The seeds can be eaten, too.

7. Sweet Flag

Sweet flag is a small, perennial wetland plant that runs via rhizomes along the edges of ponds. Acorus calamus has beautiful flowers and is known to have psychoactive chemicals. It has traditionally been used medicinal, as well as a substitute for ginger.

8. Watercress

Likely the most familiar edible water plant for Western cultures, watercress (Nasturtium officianale) is a spicy, highly nutritious green that shines in salads. It likes water with a little flow, and otherwise, it’s easy to grow, even in a small pond.

9. Water Chestnut

The corms of Eleocharis dulcis will be a well-known flavor and texture for fans of East Asian cuisine, and as the common name suggests, water chestnuts are water plants. They are warm-climate plants, however, and need a growing season of about 7 months to provide food.

10. Water Lily

Sometimes confused with lotus, water lily (genus Nuphar) has several subspecies with edible parts, from roots to leaves to seeds. They, of course, have nice flowers to enjoy as well, and there are a number of species native to the US.

11. Water Mint

Mentha aquatica has the aromatic and flavor qualities of other mints. It can be used to flavor desserts, jellies, and sauces, and it makes great herbal tea. Most mints like moist soil, but this species takes that a little further and will grow into ponds from the edges.

12. Wild Rice

To grow enough wild rice to make much of an impact, a pond will need to be sizable, but it is a delicious option for those with the space (and climate) to do it. Wild rice (Zizania aquatica) grows along the margins of ponds and lakes and can be used like rice. It likes cold climates.

That’s a lot of growing potential in the pond, and aquatic plants take little care to grow successfully. More often, they will need to be controlled so as not to take over the pond. Eating these edible aquatic plants can be the perfect way to manage them.

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