In the wild, you will frequently see tall grasses and reeds growing at the edge of ponds, along with bog plants such as skunk cabbage, which have actually become a popular plant for water garden enthusiasts. While some people have gone through the extra trouble of building a bog area onto their pond or have such a wet area naturally, many with constructed ponds (i.e. that use liners of any sort) find it difficult to provide an actual marsh like area. So they forgo it and instead simply use large rocks or some other medium to ring the pond and hide the liner. In realty, many forms of fauna will not bother to stop at such water features because there isn't enough cover on the ground or a high enough place to perch and rest. If animals or insects such as dragonflies feel vulnerable, they will be less likely to make your water feature their home. If your water garden is near your house, where people frequently go in and out, matters can be even worse.
Fortunately, it is quite easy to provide the cover needed by many pond visitors. If you have plant shelves or boggy areas for semi-aquatic or shallow water plants, choose a nice mix of grasses and reeds. You can even use large stalks of lucky bamboo for a pleasing effect. Other plants include yellow and purple flag water iris and water canna which can grow quite large and upright. If you don't have a bog area, as the liner keeps all of the water enclosed and the surrounding dirt totally dry, use landscaping in addition to slabs of rocks or pebbles to mask the liner. This is the same for tub water gardens, try not to allow them to stand by themselves, birds and other visitors will be more apt to visit if screen is provided by plants, even house plants on summer vacation, grouped along side. Such plants, depending on the look you are going for, can include any type of day lily. Their
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