When we moved into our present house a couple of years ago, we inherited a garden pond. It's a formal, concrete-lined affair, rectangular in shape and about eight feet by four feet in size. In addition to the pond, we also inherited one black and orange koi carp, two golden orfe and three goldfish, together with a collection of bomb-proof water plants.

Whoever made the original choice of plants did a splendid job, leaving us a mix of marginals, surface-leaved and submerged oxygenating plants, all of which I would highly recommend to fellow novice pond keepers.

My favourite is the bog bean Menyanthes trifoliata which, as its Latin name suggests, has its mid-green leaves in threes, like big clover leaves. The fringed white flowers appear in spring, held above the water among the foliage.

Another favourite is the Cape pondweed, Aponogeton distachyos, whose shiny leaves float on the surface of the water. The flowers, white with black stamens, are produced throughout the summer months.

We also have a large clump of flag iris and a multi-purpose variegated grass, Phalaris arundinacea var. picta or gardener's garters, which also grows in one of the driest parts of the garden. We have two submerged oxygenating plants that help to keep the water fresh and clear, Elodea crispa (now more correctly known as Lagarosiphon major) and another that I have failed to identify so far.

Because the pond is shaded by a large maple, our one water lily is most reluctant to flower. The flip side of this is that it does produce a fine crop of lily pads, the shade from these and the maple is sufficient to keep down the slimy blanket weed that was threatening to fill the pond earlier in the season.

The only plant we have been tempted to add to our pond is Butomus umbellatus, the flowering rush. It's quite small just yet, but it has come through one winter and we hope that by next summer it will be large enough to produce the tall heads of rose-pink flowers for which the species is prized.

Apart from the oxygenating plants, which seem to live happily suspended in the water, all the plants are growing in baskets specially designed for pond plants. Most garden centres stock a range of water plants, baskets and loam-based compost for pond plants, as do some of the larger fish suppliers.

The fish are all still around, having survived three winters with us now. In a way that's a bit of a disappointment. Fish are not good neighbours for the wildlife I would like to attract to the pond newts, frogs, dragonflies and the like. So if anyone knows of an alternative home for a collection of motley but tough pond fish, please let me know.

Jobs for this week:

Feed tubs, pots and hanging baskets weekly, taking off any spent flowers to keep them looking fresh.

Clear around the base of trees and shrubs planted in grass, leaving a generous circle free of weeds around the base to reduce competition for light, water and nutrients.

Give mowers a mid-season service; sharpen or renew blades, oil moving parts, change the oil and plugs in petrol driven machines to prolong engine life.