Create Stunning Indoor Aquatic Gardens: A Guide to Underwater Houseplants

Plant an Aquatic Houseplant Container

Water and plants create a compelling combination, and the indoor garden is the ideal place to showcase this attractive marriage of green and blue.  In her book, The House Gardener (CICO Books), author Isabelle Palmer does a great job of illustrating how easy it is to combine water and houseplants to create captivating and tranquil indoor aquatic scenes. 
Water Garden
Aquatic houseplants with rocks

(Photos: Helen Cathcart, The House Gardener, CICO Books)

Palmer began planting indoor aquatic gardens because she lives in London and missed the pond at her parents’ house. She finds it particularly relaxing to watch the plants swaying in the water. Her book gives you step-by-step instructions for creating indoor aquatic wonderlands like these pictured here. She shares the kinds of houseplants that do well underwater, as well as planting tips, container choice, how to create a beguiling underwater scene and how to maintain your underwater wonderland. 

You can even include in your aquatic houseplant container beta fish. These fish do well when combined with indoor plants, like the pothos pictured here. 

Also make sure to add aquarium wood to your aquatic houseplant container, which will give the scene an authentic look.

Beta Fish in Indoor Aquatic Garden

 (Photo: Julie Bawden-Davis, Healthy Houseplants.com)

Aquatic Plant on shelf

(Photo: Helen Cathcart, The House Gardener, CICO Books)