• White water lilies are native to the U.S.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Establishing non-native plants in your fish pond can ultimately affect neighboring water environments. If the exotics are invasive, they can aggressively spread to natural wetlands, rivers and lakes, outcompeting native flora and affecting creatures in that community. By using native plants in your pond, local fish, insects, amphibians and reptiles benefit from the naturally simulated environment. It's best to use a combination of submerged, edge and floating plants.
  
  

Pickerelweed

• Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) is a pond plant native to all of the continental U.S. It can be planted as a submerged plant in up to 1 foot of water or on the edge of a pond in extremely wet soil. If submerged, part of the plant will rise above the water's surface. Pickerelweed grows up to 3 feet tall and produces elegant, elongated and oval-shaped leaves. When it blooms, from June to September, the flowers are purple, blue or white, depending on the variety. The blossom shape is composed of a chain of smaller flowers.
  
  

Elodea

• Elodea (Elodea canadensis), also called American Elodea, is a completely submerged pond plant native to the U.S. At first glance, it looks similar to a bright-green, soft-textured seaweed. Its small leaf blades form a mini-rosette. It blooms small, white and green flowers from June until August. Elodea benefits your pond community, as fish use the plant for shelter.
  
  

Water Lilies

• A favorite floating pond plant, native to the U.S., is water lilies. The white water lily (Nymphaea odorata) have round floating leaves, familiarly known as lily pads. Each lily pad has one flower that can remain in bloom all summer. The star-shaped flowers with numerous white petals tend to open in the morning and close when the sun is highest in the sky. White water lilies also release a fragrant aroma. Slightly smaller, but also native to the U.S., is the yellow waterlily (Nymphaea mexicana).
  
  

Blue Flag Iris

• Blue flag iris can be used as a submerged or edge plant.iris blau image by Christoph Raabe from Fotolia.com
  
  Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor), also called the Harlequin blue flag, can be used as a submerged or an edge plant. This native plant can be planted in up to 6 inches of water but grows best at a shallower depth of approximately 2 inches. Blue flag iris grows up to 3 feet tall with crisp, lance-shaped leaves. Its attractive flowers have blue or violet funnel-shaped petals with hints of yellow, black and white. Expect to see blossoms from May until August.