Great Information and a great idea, Holly! I love your photos. I have seen bits and peices of your yard through your photos over the years and it has to be beautiful. I would love to have a tour of your yard some time.

Holly - Lovely marginal plant photos!

Thank you both. Same back to you Carolyn, I've seen some really beautiful pics of you garden, too. We are planing on hosting a plant swap this Fall, possibly you would be able to visit. I will make sure you have the info when it is time.
Becky, So glad you enjoyed the pic.

Great idea. I only have the water lilies I sink in the bottom of the pond to over winter. Maybe this fall I will try to save my marginals in my raised beds like you describe. Mulch heavily over them. Worth a try.

I guess I'm unclear why you don't just overwinter them directly in the water? Because of freezing? I have always just left mine in the pond and they do well, but I have temperate winters so that may well be the difference. It does freeze here, but not for the whole winter, perhaps 1-2 weeks now and again. I've had good luck leaving water lily, mint, pond weed, houttynia, and arrowhead directly in the pond.

I did try to overwinter some water lettuce and water hyacinth (which I think die with just a frost) in a tub in my basement laundry room, but my husband tossed it thinking it was something I forgot about. Not my best experiment, I DID forget about them and according to Gary it was just a bucket of mush...

I have several above ground small water features. The ones in Eric4homes article, bathtub, box pond. We usually empty them for the winter. I have one deep inground pond but it isn't real big and I over winter the water lilies in that and some of the marginals. But I have more marginals than I can over winter in it. So I put the excess into the ground.