What should I plant in this bed?

I've got this ivy-covered bed next to my pond. As you can see there is one yellow lily plant, and some montauk daisies that bloom in the fall. There's also a few yellow tulips scattered around. The bed is lined with rocks which the ivy is almost completely covering.

This bed is so bare looking the majority of the year, anyone have ideas on what to plant there? I do want to keep the ivy, I think it looks nice, so I was thinking an ornamental tree or two? And you can see how the ivy has grown down to the water line (excuse my weeds!)... should I trim that up to the edge of the bed or leave it spilling down like that? And what about the rocks between the bed and the grass, should I keep them covered in ivy or trim the ivy up to the inside of the rocks?

I'm pretty new to gardening and it's hard to imagine what will work and what won't, so ANY ideas are welcome! :)

Are you looking to remove all the grass?

no no, the lawn is staying!

Is that a natural pond there or one you did complete with pond liner, etc? If it's a natural pond, I expect the soil in that area is fairly heavy and rather wet much of the time, especially when you think about how a tree's roots are going to spread as it grows that's going to limit your choices somewhat.

It's man-made, but no liner. That's the height of the water table throughout the property, the bed is about 3 ft above the water line most of the year. Are there any types of ornamental trees that would thrive so close to the pond? There are maples and mulberry trees lining the other side of the pond, and they seem to do just fine, but of course I'd want something that will stay a little smaller.

Birch should grow on the waters edge.

I would move the boulders, the ivy will always grow back over them.

You could add a couple of plants, same species as those on the other side of you canoe access.

If you want to use trees, something that does well near water, such as a clump River Birch or Paper Birch would work very well. They thrive in wet ground. Same thing with many of the willows. A neat one I have is a Weeping Pussy Willow. They are only about 6 feet tall. You could also use some shrubbery. Barberry's are one of my favorite, I have them planted all around my house. And one benefit is that they will grow nearly anywhere you plant them with minimal maintenance. However, if you have children they may not be a wise choice. Barberry's have thorns, and they can be a pain to clean out in the springtime. One very neat tree/shrub combo that I have done is a Crimson Frost Clump Birch combo with Magic Carpet Spirea around the base. Goldmound Spirea would also make a very nice substitte, but gets a little larger.
Also, I would do as Dale suggested. Repeat the same plants from one side to the other to create uniformity. About all that I could make out was the Rudbekia and the Daylilys.
As far as the Ivy goes, do with it what you wish. Personally I hate Ivy, and have found several alternatives that are cleaner, and much easier to maintain such as Vinca, ground cover Junipers and Carefree Cotoneaster. But if you want to keep it, I would trim it us to keep it out of the yard and display the rock edge. If you don't like the way it looks, give it a few months and it will have rocks covered again. One thing to caution with the ivy is that you keep it out of the plants/bushes you plant in the bed, otherwise it can "strangle" them and kill them.

I think you should take out the Ivy and put a different type of plant or flowers there...or since u want to keep the ivy take out half of it and then add colorful flowers and plants next to it and cover the whole thing

Thank you for the suggestions!
Last week I trimmed the ivy on the pond side, and it looks much cleaner. I think this weekend I will trim it up on the lawn side, to show the rocks.
I'm leaning toward the weeping pussy willow too, as I will be planting regular weeping willows throughout the rest of my yard soon so it will tie in well.

Find out the spread of the other willows you intend to plant as most willows will send roots out toward water/moisture and that includes your drains and foundations, so be cautious with willows, they are beautiful trees but not suitable for every situation because of the damage they can cause. dont know your soil type but, if you have an acid soil, small Rhododendrons/Azaleas can look good reflecting on water and you can get some evergreen ones that look good when the new growth starts to grow after the flowering period passes, a soil tester kit from the garden store will be good to tell you what type of soil you have. good luck. WeeNel.

I'd try looking at that pic again and taking it with you when you shop. You need the 2 beds to relate to each other in some small ways. Keep the boulder edge trimmed up, fimd some dark red shrub/tree, some yellow varigated something...

I'd get rid of the ivy, as it will cover anything planted there eventually. Definitely need to repeat some of the plants in the other bed for continuity. Maybe a smoke tree, Cotinus, at the upper edge with some iris and daylilies. Just off the top of my head.

ever thought about removing the ivy and planting sedum as groundcover? There is another post in this same category about using sedums as ground cover you might be able to find one that thrives in a wet area. Not to mention I think they would really add a neat look to your pond area. Lots of them flower as well. Also not soo bad on weeding. try stepables.com

Hey Melissa, perennials, annuals and herbs are the primary groups you'll be choosing from. Some people like to put in small trees or shrubs to give some height to their flower bed. Herbs can give you some surprisingly lovely flowers for your garden bed. Choosing them for flower bed plants will lend some uniqueness to your garden. Lavender is a fragrant flowering herb that is very popular.

Rosemary can make a lovely small plant or shrub, depending on your growing zone, and it has a lovely fragrant needle leaf that is often accented by small colorful flowers. Thyme comes in many different varieties, and they are all low-growing, so they fit nicely between larger specimens as ground cover. All summer you will be enchanted by its tiny leaves and flowers that smell oh so good when you brush against them.

Other lesser known herbs can add some textural interest. Valerian is a light, airy plant that has tiny white flowers, and the sweet fragrance of Sweet Woodruff is a magical addition if you have a shady spot. Angelica grows tall enough to make a large specimen in the garden, and has large umbels of flowers that turn into attractive sprays of seeds.

As you can see, there are so many flower garden plants available, your biggest problem may be choosing the ones you like best. Enjoy your journey into flowers and gardening… it may turn into a lifelong hobby.