One thing to remember when planting in pockets -- they look fantastic and natural, but there are some plants that are very invasive. Some species of cattails, for example, can quickly get out of hand. A pot helps to contain them. I tucked some parrots feather into a pocket in my stream last summer, and had to pull it all out this spring because it had traveled along the streambed, almost completely choking off the flow of water. Be prepared to prune the invasive varieties, and you should be fine.

Thanks Jason and Sandy :-) Ouch Sandy! I have limited experiece with lava rock, but I can imagine the discomfort. I think experimenting is great fun-- you never know: one day you might be the one to discover the perfect pond setup that nobody else thought of! Sorry I don't have much of a philosophy on ponds, Jason. I too just keep experimenting and hoping all goes well. Of course, reading the wealth of knowledge on this forum doesn't hurt either. :-) What you can't see in the photos is that our pump won't prime when hooked up to the skimmer,so right now there's a big black intake hose sitting on the pond bottom with a strainer designed for a sump pump attached to the end. Real beautiful. When I complained, my DH's only comment was "Well, there's the bottom drain you always wanted!" I probably should add the statistics of our pond to the bog page, but the size is roughly 15x30' x3.5'deep, the bog is a little less than 1/3 that size and about 2' deep. David or anyone else that migth still be interested-- here is a link that was helpful when we started researching bog/veggie filters. If nothing else, it has a great list of plant to try in and around ponds & bogs. Sherry Here is a link that might be useful: Nelson Water Gardens -Bog Filter Construction.pdf

There is a dwarf water iris but I do not know if plants of it are available. But you might want to consider various species of Acorus. Check locally or at native plant nurseries online.

I've done it on the edge of an old enamelled cast iron bath tub. The tub is a pond for some water plants including Utricularia gibba. Where the over flow is I put some sand with some U. fulva, U. involucra and (I think) U. arnhemica seeds. It's only a small ledge but the plants are coming through and are looking good.