Well, I'm assuming you mean other than water lily. I like my pond and stream to look natural. My favorite plant is veriegated sweet flag. It needs to be at least slightly damp but will do fine submerged. Even a small clump can be divided and you will then have a lifetime supply. I use it at the edge of the pond and stream and right now in the filter although that reminds me to replace some of it with some color like impatiens which are also a fav of mine. If you don't have some shade, impatiens wouldn't work for you. Here is a link that might be useful: sweet flag

first.. NEVER USE A CHEMICAL UNTIL YOU ID THE PROBLEM.. AND VERIFY THAT THE CHEMICAL IS RATED FOR THE PROBLEM... its a waste of money .. and dangerous ... second... why destroy part of mother natures garden show.... that was a free plant... you should have reveled in it .. for its own beauty ... is a plant only good for your garden.. if you pay for it???? it is either there because of your watering techniques or the mulch ... if in fact it is a slime mold .... research the slime mold.. and find out why its there.. if it is too much water ... or improper drainage ... then all you need do is to change how you water.. to make it not reappear ... in other words.. there never was a need for the chemicals ... please ... learn to enjoy a 'free' plant in your garden ... mushrooms are my favorite .... growwing on some long dead tree root.. pop up here or there... i used to be like you .... running out and getting rid of them because they interfered with my garden .. then i took a zen attitude about it all .. and come to find out.. they are cool ... and that is what i would think about the slime mold... did you actually get down on your belly and study it ... its probably really cool ... good luck ken

Try Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve in Buchanon, Michigan (this is extreme southern Michigan, close to South Bend, Indiana). Their web address is www.fernwoodbotanical.org, or call them at 1-269-683-8653. Fernwood is on a river. One of the plants I like best there is a beautiful tri-color beech tree. There's also a gift shop with not only the usual stuff but plants as well--lots of kinds of ferns, for example--and they have a really big plant sale (twice a year, I think)where you can buy great stuff you don't find in most catalogs, let alone nurseries. They offer a nice little lunch buffet in a dining room with woodland garden print wallpaper. But of course, the best part is walking through the gardens. Do you like woods, prairie, river bank, or English-style gardens? Take your pick; they're all here. Here is a link that might be useful: Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

I copied this as it was easier than typing it out. It applies to Ohio but should be good for Illinois as well. "The woodfrog is an example of an explosive breeder, a species that congregates in large numbers at breeding ponds for a very short mating season lasting only two or three days to a week. They become active in mid-March and remain so until late October. Spawning is accomplished in small temporary pools, swamps, or semipermanent ponds and takes place from mid-March to early April in northeastern Ohio. Woodfrogs often lay their clutches of eggs aggregated in a central location of the pond thereby forming huge rafts of eggs deposited below the surface of the water. Individual egg masses are globular in shape and measure 75-100 mm in diameter. Each mass may contain 1000-5000 eggs with each egg swelling to 6-7 mm in diameter upon hydration. The eggs hatch in 14-21 days, and transformation occurs 61-115 days following spawning. Woodfrog tadpoles are dark, nearly black, and transform the year they hatch at lengths of 38-48 mm. Recently transformed woodfrogs 15-18 mm in length may be found from early June through late July. Sexual maturity is reached in two years." Here is a link that might be useful: Frogpatch Where kids and adults learn nature