Grass can be a scruffy swine at the water margin, Bermuda grass makes long scrawny tresses that extend across the water surface some six feet or so, spoiling the appearance of a pond, taking some ingenious weeding to keep from spoiling a pond... If there is a choice I'd find some fine short grass variety to seed along a sizable pond and try to rip out bermuda grass...
There are quite a few aquatic plants which can be used to naturalise a water margin, which can cope with naturalising and a grassy margin.
Aquatic iris, canna, pampas grass, pickerel, arrow arum, lizards tail, arrowhead, royal fern, among others which will contribute more to good looks and improve the habitat of the pond considerably rather than invasive grasses of poor soils...
There are quite a few evergreen trees and shrubs with low growing or layered habits which will thrive beside a pond, going some way to reducing wind blown leaves through Winter and contributing toward grass and weed suppression.
A barrier of evergreens, astilbes and shuttlecock fern along a tricky bank will turn it from a weedy eyesore to something with all year round interest...
Ponds don't have to be like those barren 'high maintenance' holes as found on many golf courses.
Regards, andy
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