unwinterizing hardy water plants

I took the plants off the bottom of the pond (18" deep) and put them on
their marginal benches, which are about 5 inches below the surface of
the water. Since this is my first experience doing this here are some
of my surprises:

The yellow iris had already grown over 2' tall and were sticking out of
the water already.

The Monkey Flower (Mimulus) and Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis Scorpioides)
had overflowed their pots and were growing like mad. The Myosotis had
plantlets floating around the pond.

The Cardinal Flower (Lobelia Cardinalis) looked real good, like it was
ready to form buds.

The following were also very healthy. I was surprised how green
everything was.

Lizard's Tail (Saururus Cernuus
Pickerel Weed (Pontederia Cordata)
Rush (Juncus)
Water Willow (Justica Americana)

The Anacharis is growing into real sea-weed. It is getting very big. It
is difficult to walk through it (in waders).

My tender plants like Water Hyacinth and Parrots Feather are still in
tubs in my greenhouse.

Some of my minnows are getting some size to them.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA