Rotten Plants in my pond?

Question
I saw a posting regarding a problem with foam and one of the solutions was to remove any rotten plants and do a partial water change. I do have foam in my pond presently and my question is how do you know if your plants are rotten?  We bought a house last year with a pond and so we are learning.  The previous owner had a water lily in the pond and this spring I did noticed it smelled pretty bad. However, I attributed the smell as something normal after being submerged over winter. Do plants only last for one season and then need to be replaced?

Answer
Hi Pam,

A healthy pond should not smell bad.
Remove all the plants and try to remove the water as nuch as you can.
If you have any fish, remove them into a holding tank and clean out all the dead matter from your plants.
Lack of oxygen could kill water plants.
Do you have a filter or waterfall?

Keep in touch,

Carlo