Your Beautiful Water Garden

What’s more soothing than a water garden? It can be the size of a bowl, or it can take up acres of space. Most homeowners’ water gardens are more modest, but the sounds of running water and the sight of animal life, beautiful flowers and vegetation provide the same refreshment and sense of peace.

Some water gardens really are contained in pots. The one caveat is that these tiny gardens shouldn't be put in terra cotta pots because these pots have a sealant that’s toxic to fish. The pot should be made of fiberglas or plastic. With that out of the way, all this water garden needs is a little pump and filter to keep the water fresh. Some good plants for a potted water garden are water poppy and dwarf horsetail.

If the gardener wants an outdoor water garden, they should consider the location of the garden and what style they want it to be. The garden should be placed where it can be best seen and heard. Would that be near the kitchen, or the livingroom, or the patio? More care has to be given if the water garden is going to be built in. A freestanding water garden can be moved around if the homeowner doesn’t like the original site.

Before the water garden is built, the homeowner should consult an electrician and make sure that it can have safe access to electricity and that the electricity can be easily cut off if necessary. The homeowner will also need a source of water. Usually all they need is the water from their garden hose. Also, the water garden ideally should be built on a flat surface, but many beautiful water gardens are terraced.

The water garden's pool has to be at least 18 inches deep and can be made out of masonry, but masonry’s a bit expensive. Vinyl liners are also good for a water garden and cost less. The pump and filter, which should be bought together, recirculates the water and aerates it. The size of the pump is going to depend on the volume of the pool and how elaborate the homeowner wants their water garden to be. The more elaborate the water features are in the garden, the more power the pump has to provide. A pump and filter should be able to recirculate half of the pool's volume every hour. The volume is determined by multiplying the length of the pool by its width and its depth. Multiplying that number by 7.5 will tell the homeowner how many gallons are in their pool, and they’ll know that half of that amount will need to be pumped every hour.

Once the pool is filled with fresh water it should be allowed to sit for ten days before installing the plants and about a month before adding fish. The plants should be a mix of heights, textures and colors to add interest.

Once a pool is set up it should be easy to maintain. It’s an ecosystem and if it’s healthy it won’t need too much maintenance. What’s mostly left for the homeowner to do is enjoy it!

Pond Accessories

When it comes to pond or watergarden decorations, nothing beats fountains. As kids, we all have had a special attraction to fountains. Everyone loves the way fountains make the water come out in a stream and move to the sound of the music. Fountains are definitely pleasing to everyone’s eyes and they sure can catch attention. If you want to have a fountain as a standalone piece, with no in-ground pond, you can go for self-contained fountains. Also, you can choose from a huge pool of fountain heads. These heads can create amazing water features. All you have to do is connect these heads to fountain pump and place at intended spots in your ponds and watergardens. For a party having foggers is a splendid idea. These transform water into fog. This creates an amazing and magical dry ice effect.

You can get spitters for your water features. They add a whole new ambience to your ponds, with the sound which definitely make your ponds come to life. Lighting can be added to the backyard waterfalls, watergardens, etc. to give a complete look. So go ahead and decorate your ponds, adding to the fun and excitement!

Big Ideas for Water Gardens

Have you ever been to a large public water garden?  You know, the ones that stretch out for what seems like miles, with a lot of pathways, multiple bridges, and countless fountains and waterfalls?  And of course, a large quantity of beautiful Koi fish.  These gardens are fantastic, but they’re also beyond the reach of us mere mortals to have in our own yards.  Or, are they?

Of course, the most limiting factor for a large water garden is how much room you have to build one.  But even if your hard is of modest size, a big-feeling water garden isn’t necessarily out of consideration.  The key to a big water garden in a reasonable space and budget is to make it “feel” big.

 It is possible to have a grand water garden of our own, just perhaps scaled back a bit.  The most important factor in making your smaller garden feel bigger is immersion.  No, I don’t mean going for a swim.  I’m talking about a garden which makes you unaware of everything else by visual and audio immersion.

 To be visual immersive, the garden should be tall.  There are many ways to be tall.  If you’ve got room in your yard, you can make the border areas of the garden a few feet higher than the inner areas where you would walk.  You can add trees around the outside edges as well, to help create a slightly closed-in feeling which still allows open air above.  Particularly, it would be good to place trees in locations that will obscure the view of neighboring houses or other buildings.

Painting the fences a dark, earthy color or even a very dark green will create an immersive feel by taking away the “I’m in a back yard” look of the fence.  Make sure they’re painted with a thick coat, you want it to have a smooth look and feel, further moving away from the usual wood grain appearance of a fenced yard.

 Another very important aspect of immersion is a consistent visual theme.  You’ll want to make sure all the water features have a similar style.  The rocks should be of similar or complementary appearance, any walkways should be made from the same style of stones or have the same concrete finish.  If you decide to build a bridge, and you have a deck, or you want more than one bridge, make sure these all have a matching style.  The woodwork of the deck and bridges should be painted in a way that matches or compliments the fence painting.

Tall decorations are another way to improve immersion.  Lamp posts and archways are a great example.

 You might even consider obscuring part of your house with smaller trees or bushes, or perhaps incorporating the house itself into the garden.  You could place tall waterfalls or fountains on the side of the house, and could even consider painting the garden-side of your home to match the fence and other woodwork.

A moose story

This showed up in my in box and is too good not to pass on. Looks like pond moose has a fan.

There once was a baby moose named Charlie. He knew nothing about anything except eating twigs, roots, bark, and shoots of woody plants. He will be with his mama until he is about a year old. Charlie loves the water. One day, Charlie got lost and he couldn't find his family. He looked everywhere for them. He could not find the pond where they use to swim and drink.

He was starting to get hungry and thirsty and it was a hot day. How he would love to be able to put his hooves in a nice cool pond!
He had only been walking for a few hours when he came across a wolf! His daddy told him that he should always run when he sees a wolf. But lucky for Charlie, the wolf wasn't hungry for moose that day. The wolf just turned and walked away. It was starting to get dark and Charlie was getting scared he would have to spend the night all by himself.

As this thought was crossing his mind, he heard a low moooo sound coming from over the hill. He got very excited about this and started running. When he got to where he heard the sound, it was only a for real cow. Not his mama! There was a man standing next to the cow and he had a very kind face. Charlie decided it would be ok to get closer. You would have thought the man could read his mind because he showed Charlie his nice cool pond!

Charlie ran and jumped and splashed. He was so happy that he forgot all about being lost. He did see his mama and daddy again and they were so happy that Charlie had found a new place to call home.

 
image from greysquirrel

The decisions that go with a water garden

There are lots of things that you will need to decide when it comes to a water garden. You will want to make sure that you think about what you can to go in the water garden and what you will want to surround the water garden. Keep in mind that your options are only limited to your imagination.

 

If you can image it, then you can build it. You will want to keep in mind that there are several things that you will need to decide on, but you’ll need to think about your water garden plants (floating and submerged) and also on the type of fish that you wish to add to the water garden. You’ll also want to think about the amount of fish that you’ll add too. All of your decisions will depend on the size of the water garden.

 

First, you will need to pick the type of fish that you want for your water garden. You will want to think about size. If you have a small garden then you will want to use fish that are like guppies. Guppies are very easy to care for and they will adapt to any situation.  You will want to consider using fish like barbs if you have a small garden. Then there are fish like catfish and koi fish that you can add to your garden.

 

When it comes to deciding what type of fish you will want to think about the size of your garden and also how deep it is. You will also want to keep in mind that the water garden will look really nice if you have an appropriate amount of fish. You don’t want to overcrowd the water garden because you could end up harming the fish, because they don’t have a lot of room to live.

 

You will also want to think about the plants that you place in the water garden. It is very important that you have both floating and submerged plants. This is because if you have submerged plants, then your fish will be able to feed off their natural environment and they will become healthy.

 

Also, you’ll find that submerged plants will keep the pollution down. You will need floating plants to help bring in the oxygen. You will find that the fish need to have both kinds of plants in order for it to find success.

 

No matter what you choose to put in your garden you will need to make sure that it will benefit you in someway. You will want to make sure that your garden will be functional and attractive, while also, concerning yourself with making the outside of the water garden functional and attractive.

Water garden details

You will want to keep in mind that when it comes to creating a water garden you will need to have something that will help you to relax. You will also want to build a water garden that will help you to create a beautiful peace to kick back. You will need to think about all the small details of a water garden.

You will want to consider that the filtration system and the shape of your water garden will make a huge difference to the appearance of your water garden. You will want to make sure that you use a filtration system, because you will need to make sure that your pond is cleaned continuously so that the fish can survive. You will find that the following bits of information will help you to have a successful water garden.

When it comes to shape, what is the best? You will find that a pond tends to take up a little bit of space, but it also has some character. How much character do you wish for your pond? You will want to make sure that you think about what it is that you need the pond to look like. You will want to think about twists and turns, but you will also want to think about height. A lot of people will have a water garden that flows into smaller pools of water much like a waterfall. This is something that you can add to your water garden to give it a unique look.

You will also want to consider that when it comes to the water garden you will be able to display any shape wonderful with a good filtration system. Keep in mind that when you add pools of water to your water garden you may need to have more than one filtration system and that can be expensive.

Depending on the size, you may need to have more than one, but if you are able to get the water to flow nicely you will be able to clean and filter the water without any problems. You will want to make sure that you think about size of the pond and the filtration system together, because they will affect the pond greatly.

Once you have thought about your filtration system and the shape of your pond you will be able to build a water garden to your liking. You will also want to keep in mind that the filtrations system will help the water flow and that will make the pond healthier. You will also want to think about your electric source when it comes to building a water garden. This is because you will need to place the water garden in an area where you can easily have access to an outlet for the filtration system and water pump.

Creating a pond with your family

When you first decide to make a pond, you may want to have the entire family join in on the fun. This is a great way to bring some creativeness to your family life. You can get your children or anyone else in the family involved in the entire pond making process. Gather everyone to get the hole dug and set the foundation for the pond. You will need someone to also help with brining in the stones or rocks to surround the pond. There is plenty to do and with the entire family pitching in, your pond will be done much faster. Also, you will have a great time spending time with your loved ones and also creating a beautiful backyard landscape. 

Fountains in the pond

When you want to add something different to your pond, you may want to add a fountain. This is a fun and very cool idea to use in your pond. Once you have your pond set in place and you have it just he way that you want it to be, adding in a fountain can be the perfect finishing touch. Having a fountain to flow water down can be something that puts your own personality into the pond. There are many kinds of fountains out there and you might want to pick out one that fits your home’s décor to match perfectly. Fountains can be turned off and on whenever you want them to be. You do not have to keep the running all the time. However during the day or at night when you are in the backyard is a great time to have the fountain running. Adding some effective lights around your fountain can intensify the pond even more. 

Picking the right pond

There are dozens of types of ponds to pick from when you make the choice to create one. Making a pond for your backyard is something that you can do easily with the right tools. There are many sites that will help you find the one pond that is going to go good with your landscape. You will nee to choose a pond that fits your landscape. You do not want one that is too big or too small. Fitting well in your yard is very important. Having space to walk around your pond is going to be a very big factor when it comes to starting your own backyard haven. You can design your own pond if you have the right tools. You nee to make sure that you have the right materials that will make building your pond much more successful. You have to do your research and create the pond of your dreams.

Pre-Made Pond

There are different ways that you can get a pond. Some people will dig their own pond. They will take the time to dig the pond by hand and put in all the work themselves. However there are some people that do not have the time to do all this work. They will instead, buy a pre made pond. This type of pond is already put together with all the mechanical parts, filters and pumps installed. All you have to do is pick the pre made pond up and place it in the exact location you want it to be. It is easy and fast and there is no wait. You can have your pond up and running and enjoy it faster than what you would if you had to create it yourself. The pre made ponds may be a little more expensive than what it would be for you to do it the other way. However you would have to buy each piece separately.