Why Water Gardening?
Water features are an enjoyable addition to any yard. In fact, in most cases water features are enjoyed so much that they become the focal point of the yard. The beauty, life, and experience they offer to a yard are like no other.
What does a water feature give you?
When you add a water feature to your yard, you create life. In most cases, plants invite animals to your yard that flee when people are present. This calls for an attractive backyard, but there’s no excitement. When you add a water feature, you’re not only creating a feature for your yard, but you’re creating a habitat in which many animals can live. The constant flow of the water creates movement and life in your yard, and the animals you attract add variety. If you have fish or frogs in your water feature, you’re likely to get more birds and insects. This in turn gives you more excitement, and makes your backyard a perfect place to entertain.
Designing your Feature
Now that you’ve decided you want a water feature, how do you decide where you want it, and what you want? There are many different types of water features that you can choose from.
Water Garden
A Water Garden can be one of the easier options as a water feature. You can include plants, a small waterfall, and a pump in order to get the water circulating. While you may have to worry about murky water, or algae, for the most part this pond is very low maintenance. In warm climates, the pond should be at least two feet deep in order to prevent evaporation in the warmer months, whereas in the colder climates, the pond should be 12” to 16” below the freeze zone.
Fish Pond
The fish pond is more maintenance than a water garden, and needs to be designed differently. Your pond will need to be at least three to four feet deep in part of the pond for your fish to survive over cold winters. Fish also require a lot more filtration and aeration than regular water gardens, so keep that in mind when installing a fish pond. A fish pond should also be larger than your typical water garden. Fish can grow to be quite big – especially koi, a popular fish for ponds.
Waterfalls
Waterfalls can be very attractive over sloping land, and can make it very easy to landscape a particularly difficult-looking area. They can, however, also look a little out of place if it doesn’t have the proper surroundings. The sound of running water that a waterfall provides can be quite relaxing for anyone visiting the water feature. Keep in mind that you can add waterfalls to water gardens and fish ponds a well, to make them a little more interesting.
Streams
Streams can vary from a small trickling bit of water to a longer body of water weaving through the yard. The running water creates interest and can be used to connect two ponds, a pond and a waterfall, or can start in a bed of rocks before ending in a pond.
Once you’ve decided what type of water feature you want, you can get started with designing and planning your feature!