Gardening with Water Features

Water gardening can pose many problems for gardeners if not researched and handled correctly. However, the pleasure a water feature in the garden can give far out-weighs the amount of research and costs incurred in having one.

I recommend everyone should have a water feature, even if it's a small feature to enhance and give a greater depth to the garden. There's nothing better to give a feeling or relaxation to a garden.

Whether you’ve got a small garden, or a large garden capable of handling an extensive water garden, you’ll still have to plan down to every last detail, otherwise you might just be left with something that doesn't work correctly or upsets the balance of the garden in general.

If you already have a small lake or pond in your garden, or if you're lucky enough to have a small stream wandering through your garden then your water gardening efforts just became that much easier. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of gardeners, myself included, such a natural bonus from Mother Nature isn't available so you'll just have to start your own from sctrach.

If you’ve thought about water gardening then you’ve probably already thought about the where you can get your water from and if required, how to dispose of it easily. Once you've got a rough plan about these things, you can start to concentrate on the actual water feature or water gardening and start to decide what you want to do.

There are plenty of DIY books in the market these days or articles on the internet about building your own pond, so I won’t go into too extensively. The basics you’ll need to know relatively simple. Your pond will need to be designed in a way that will fit within your garden and, of course, yout budget confines. Once that’s done, mark out the edges and start digging to the required depth. Remember that if you want to incorporate fish into your pond then you really need to get it to around 6 foot deep at the deepest point to ensure that they can over-winter without freezing. Line with pond liner when finished, and weigh down with stones, plant pots, and other decorate features, as required.

If you do decide that you want to include fish in your pond you’ll need to decide early on in order to make the pond a livable habitat and one in which the fish will thrive in. Hardier fish that can survive winter are a must. No point in killing them off once a year! Koi Carp and Goldfish are the most popular pond varieties, but your local aquarium can provide you with more information about the other types of fish available and which will live outdoors in a pond. Keep in mind that Koi tend to grow to about 2 feet in length when fully mature, so it’s desirable to leave them some swimming room for later on. Too small a space and they won't thrive.

Next we can see about populating your pond and its surroundings with the plants that are so essential to water gardening. Lotus is very popular and easy to grow variety of plant for water gardening features. There are many different varieties and shades in the Lotus plant family to choose from and they all are beautiful to look at making life slightly easier. Be careful not to overpopulate your pond with plants as this will detract from the beauty of the water feature and it will make it look unkept and cluttered.

Place the rest of your chosen plants artistically, in and around your pond area, and you’re good to go! Your efforts at water gardening will be much appreciated by both you and others. Your garden will be more relaxing and offer all different kinds of wildlife a home in your garden.