Pond Zone

water gardens

Installing a pond kit and creating your own pond, waterfall and stream is one of the most rewarding home improvements you will ever complete. If you can use a shovel and read simple directions, you'll be able to enjoy the immense satisfaction of creating your own water garden.

beginner water garden tips

Before creating and building your water pond there are going to be many things that will cross your mind about how to construct, where to construct and when to use certain materials in constructing your water garden. In this article I would like to tell you some of the tips that I have accumulated over the course of my reading about water gardens, building water gardens and through learned experiences. Learning to estimate the volume of your water garden. Circular water gardens can be calculated using the following method - measuring the pond in feet, take the radius squared multiplied by the depth (or average depth of the water garden) and multiply this by 3.14 and then again by 7.5.

The answer you are going to get will be in gallons. This is going to be how many gallons that your circular water garden holds, or at least very very close to it. The square or rectangular shaped If you have a square or rectangular shaped water garden here is how you calculate the gallons of water that your water garden holds. Measuring your water garden the entire way around, marking the longest and the shortest ends, take the length multiplied by the width and then multiply this by the average depth or the depth of the water garden and then multiply this number by 7.5 to get how many gallons of water your water garden holds. When building a water garden be sure the center or base of your water garden is flat, firm and level. The sides of the water garden can slope or step as needed, but the base should be a firm level surface.

When you are constructing a water garden and you are going to be using concrete, your walls will be about six inches thick so digging your hole big enough should allow for these extra inches the entire way around the water garden. Be sure to install any drain, positioning the drains before installing concrete so you have drains. Often beginner gardeners forget that drains need added to the bottom of the water garden to allow for easy cleaning. Make sure that the sides of your water garden are not vertical lines, slopes are going to be much easier to manage and are better looking for the over all effect of the water garden when dealing with concrete in the water garden.

You can create a cover made of wood planks, surrounded by rocks to keep your filtration system out of mind and out of sight while still protecting the fish in your water garden! Remember that some water gardens will hold fish, others will hold plants, and still others are created to hold both fish and plants – so have a ball and create the pond of your dreams!

water garden planting

You have been working on the design for your water garden and your own unique look. Now you need to think about where you are going to plant your water plants, what is the best placement of the plants not only for your plants to survive but for your fish care as well. You will have surface plants, pond shelf plants, bog plants, and oxygenator plants that you can choose from when planting in and around the water garden. One of the first considerations when deciding what types of plants you are going to plant in your water garden, is that you should look at various types of heights of the plants.

Using different heights of plants in you water garden will give you a textured look, a more three d effect in the overall in the water garden. The first plant to consider buying is oxygenator plant that is known to put oxygen back into the water. This makes your job of watching oxygen levels in the water much simpler with these little plants. Be on the look out when reading through plant descriptions for the plants that are best known for adding oxygen back into the water.

When planning your water garden you should know that if you are going to use any type of bog plants that they will also spread up and grow on regular soil as well as in the water garden. If you have a nearby garden that is delicate and hard to maintain, you will want to keep your bog plants growing on the opposite end of the water garden in order to keep them from your delicate garden plants. Implementing plants on the pond shelf both in and out of the water is easily done using container plants.

These containers could be made from a more porous type basket instead of a plastic container which is simply done to control how far the plant grows out into the pond and along the pond waters while still providing the plant with all the benefits of the water that it loves so much. Some of the best and most widely used plants in the water pond include the Lobelia, the Sweet Flag, the Iris, the Parrots Feathers, Lilies, Marsh Marigolds and Hostas. You will also find a wide variety of other plants that you can use in the water garden and one thing that you can look for that will help you make the choice is colors!

considering a pond

Creating a water garden is a great addition to you garden that you can enjoy for years to come but there are also a few other ideas that you should be thinking about when you are deciding on where to place your water garden or your water pond.A few of these considerations include children, guests in your home, animals and your neighbors. Let’s look at these topics a little more in detail so you can make an informed decision about where to place your water garden.

In regards to children, if you are designing a deepwater garden you might need a fence surrounding it so that small children will not wander in and fall into your water garden. If you are designing a water garden and you live near children, the children might also just like to come over and play in your water which could disrupt your fish or your plants that are growing as well.

When you want to show off your water garden you will want to keep it near to your home. Creating the water garden that can be seen from your patio or from your walkway easily will be a great display for your guests and your friends who are in your home to visit you and your gardens.

Creating a water garden with fish, koi or goldfish, will also mean that you may have certain other little flying bugs that come for the moist wet grasses and plants that surround your water garden. You might want to consider keeping this water garden a little ways from your picnic area if you are in a geographic location that is known for mosquitoes during the rainy season so when you are picnicking or when you are on the patio these little pests do not bother you.

For the best possible safety for all concerned, when creating a water garden or a garden pond, placement away from the ‘beaten path’, the ‘play area’, or away from the property lines will be some of the best placement decisions you can use when creating and designing your water garden or your garden pond.

When designing a water garden, do keep your elderly visitors and guest in mind when you are creating the garden that is on a steep hill or far from the home. If you are creating the water garden that is far from your home, or on a steep hill, your elderly guests might not be able to visit your garden, so you might not want to mention or ‘make to much of’ you water garden that you can not show off to this visitor.

If you are going to raise fish in your water pond, you will need to be able to visit with your water pond occasionally so that you can determine what needs your fish might have, if they need feed, if the water needs cleaned or if all of your accessories are working properly. Keep your water garden that you are growing fish in close enough to be visited on a regular basis so that you will check in on it more often.

planting in your watergarden

There are different types of plants that you can grow in the water garden. Some types of plants will require that you plant in a container so that the plant will stay contained but will have the benefits of the water garden as well. Planting surface plants is always an option in the water garden as well, and here we are going to talk a little about each type of plant, and how you can plant them in the water garden.

Surface plants are easy plants to start in the water garden. These are plants that are going to float along the water, with the roots hanging down into the water to absorb the nutrients from the water that they need to survive. When you are purchases floating surface plants, like the Water Lily, you should be checking the roots when buying them, or if someone has given them to you.

The roots should all be white with any black roots meaning the plant has a problem. You can snip off roots that are blackened if there are just a couple. Soft roots, when the roots are spongy feeling and not hard like a root should be also will indicate that the plant has a problem. When planting bare rooted plants in the water garden there are a few steps that you should follow for a successful planting. You should be using a large container, one that is more like mesh instead of a pot with not holes. When you line the pot with bessian so that the roots can’t get out of the containers and take over your water garden.

Be sure to rinse off all plants that you are going to be planting in the water garden. The rinsing will take off any bugs or left over bacteria that may be clinging to the plant. Keep the roots of all plants wet while transports or while working on other portions of planting so that the bare rooted plants will not dry out too quickly.

Cutting off a the tops of the plant, just so there is only about three to five inches of plant that will stick out above the soil will ensure that your plant has a chance to stabilize before it wants to try and grow which will not put as much stress on the plant it self and you will have a better chance of the plant surviving. When adding the final soil to the water garden container plant, be sure to pack the soil in tightly so that there are no air pockets surrounding the roots.

pond safety

You may feel that your water garden needs a few additional features which could require electricity, lighting and additional construction. There are a few safety concerns that you should be aware of when you are working around a pond that has already been constructed and when using electricity.

When adding an electrical outlet that you are going to use in the water garden you should keep your outlet within four feet of the water garden. Water proof covers should be added to all outdoor electrical outlets to ensure that the water does not kick a breaker and shutoff any important filtrating or oxygenating equipment that you may have plugged in. You should never use extension cords for any of the features that you want to add to the water garden as extension cords used over long periods of time can cause fires.

When at all possible you should cover electrical cords with some type of conduit so that there will be no chance of cuts in the cord and anyone getting electrocuted. If you are going to move lights, fix your filtrating system or change the current on your water fall features, you first should unplug anything that is plugged in to electricity to prevent shock or injury. When installing lights in or around the water garden, be sure to choose a low voltage light that will save you money on the electric bill plus they are safer in case of any accidents happening when you have electricity and water combined.

Any lights or light sockets that you buy for the water garden should be water proof.a water proof light will not let any water in around the bulb or the outlet in the case of rain or when the water is splashed from the pond. Every time that you change a light bulb in or around the water garden it will be a good time to consider reviewing the sockets that you have installed in the water garden to check for any rust or corrosion in the sockets.

water garden ideas

Deciding where to place your water garden and how big to make your water garden may be a little more difficult that deciding the shape of your water garden and the actual design of your water garden. Here we are going to give you a little bit of ideas and insight in to the different types of water gardens that you can design in your own lawn. While these are just a few ideas of what you can do in creating your own water garden, use these ideas to spark your imagination in building your own water garden.

The Formal Water Garden Your design of a formal water garden is a place you can relax, where everything has its own ‘place’ and is neat and orderly in fashion. A formal water garden uses straight lines in the design of not only the water body itself, but also in the path leading to the water garden, and the arrangements of the plants and flowers around the water garden. A formal water garden has a plan or a geometric design to its over all look and feel of the water, the plants and the paths that surround the water garden.

The Informal Water Garden Your design of the informal water garden is also a garden that you can go to for relaxation and quiet, but through a method of curves, variety and different ‘rooms’ within the same water garden area creating an entire inviting area that brings all of your design and details together using different angles, curves and colors. The type of home that you live in will also help you determine what type of water garden you will have. Take for example the informal country setting with a small farmhouse; this would be the type of home that would not have a formal water garden because the garden would look out of place.

The straight lines and the rigidness of the details would not be a welcoming setting in the country setting. The country home, the ranch house, or the farmhouse would welcome a curvy water garden with a small waterfall to add some detail to the water garden in this setting. Creating the water garden with a birdbath or a bird feeder will bring additional little creatures to your garden for your enjoyment. If you are using a cement or a colored pond liner, choose a similar materials or colored material so that your details will match in the garden with your accessories.

Implement a little place in your garden that you can change the flowers or add plants to each year. Small changes in the water garden will bring new details that you and your guests will enjoy for the entire summer. If you are going with a stone made pond liner, detailing your garden with stones in the path, at an arrangement as a planter or arranged as stairs will add exquisite details that you will find priceless in years to come. Adding a flag to the front or the back path to your water garden, a small one on a stake, customizes your water garden, your garden and adds a cute touch that you can be proud of!

water garden planning

First let’s talk about how much time you want to spend in the water garden and around the water garden working with your plants. If you think that you want to use plants that will need divided often or that you are going to use plant that are going to grow in containers more often, you will need a pair of boots that go to your knees or higher. The best type of boots to use when you are going to be working in the water garden often is actually fishing boots, hip waders. While you might find them expensive, they are well worth the investment so you are not soaking wet and you can spend as much time in the water or around the water as you like without getting your other gardening shoes too wet.

So talking about how you want your water garden to ‘look’, what you need to do is think about all the water gardens that you have seen, look more up on the internet, find pictures here, and then decide which style you like the best. In the natural looking water garden or pond, the plants are going to be rooted in the soil under the water. You will not see container plants in the natural water garden, what you need to think about is the water garden that has been living in the middle of a field or in the woods for the last fifty years and what this water garden looks like.

When designing and planting a water garden, you are going to have to keep a few things in mind such as: do you want to have to work with your plant a lot, do you want your area to look natural or planned and orderly, and how much do you want to spend on the plants in your water garden?

While answering these questions, we have a few other ideas and tips that are going to help you ‘figure out’ exactly how you want your water garden to look and how much your investment is going to cost you.

First let’s talk about how much time you want to spend in the water garden and around the water garden working with your plants. If you think that you want to use plants that will need divided often or that you are going to use plant that are going to grow in containers more often, you will need a pair of boots that go to your knees or higher. The best type of boots to use when you are going to be working in the water garden often is actually fishing boots, hip waders. While you might find them expensive, they are well worth the investment so you are not soaking wet and you can spend as much time in the water or around the water as you like without getting your other gardening shoes too wet.

So talking about how you want your water garden to ‘look’, what you need to do is think about all the water gardens that you have seen, look more up on the internet, find pictures here, and then decide which style you like the best. In the natural looking water garden or pond, the plants are going to be rooted in the soil under the water. You will not see container plants in the natural water garden, what you need to think about is the water garden that has been living in the middle of a field or in the woods for the last fifty years and what this water garden looks like.

The natural flowers, the grasses, and the softness of the soil around the water garden is what you will find with the natural looking water garden. The orderly water garden that uses containers is an extension of your gardens that are more symmetrical. The natural water garden doesn’t have a square look to it but the natural water garden is more round or oval looking overall. You can always try to create the effect of a mixture of the two gardens, where you are using the oval effect, with container and planted flowers so that your garden takes on an entire new look that doesn’t fit entirely in either category!

How much money do you want to spend on your water garden? If you don’t have a budget when you start out with building and constructing your water garden, you will find that it is very easy to go ‘overboard’. The trick is to set your mind on what you really want, you don’t want to have to do it twice because setting up a water garden is a lot of work – but the end result is really worth it! So, now that you have set your mind on what you want, the size, the shape and where you are going to put your water garden you can look at costs. If you don’t have enough in your budget for this year, buy some of the supplies, but wait until next year when you can purchase the remaining supplies to actually construct the water garden you will be glad that you waited and build the ultimate water garden of your dreams!

Plants for the water garden are not as difficult as you might think of to get for a very low cost or even free. As you start telling your friends, family and others about building a water garden you will discover that others have plants that they are willing to give you at no cost!

Another great place that you can get samples, or small starts of plants is through your local agricultural or farming office. During certain spring seasons, the local agricultural office will have classes free, and they will give seeds, starters or leads on where to get plants cheap.

Most all seed catalogs do offer a range of water gardening plants, and if you watch them carefully you will find you can get your favorites on sale during different times of the year. Keep on the look out for sales at your local home centers as well, so you can stock your water garden while keeping on budget.

One thing that is important to remember, you don’t have to plant them all in one year. You can add a few new things every year to keep your budget in line and to balance your water garden at the same time.

water garden plants

Have you heard the term marginal plants before? Marginals are a plant for the water garden that grows quickly.The quick growing marginal plants need repotted usually every spring, dividing up this fast growing plant to fill other portions of your water garden.

You can divide up your fast growing water plants in the fall before the cold winter approaches and succeed for the following year. When the pot is too full of roots you will have to break up the roots with your hands or with a knife for replanting. It is also a good idea to wash off the roots and the plant itself by hosing them down so you can keep any little pests or bugs under control. When you are dividing up your marginal water plants and the roots seem to be very small, cutting back the top green portions of the plant may be necessary in order to allow the root system to ‘catch up’ to support the plant.

If you have fast growing plants that you seem to be forever replanting, it is a good idea to line these large pots with burlap so that the roots can not grow out into the water garden and start taking over your entire water garden. Keeping your water garden plants under control, no matter how fast they seem to be growing is going to be a task that you should keep after to ensure that your water garden remains simple. When replanting your fast growing water plants, be sure not to pack the soil too tightly around the roots. Lightly patting the soil with your finger tips is going to do the trick just fine.

Any portions of the plant the is exposed, or that appears to be a plant in a growth stage should not be covered with soil so that it does not become mushy as it is too wet under the soil area. Keep in mind that plants that are fast growing, with a flower will spill seeds in to your water garden. As the plant puts seeds into your water garden you could end up with plants growing in the water garden in areas that you did not ‘want’.

Cutting back your water garden plants in the fall will cut down on the spaces where any little bugs or pests might be hiding over the winter. Because these plants are fast growing you will never notice the difference in the spring months when the plants return from dormancy for the new growing season.

what type of pond

Having the desire to have a water garden is the first step in introducing this great center of water into your garden wit the next step being the decision of whether you are going to raise plants in your water garden, or if you are going to raise a type of fish in your water garden or even possibly if you are going to raise both plants and fish in your water pond.Understanding a few of the basic different advantages and disadvantages will help you through this little time of design decisions.

If you are going to create a water garden that will also allow fish in your water you are going to experience the best of both worlds in this natural occurrence. You will need to be careful in your selection of plants so that your fish can live in harmony with the plants and the air mixture in the water pond.

You should know that there are a wide variety of sizes and shapes of ponds that will not only fit your need in growing plants but also in allowing fish to thrive in your water garden. Combining these two life types in a water garden is a great way to add to you garden and to your experience in water gardening. You can even have a plant water garden and a fish water garden in the same area, using two different localities if you are searching to intertwine the two forces of nature.

When creating and designing a water garden for plants, you may find yourself spending a little extra time on ledges, placements of your flowers, where flowers will thrive best and how the placement of these flowers will appear over a course of time but with a fish water garden, the installation is relatively easy and the decisions to be made are going to be very limited to that of what you are going to grow around the water pond or the minimal flowers or plants that you can grow in the water with your fish. If you are looking for a little excitement and color choosing a plant water garden will be your best option as an addition to your garden design and over all scheme.

Creating the mixed pond, with both fish and plants, means that you can cut out expensive equipment that might add air to the water for the fish because the plants you should be choosing to place in the pond with your fish will add air to the water for their survival.

Various conditions through out the country will also help decide whether you are going to have fish, koi or goldfish in your water pond, because when the pond freezes over there should be one depth in the water garden that will not entirely freeze so that the fish can survive the winter months. In contrast, if you live in a very high heat area, the water may heat to high levels where fish cannot survive without your constant supervision or care in order to survive. Carefully think about water gardens in your area before deciding to add fish to a water garden in your own lawn area.