Once a-Pond a Time: Create a Whimsical Water Feature
Water features are one of the best additions to your landscape, ponds especially. It doesn’t take too much technical know-how to build a pond in your backyard. Add some whimsical planting in and around the pond and a pump to add the sound of running water, and your backyard takes on a whole new sense of mystery and magic!
How to Choose a Pond Liner
If you’d like to build a small pond in your yard, then a premade pond liner is the simplest way to do it. You can choose a shape from liners that are available, and dig the hole to suit them. You can dig out the contours for larger ponds and then lay down a pond liner membrane, but that is quite a bit more work than using a pre-shaped liner.
How to Decide on the Size of Your Pond
When trying to decide on a size for your water feature, measure the pond liners you like and then mark out the size on your property. This will help give you a visual, so you know if the liner fits your unique landscape. Remember, though, if you want to have fish, aim for a minimum depth of 60-80cm deep, so the fish can go deep enough to avoid hungry birds and neighbourhood cats.
Safety is also important to consider—is your property fenced? Are there children nearby that need to be watched? If this is a concern, you may prefer to choose a smaller water feature, perhaps a fountain that offers ambiance but doesn’t fill with great depths.
How to Decide Where to Locate Your Pond
Choosing the location to build can be a bit challenging. Ideally, you want a place that gets lots of morning sun with some dappled shade in the heat of the afternoon. You don’t want it too close to trees because lots of leaves or needles falling into the pond means extra time cleaning.
It’s also critical to keep in mind power for the pump and filter. Wiring will be required to run a pump and any lighting; you could run an extension cord but you’ll probably want to hide it with plants or decorative rocks. There are also ways to bury the wiring under the landscape, for a more professional and permanent look consult an electrician.
How to Choose a Pond Pump and Filter
Having a pump and filter will help it stay cleaner and keep the water fresher. This will reduce the amount of time you spend on maintenance. Make sure to choose a pump that’s large enough for the capacity of your pond; find out how much water your chosen liner holds before you buy a pump and filter.
Fish are a fun addition! If you have fish, adding a bubbler will help keep the water oxygenated, and if it’s deep enough for fish to stay outside for the winter, a bubbler will keep part of your pond ice-free so fresh air can get in.
Pond Plants to Add to Your Pond Build
Adding plants to your pond makes it more beautiful, whimsical, and natural-looking. It also adds structure and helps make your water feature into a focal point. Plants also support aquatic life populations, giving them places to hide, breed, and eat. Some great aquatic plants include:
- Water hyacinths
- Water lettuce
- Papyrus grass
- Water lilies
Some fully-aquatic plants, like water lilies, need to be planted in deeper water, about 50-60 cm deep. Other plants, like Papyrus grass, are considered semi-aquatic, so they prefer to be in shallow water or on the outer edges. If your liner has a shelf, that’s a great place to set marginal plants. If it doesn’t have a shelf, you can create one by stacking some decorative bricks or rocks along the sides of the pond.
See, it’s not as much work as you may think! Once you have a bubbling water feature installed, you can sit back and relax, enjoying the sounds of nature in your very own backyard oasis. Come see us for more advice and water feature suggestions, we’d love to help amp-up your landscape ambiance!