Water Gardening

Water gardens, (also known as aquatic gardens or backyard ponds) have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Water gardening usually refers to gardening with a man-made water feature. These gardens typically combine a pool with aquatic plants and sometimes ornamental fish. Fixed items such as boulders, rocks, fountains, statues, waterfalls and even watercourses can be combined with a pool to add visual interest and provide integration with the local landscape / environment.

The water garden is very, frequently associated with the rock garden, for  water and rock are closely associated in nature. The way in which water is introduced into a garden depends on the layout and whether the land is level or sloping. The position should be below the highest point of the garden, for water always collects naturally at a low level. Its introduction may be formal in a formal garden, or informal, in cascades and little streams emptying themselves into natural-looking catchment pools, in a wilder garden.

Whatever form it takes, however, a water garden has to conform to certain definite rules in construction. Pools must be constructed with a convenient inlet, an outlet, and an overflow.. An outlet is essential to facilitate cleaning. It will be noted that the sides and bottoms of pools become green and slimy in time, from the development of a low form of plant life.

The pool must be emptied when this happens and most of the slime scraped or scrubbed away. It should be remembered, though, that a certain amount of such growth of microscopic algae must be allowed to develop, for the benefit of the fish dfe of the pond. The presence of a small number of these organisms helps to keep the pond in a balanced condition. Whether or not this is done, a means of supplying fresh, clean water should be to hand other than by flooding the pool.