Garden water features

Garden water features bring charm, beauty and magic and also add value to your home. A well-designed, well placed and well-constructed water feature adds another dimension to the garden. Contrary to belief, water gardens are not difficult and time-consuming to build, install or maintain. Maintaining a lawn or perennial border probably requires far more work than maintaining a pond. Developments through the 1990s in construction material have made water gardens relatively easy and inexpensive to maintain. No matter how small a space you have, there are garden water features that will turn it into a place wonderful to be in and see.

It is important to consider several factors before making your decision as to which garden water features are ideal for your yard. A little research of the market and what’s available in landscaping and gardening supplies websites will tell give you lots of ideas, help you know what is available and for how much.. It is also advisable to set up a few criteria that will help you narrow down your choices and act as guidelines to help you in making your final decision. For example, know your budget and decide on a theme before anything else.

Some suggested popular themes are English garden fountains, Balinese water gardens, Japanese Koi ponds and Riviera and Mediterranean water gardens. It is also important to keep in mind the theme of the existing garden and ensure that the garden water features and the other elements surrounding it blend together with or have elements that reflect the garden’s theme. The size and design of the garden water features will depend on the budget, amount of space available and the placement for maximum visibility and aesthetic appeal.

Garden water features such as fountains and waterfalls come in many different forms, designs and are made of various materials. There is the choice of multi-tiered fountains, barrel fountains, wall fountains and pond fountains. Pond fountains require more space while wall fountains are perfect for small spaces such as a balcony of an apartment. Fountains are made of stone, cast iron, copper and concrete. Solar water fountains are the new trend in gardening. The advantage with solar water fountains is that they cost nothing to operate and do not need electricity and wiring. All that is needed is adequate sun exposure, a solar panel, pump, and the fountain. Solar water fountains may cost more initially but eventual savings in electricity usage, plumbing and electricity set-ups make them definitely worth considering.

There are other backyard water garden supplies like plants, rocks and statuary. The rocks are an ornamental feature, to be placed in and around small garden ponds and fountains. Potted aquatic plants may be planted around the edges of small garden ponds or even submerged. Some of the water plants that could be used in and around small garden ponds are lag iris, dollar weed, cattails, horsetail, elephant ear, canna lilly, nymphitis, Pothos ivy, English ivy, walking iris, Ruellia, Blue-eyed grass, calla lilly, houttonia, lotus, watercress and bamboo.