Garden Water Features - Important Considerations

There are a number of popular areas of gardening, and having a garden water feature is one that attracts a lot of attention. An attractive feature of this kind, can take the form of a garden waterfall, pond, or fountain, and can also be as simple as a small patio fountain.

Whichever form you choose, it can be enhanced by the strategic placing of rocks, adding flowering plants, keeping fish including koi carp and introducing some form of lighting; solar-powered lighting being one of the up and coming ways to provide light in a garden, whether for practical purposes or to be purely decorative.

This type of gardening doesn't need to be expensive or time consuming. You can have a tiny pond on a patio made from something as simple as a plastic container or an old stone sink.

By far the most important thing to think about in water gardening is picking the right spot for your aquatic feature. Because plants and fish need to have plenty of sunlight, anywhere in direct light away from overhanging trees and bushes would be a suitable place. Positioning a feature in this way, especially a pond, will also help prevent leaves falling onto the water, sinking and clogging the bottom. If you like to spend time relaxing in the garden, you don't want to be forever, skimming the surface of your pond to keep it clear of leaves and debris.

You also need to consider how close to the house you want the feature to be. If it is too far away you won't be able to see any wildlife activity around it during inclement weather.

Other things to consider when planning a water feature for your garden are:

* what size do you want it to be

* will you create it yourself, buy something pre-formed, or pay someone else to install it

* how much money are you willing to spend

* if you decide on a pond, will it be safe for very young children

* what sort of plants would you like to have in and around the feature

* are you going to include fish in which case you will need some type of pond pump

* how much time do you have available to maintain your water feature

Most garden water features will need some maintenance though if you only have a small wall fountain, for instance, maintenance efforts are very unlikely to be strenuous.

Adding a display of water to a garden will most likely give you a great deal of pleasure, gentle water displays being particularly restful and therapeutic. It's unlikely you will regret including one in your garden and any visitors you have, including birds and insects, will appreciate it too.