Garden Ponds : Design Guidelines

Garden ponds add a touch of beauty to your home. These tranquil pools make the perfect habitat for flowers, water plants, and all kinds of wildlife. All sorts of birds, toads, frogs, turtles, and even slightly exotic salamanders, make their homes in garden ponds. These ponds are obviously good homes for plants and animals, and they are easy on the eye as well. You may grace your pond with vibrant flowers and enjoy floating flora of other kinds too. There is no end to the designs of garden ponds, but there is some advice that everyone take heed of.

Stagnant water will quickly kill off a garden pond, so the water contained must be continually circulated. There are a few different ways to do this. For those who are not into flashy displays, a basic pump will get the job done just fine. Although you may not wish to have an ostentatious display, you will still want to obscure the pump. A stone housing is humble and easy to build. This stone may be formed into a hill so that a small waterfall is formed. Fountains of all kinds are available to keep the water in motion as well.

As much as you may want to fill your garden pond with as much plant life and fish as you can for the ultimate in color shows, you need to take pause. A water garden replete with water lilies and other aquatic plants do not coexist well with Koi and other fish. Fish like to eat water plants. It would be counterproductive to spend time and money on plants that will be eaten to bits by fish. Your garden pond should be an either/or proposition. Pick either fish as the primary feature of the pond or go with plants.

Just as with homes, garden ponds are all about location. Unless you want to haul a skimmer out to the pond every single day to clear off leaves, try to avoid placing the pond directly under trees. Leaves may accumulate on the bottom of the pond and release toxins into the water, harming fish and plants. Plant ponds need direct sunlight, at least four hours per day. Fish like protection and shade, so a fish pond would benefit from a location beneath shrubbery of some kind.

Following this simple advice will keep your pond looking great for years. It will make a grand addition to your lawn.

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