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Garden Design Ideas
Enhance the look of your garden water feature by choosing the right plants & landscape
Selecting the right plants for your backyard ponds can enhance the look of the pond and also help maintain the quality of the water, particularly important if you have fish. Obviously, the types of plants you choose really depends on the style of the garden water feature but it is crucial to have a well-balanced selection. Here we consider some garden design ideas.
What do we mean by well-balanced backyard ponds?
Keeping your pond well-balanced requires two types of plants to be used - oxygenerators help release oxygen into the water during the day whilst floating plants create a shelter from the sun, for example water lilies.
This balance makes it difficult for nasty green algae to take hold and kill of your fish and will be even more effective with a filter system.
When should we begin planting?
You need to let the water get used to the temperature of the environment, so for new backyard ponds it is best to wait several days. Spring time is best as water plants naturally grow quickest at this time of year.
Be sure to use special pond gloves if your pond is particularly deep.
TIP! Check the plant for pests including aquatic snails before you begin planting & look for healthy green leaves
TIP! Select plants already growing in containers as these will grow quicker than those with bare roots
Planting Styles
If you are going for a natural, traditional look, you may like to put alot of plants around the edge of the pond so the edges blend into the surroundings.
If you are more formal, low growing plants like waterlilies will give the garden water feature a soft effect and will not overshadow the neat edges of the pond. Your fish will also benefit from the cover that the waterlilies provide!
What do we mean by well-balanced backyard ponds?
Keeping your pond well-balanced requires two types of plants to be used - oxygenerators help release oxygen into the water during the day whilst floating plants create a shelter from the sun, for example water lilies.
This balance makes it difficult for nasty green algae to take hold and kill of your fish and will be even more effective with a filter system.
When should we begin planting?
You need to let the water get used to the temperature of the environment, so for new backyard ponds it is best to wait several days. Spring time is best as water plants naturally grow quickest at this time of year.
Be sure to use special pond gloves if your pond is particularly deep.
TIP! Check the plant for pests including aquatic snails before you begin planting & look for healthy green leaves
TIP! Select plants already growing in containers as these will grow quicker than those with bare roots
Planting Styles
If you are going for a natural, traditional look, you may like to put alot of plants around the edge of the pond so the edges blend into the surroundings.
If you are more formal, low growing plants like waterlilies will give the garden water feature a soft effect and will not overshadow the neat edges of the pond. Your fish will also benefit from the cover that the waterlilies provide!
For other garden design ideas, you might like to visit some of our partner sites:
Garden Design Ideas - Landscaping
Paving slabs bring many benefits to any garden water feature. For example if it is close to a grass lawn, it protects the ground becoming over muddy from too many footprints. You may prefer wooden stepping stones but please be sure to coat them with a preservative (to protect them from the elements) that is not toxic to your fish and plant life.
Hiding equipment like filters and pumps is also useful. Provided you can access it when needed, try hiding these in a flowerbed.
Why not think about adding a bridge to make your backyard pond even more appealing? It would give you a great platform to both spot and feed your fish.
Fountains can be very nice indeed and your fish will also love the extra oxygen. Your waterlilies would not however, so make sure they are kept away from the fast water spray if you do introduce one. Also check that any floating plants are not going to keep getting pushed to one side by the currents.
Other garden design ideas include pond lighting for sophistication, particularly when sitting by the pond at night.
Paving slabs bring many benefits to any garden water feature. For example if it is close to a grass lawn, it protects the ground becoming over muddy from too many footprints. You may prefer wooden stepping stones but please be sure to coat them with a preservative (to protect them from the elements) that is not toxic to your fish and plant life.
Hiding equipment like filters and pumps is also useful. Provided you can access it when needed, try hiding these in a flowerbed.
Why not think about adding a bridge to make your backyard pond even more appealing? It would give you a great platform to both spot and feed your fish.
Fountains can be very nice indeed and your fish will also love the extra oxygen. Your waterlilies would not however, so make sure they are kept away from the fast water spray if you do introduce one. Also check that any floating plants are not going to keep getting pushed to one side by the currents.
Other garden design ideas include pond lighting for sophistication, particularly when sitting by the pond at night.
If you have a smaller pond and limited space, you can try planting tall plants as this will make the pond look bigger. We call tall plants marginal plants such as irises and reeds.
TIP! For tall marginal plants, place them in baskets and put them in shallow water, perhaps on a shelf. Also make sure the basket is nice and big for them to grow into and fill with aquatic potting mix for best growth results.
TIP! Introduce new water lilies on bricks and lower them as they start to grow.
TIP! For tall marginal plants, place them in baskets and put them in shallow water, perhaps on a shelf. Also make sure the basket is nice and big for them to grow into and fill with aquatic potting mix for best growth results.
TIP! Introduce new water lilies on bricks and lower them as they start to grow.
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