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Water Gardens
The Basics of Water Garden Design
The environmental movement that began in the
60's has gained momentum through the 70's, 80's, and 90's. As human
population figures explode, natural resources grow more and more
scarce, due to the infinite appetite of commercial and developmental
concerns. If we're not careful, and we fail to act swiftly, we will
continue to lose more and more valuable habitats and wildlife around
the world.
Backyard Water Gardens
With roots in the environmental movement, backyard water gardens
have developed and small, urban lots around the country are being
transformed into miniature nature preserves. Native trees and plants
flourish and provide local insects and other creatures with the food
and shelter necessary for their survival. Water gardens and streams
are also built to supply the inhabitants with clean water. In fact, a
pond, water garden, or stream is one of the main ingredients in a
genuine backyard habitat.
Precious, life giving water is in short
supply. Because so many local rivers and ponds are becoming polluted
and filled in, more and more people are adding naturalistic water
gardens into their own backyard living spaces.
Water Garden Shape
Let's start with the shape, using irregular flowing lines are key
in the planning stages. Unfortunately, we normally have small
geographic areas to work in, so size is also a factor that needs to be
taken into consideration. Homes, driveways, patios, and decks are just
a few of the items intertwined with a water garden design.
How Pond Size Affects Water Garden Design
Ponds vary greatly in shape and size. There are many design
considerations that are based on the desired size of the water garden.
Large Ponds
When designing large water gardens, usage needs to be considered.
Why is the client interested in such a large water garden? Lakefront
property? Lots of fish? Swimming? Keeping in scale with the property?
The list can go on and on. The fact is, they want water, and lots of
it.
A few other things other things need to be considered when your
designing larger ponds or water gardens. Remember, the only difference
is in the size of the project. The process is basically the same, the
components are just larger and / or more numerous.
Water Garden Edge TreatmentOne of the most important parts of water garden design is the edge
of the pond, because that's what everyone's looking at. There are
several different ways to treat the edges of a large pond, but the
common goal is to always hide the liner, and create a transition from
the pond to the terrestrial areas of the water garden.
On large projects, the perimeter stones are typically larger, but not
around the entire pond. The large rocks look large because of the
relatively smaller rocks that surround them. If the entire water
garden is filled with large rocks, things will look out of proportion.
The same goes for using only small rocks. The best ratio is 1:2:1 (1
part small, 2 parts medium, and 1 part large). This has worked well
for us, but it's still best to experiment and find out what works best
for you and your clients.
Water Garden Plants
The next thing to consider in water garden design is planting the
pond. Make sure you leave enough room for aquatic plants, as they not
only help naturalize the water garden, but they also play a huge roll
in keeping the pond healthy by removing excess nutrients.
Waterfalls
The waterfalls should be kept in scale with the size of the
project, so larger boulders and berms need to be created. The time it
takes to create such large falls in a water garden is often tough to
calculate. We use a simple formula, 1/2 hour per stone with two people
and a machine operator.
Depending on the size of the water garden and its usage, skimmers
may not be the only form of housing a pump. Wet wells can also be
used, so they must be figured into the equation.
Smaller Water Gardens
Smaller than average water
gardens can actually be very challenging. Everything that goes into a
regular water garden has to be squeezed into a much smaller space.
Don't be fooled by the size, they'll take more time than you think.
Skimmers and BIOFALLStm are still used in the water garden
and a waterfall is still built, but because they're smaller, they tend
to be scrutinized more since everything is in full view. Our
minimum water garden cost is $3500, because we need to cover our
day-to-day costs. Smaller water gardens will still take half to three
quarters of a day to complete due to mobilization, and standard
installation procedures.
Water Garden StreamsThis is
ADI's favorite part of any water
garden project, and it provides the greatest interest and customer
interaction. Streams are highly versatile and they create nature's
music as they change gradients and wind throughout the water garden.
Streams can be followed by pathways and traversed with stepping stones
and bridges.
Water Garden streams are simple to build, but can
easily become very difficult if a few rules aren't followed. When
designing streams, the main thing to look for is elevation changes
that can work for or against your water garden. Elevations working for
your water garden will have the slope coming towards the viewing area.
Good slopes, when encountered, make our job easier. We simply carve
the hillside to create a natural area for a water course. Be sure the
stream traverses across the slope to increase the viewing area and
exposure in the water garden, and this will create a more natural
looking streambed. Notice that it looks as though the water has eroded
away the soil, exposing the stone underneath. Water Garden
Stone Variation
Although we only use a couple of different types of rock, with
varying stream construction methods, we can create many different
variations in the style. Look at different water garden stream styles
to find the effect you are looking for. We like to start out with a
series of cascading falls, that transition into wide sheets of water
creating a variety of sounds and sites to be enjoyed by water garden
onlookers.
Creating a Great Water Garden
Views from the home and
surrounding seating areas are always targeted first when designing
water gardens. If the budget allows, start the stream far enough away
from the viewing areas so people are drawn into the landscape to
explore the source of the water. Interactive water gardens will get
the greatest responses because they're fun. We're all drawn to water
for many different reasons. The bottom line is that the thrill of
exploration is in all of us, and we can really run with the idea of
creating a miniature wilderness in an ordinary backyard.
The
Shoreline ... Where Everything Happens
The shoreline is where everything happens. The greater this area, the
greater the enjoyment you will get from your water garden. The
shoreline is where the marginal plants interact with the terrestrial
plantings, where we find fish, and the path we follow during water
garden walks. So how do we increase this shoreline in a small
water garden? With streams. Deep streams are more pond-like, allowing
fish to swim up into them, while shallow streams are fast moving and
produce beautiful sounds. A winding stream will give your water garden
the greatest shoreline for your buck. Containing a long stream with a
pond is the best scenario. One Final Stream Benefit
One benefit of a stream that's often overlooked is the filtration and
oxygenation of the water garden. Crashing falls will add life giving
oxygen to the anoxic pond depths. And larger water garden projects
should always have a stream for this purpose alone. Large ponds that
are a half acre or greater, will probably never be cleaned, but their
streams can be. It's relatively easy to shut the pumps down for a day
and thoroughly clean a stream bed, You'll be amazed at how effective
they are as a silt trap for your water garden. Cleaning the stream
will help remove excess nutrients without the cost of cleaning a large
pond. A good bog system will also do a good job of this in confined
water gardens
Other Water Garden Considerations
Human Interactions
If nobody is around to hear, see, or interact with a water garden
feature, it might as well not exist in an ornamental situation. Water
Gardens need to be designed with people in mind. Take advantage of
human nature and cater to your customers needs and wants.
If you're successful at this, your phone will be ringing off the hook.
The word will spread and you will be treated like a hero. It may be as
simple as aiming a waterfall toward the master bedroom window, or by
placing a bench in the right spot. Water gardens in general, have the
ability to increase your client's interaction with the outdoors, you
just need to hone your skills.
Other Water Garden Elements
Hardscapes
How well a water garden flows is directly related to how it fits
alongside existing features like decks, walkways, and patios. Always
bring a portion of the water garden right up to these viewing areas.
This is extremely easy to do, and it'll only complement the present
structures. In cold areas, leave a soil buffer to allow for some
expansion near paver or flagstone patios or walkways, so the base does
not collapse into the pond. This can be accomplished with good stone
work and gravel backfill for garden stability.
Decks are easy to work into the water garden design because they can
be cantilevered over the water, giving it a dock-like feeling. The
closer people can get to the water, the more they will care for and
enjoy their water garden. Use the existing features to create scenic
vistas or areas for contemplation. Everyone has a favorite spot to
sit. Ask your client where theirs is, and take advantage of that spot.
They'll thank you again and again if it hits them right.
A complete environment can also be built around a simple water garden.
Building new hardscapes can help create the perfect spot for your
client and the ultimate exterior living space, complete with a water
garden, a seating area alongside, it will complement the perfect
planting balance.
Multiple Water Garden Components
The components used for each water garden project need to be
considered as a part of the design phase. When do you use a Grande
versus two standard BIOFALLS®? It comes down to the water garden
look and budget.
Now, let's conclude by saying that water garden design is really a
broad topic, and that the observations made in this chapter you will
see referred to again and again on this website, but we will cover the
subjects in greater detail.
The content of the Pond & WaterGarden Resources Website comes from
the book Pond Builders Bible everything Aquascape Designs Does
Revealed. Published by Aquascape Designs, Inc. / The
Pond Guy Publications. | Batavia, IL |
