Our fascination with water began as a child. As a toddler we stamped into every puddle you could find, and at the beach you ran to the waters edge and played in the lapping waves. As adults now it is the pond, waterfall and fountain that attracts like a magnet, Not surprising that water has been a feature of show gardens for a long time. What we know is that at the start of western gardening water was the only essential ingredient , Ancient Persians had tiled canals and fountains, Spain took on the style then the mystery of water gardening passed to the Italians around the 16th century . Along came Le Notre with fabulous formal stretches of water at Versailles . In Britain complete valleys were flooded with water by Capability Brown to create his informal pools.
These fantastic waterworks were designed to show off water at its best, ponds for home came later.
Books first began to appear in the middle of the 18 th century describing the growing of aquatic plants.
But not till the later part of the 19th century did the huge craze for water gardening begin ,
So people with space and money began to build ponds of concrete or puddled clay and create extra interest with fountains or cascades. By this time a large variety of aquatic plants and fancy fish were widely available Sadly at the start of the craze in Victorian times up to the 1960s this was out of the scope and pocket of the ordinary gardener, The introduction of the flexible liner was responsible for bringing pond making within the scope of the D,I,Y gardener In addition ready made pools in all shapes and sizes became available, so did submersible pumps pond lights and pre-formed self contained cascades along with a large selection of pond sundries are now available in most garden centres .
Now here we will deal with ponds , fish and aquatic plants and water, Wildlife will come as a bonus even a small pond will attract frogs , dragon flies , and newts So this thing of beauty to provide much interest in the summer months . as long as it was the type of garden you wanted? Very often we see green murky water infested with weeds , midges and mosquitoes. Generally the cause is doing wrong things at the start and failing to do important things later.
Ok what sort of water garden do you want? preferably one with clear water a variety of aquatic plants and assorted fish. So for this you will need a pond large enough for the plants and deep enough for the fish.
In addition you will need to grow underwater plants of no decorative value but these help to keep water clear by providing extra oxygen Maybe a display of water Lilies is to your liking , in that case you will need to keep rapid water currents and fountain droplets away from the leaves,
If Koi carp are to be the main purpose of the pond you have different problems, as they need a special home you will need a depth of about 4 ft, a large surface area and a good filtration system .
On the other hand you may fancy a natural looking water area ok but for this you will need space for an informal looking pond made with a flexible liner . A bog garden, rockery, and waterfall would be attractive extensions and if possible be created at the same time as the pond .
These fantastic waterworks were designed to show off water at its best, ponds for home came later.
Books first began to appear in the middle of the 18 th century describing the growing of aquatic plants.
But not till the later part of the 19th century did the huge craze for water gardening begin ,
So people with space and money began to build ponds of concrete or puddled clay and create extra interest with fountains or cascades. By this time a large variety of aquatic plants and fancy fish were widely available Sadly at the start of the craze in Victorian times up to the 1960s this was out of the scope and pocket of the ordinary gardener, The introduction of the flexible liner was responsible for bringing pond making within the scope of the D,I,Y gardener In addition ready made pools in all shapes and sizes became available, so did submersible pumps pond lights and pre-formed self contained cascades along with a large selection of pond sundries are now available in most garden centres .
Now here we will deal with ponds , fish and aquatic plants and water, Wildlife will come as a bonus even a small pond will attract frogs , dragon flies , and newts So this thing of beauty to provide much interest in the summer months . as long as it was the type of garden you wanted? Very often we see green murky water infested with weeds , midges and mosquitoes. Generally the cause is doing wrong things at the start and failing to do important things later.
Ok what sort of water garden do you want? preferably one with clear water a variety of aquatic plants and assorted fish. So for this you will need a pond large enough for the plants and deep enough for the fish.
In addition you will need to grow underwater plants of no decorative value but these help to keep water clear by providing extra oxygen Maybe a display of water Lilies is to your liking , in that case you will need to keep rapid water currents and fountain droplets away from the leaves,
If Koi carp are to be the main purpose of the pond you have different problems, as they need a special home you will need a depth of about 4 ft, a large surface area and a good filtration system .
On the other hand you may fancy a natural looking water area ok but for this you will need space for an informal looking pond made with a flexible liner . A bog garden, rockery, and waterfall would be attractive extensions and if possible be created at the same time as the pond .
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