Food, Home and Style
Do-it-Yourself Water Garden
My kindergarten teacher had a favorite slogan: Every day is do-it-yourself day. To make your own beautiful backyard water garden, all you need is a little elbow grease and Miss Pierce’s can-do spirit. It’s not necessary to call in the pros: You can save money and turn your outdoor space into a peaceful refuge with just a few simple steps.
Location, location, location:
You’ll need a level spot that’s not too shady or too sunny. Aquatic plants have different light needs, but most seem to like at least five hours of sunlight per day. Too much sun may cause algae problems.
Dig it:
For digging, you’ll need a pick to break up the soil, and a couple of long-handled shovels. A round-point is great for digging, and a square-point helps to cut the slopes of the pool wall. The gallonage of the pond can be used to figure out the amount of soil that needs to go (1 gallon of water = 0.134 cubic feet of soil.) Additional soil will need to be removed for edging and sand cushioning underneath. For a 100-gallon pond, you’ll remove 13.4 cubic feet of soil. Tip: Take the soil you’ve removed and plan a raised flower bed.
Line it:
Lots of different liners are available, both rigid (usually fiberglass) and flexible. Paul James of HGTV likes butyl rubber flexible liners, which cost more than PVC liners, but last up to 30 years. Fiberglass can last as long as 50 years.
Plant it:
Aquatic plants are beautiful, and they’re also key to the mini-ecosystem you’re creating. Your plants will help control alga growth and maintain cooler water in hot weather. There are lots of beauties to choose from, including water lilies, lotuses, and horsetail. You’ll want some oxygenators such as eelgrass or water milfoil, which take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Water hyacinths are good for controlling algae.
Maintain it:
If you just want plants in your garden, pumps and filtration may not be necessary. But fish require a good pump. Beware of cheap pumps, which can be energy-busters in the long run. There are several options for filtering your pond. Mechanical filters prevent debris from circulating through your pump. Biological filters enhance the nitrogen cycle, which is good for your pond’s balance. Friendly, aerobic bacteria can also be used with your bio-filter.
Baby steps:
If space a problem or you just want to start with something simple, try a container water garden. Glazed ceramic basins are easy because they’re already waterproof. But you can also waterproof a wooden container yourself. You just need to be line it with an EPDM liner or brush-on sealant. If you want fish in your container, it needs to be big enough for a small pump and filter. You can also have a bubbler or a fountain, just for fun. Once these items are installed, you’re almost ready to go. Just fill the container with water and wait about two weeks for the chlorine and chemicals to dissipate. For plants, parrot’s feather and aquatic mint look great draping out of barrels, and they don’t need to be potted. Floaters such as water hyacinths and dwarf water lilies are also great choices for containers.
Helpful book:
Encyclopedia of Water Garden Plants
by Greg Speichert
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3 comments for “Do-it-Yourself Water Garden”
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you suggest water hyacinth is a good water garden plant. did you know that in most areas of the continental US, water hyacinth is classified as a noxious weed or an invasive species? Please consider editing your post to include this information.
sure, it keeps down the algae in your backyard- by blocking out the sun. It does the same thing when it escapes from your backyard into the wild- and it kills ecosystems because nothing in the US eats it. The plant blocks the intakes for water systems, clogs favorite swimming areas, destroys fisheries, crowds out native species, and grows like a weed.
at least seven states have it classified as invasive, have instituted programs to eradicate it from their lakes and streams, and are working to restrict its sale. More information can be found here:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/waterhyacinth.shtml
Thanks for your comment. The debate about the water hyacinth continues, with those in midwestern and northern climates often swearing by the plant, and some in southern states complaining of its invasive ways. Your post highlights the need for gardeners to properly dispose of plants by putting them in a compost pile rather than throwing them into natural waterways.
We have a parking lot on a very wooded lot. The grade runs right into a lawn with a conifer tree in the middle. We need to deal with the standing water and i thought a good solution would be a water garden in the grassy area. Am i crazy?