There are several points you should consider before building your pond or water feature. Should it be formal or informal, natural or modern? Do you want to keep fish, grow plants or attract wildlife? Are there children to ensure safety?

Once you have answered these questions, you must [...]]]>

Floating Water Hyacinth in a Garden Pond

There are several points you should consider before building your pond or water feature. Should it be formal or informal, natural or modern? Do you want to keep fish, grow plants or attract wildlife? Are there children to ensure safety?

Once you have answered these questions, you must decide where you want on the site of the pond or lake. A pond must be kept away from large trees and shrubs to ensure their roots do not penetrate the wall. If you want to keep the fish you need to have a pond deep enough to stop it freezing during the winter. The smallest you should build a pond is 60cm (2ft) deep and 1 × 1.5 m (3 x 5 ft) in diameter. However, the more the better.

If child safety is a problem or if you prefer not having to maintain a pond, then a water is a good compromise. You could build a wall fountain or a pool of pebbles can be placed in sun or shade, near of a power supply. If you have no external power, then a large container plant or a half-barrel, without drainage holes, is ideal. You can always push small floating aquatic plants or oxygenators use as water hyacinth. You’ll need to protect them during the winter or emptying the tank and again in spring.

Ponds
Formal ponds tend to be circular or rectangular with straight steep sides. They are mainly used for growing water lilies or keeping fish. Informal ponds can be any shape you want and often attract wildlife. Since fish tend to eat eggs, larvae, etc. you’re better not to keep fish if you want wildlife pond true. You’ll need to build some shelves in a plantation on the banks and at least one sloping side to allow creatures to escape. All kinds of plants can be grown in an informal pond from marginal plants, Bog Plants or deep water plants. Whatever or the plants you choose, you must include oxygenators to ensure a healthy environment for wildlife and plants.

Take care of your pond
Spring: most ponds turn green in spring, but it will clear itself in a few weeks. However, new ponds could remain Green up to twelve months. Pull blanketweed and leave on the side for a day or two to allow creatures to escape back into the pond. Remove the lens of water with a fishing net.
Summer: Feed fish between May and September. Pull oxygenators if they threaten to take over the pond whole.
Fall: Remove excess mud at the bottom of the pond, leaving about 1 cm to allow plants to root. Remove floating plants after death, marginal shot and remove the dead leaves of lilies. Keep the leaves of autumn on the pond by covering with netting.
Winter: If you keep fish place a ball on the plastic surface to avoid freezing pond, totally. If you do not keep fish there is no need for winter maintenance.

Build a pond
The easiest way to build a pond is to use a butyl rubber or plastic. For how to buy, to dig the pond size and shape required and then measure the length, width and the deepest point. Multiply the depth by two and add to the length then back to the width. Add 50 cm (20 inches) to ride on both the length and width. The size of the sheet you need.
Digging the pond ensure that the bottom is firm and flat and without stones. At least part of it should be 60 cm (2 ft) deep for fish and plants in the shallow water remains can be 45cm (18in) deep.
Build in some shelves around the sides 15cm (6ins) wide and 20cm (8ins) below the surface. Slope a side to allow wildlife to escape. Ensure that all parties pond are level using a spirit level, do not use your eyes.
2.cm Spread (1 inch) of fine sand on the base, shelves and slopes underlayment and cover with pond followed by the liner.
Start fill the pond. Once full, trim the surface 30 cm (1ft) overlap. Cover the overlap with pavers or turf. Sure no coating is exposed to the sun as it will rot.
Lower plants in place. Wait six weeks before introducing fish.

Water Characteristics
You can buy kits of basic bubble pool in garden centers and can be adapted to any type of waterbody. The kit consists of a reservoir with lid, a pump and water outlet spout. The tank is buried in the ground and filled with water. Place the pump at the bottom of the tank on a couple of bricks to keep silt. Place lid on top and the water supply spout in hole on the pump. Once it is in place to add a decorative finish such as pebbles, slate, gravel, wheel, etc. When it is turned on the water will be pushed into the spout and back into the reservoir and recycled. You may need to complete the tank in hot weather.

Aquatic plants
There are four types of aquatic plants: water sports in deep water, marginals, oxygenators submerged and free-float. For your pond to stay healthy, you’ll need a few plants of each type, but free-float.

Water plants tend to be grown in plastic baskets that are on the shelves of planting or on the floor of the pond. When you buy a new plant, it will tell you he likes the depth. Note that the depth of water over the top of the root is not the depth of the water it is in.

Plants should be divided only when they stop flowering which can be as long as seven years. Lift the basket from the pond and remove the plant. You may need to reduce Cart away if the roots are grown by the sides. Split the bouquet you want a border perennial. Choose a strong piece with the health of young shoots and replanted in a basket of aquatic compost. Do not use regular potting soil and be careful not to use pesticides or herbicides anywhere near the pond. Fill with gravel to keep the compost in place. When repotting waterlilies ensure that the rhizomes are sitting on the surface of the compost. Sink the cart back into the pond.

Marginals
These plants grow in shallow water around the pond. Not only are they good their roots to use many minerals that would otherwise feed algae. Examples of marginal plants include Japanese water iris (Iris laevigata), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and the flowering peak (Butomus umbellatus).

Deepwater
These plants grow in water much deeper and has to be made the bottom of the pond. Lilies are a deep water, but they still love the water, do not plant near a fountain or waterfall. Examples deep-sea water include water hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos), arum (Zantedeschia aethiopica) and lily (Nymphaea)

Oxygenators
These plants live under water and the supply of oxygen used by fish and other pond life. Beware oxygenators you choose as many are invasive. Lagarosiphon major is a good that is persistent and can just be dropped into the pond at the root down. It should be weeded every so often. Another good example is the water crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis).

Floating plants
free-floating plants provide shade a pond. Some are not Hardy and die in winter, the ducks in the water for the winter and reappear each spring. An example of a Plant tender floating water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and frog (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) will return in the spring.

Bog gardens
If you have a space in your garden that dries, the best way to deal with it is to make a bog garden. gardens Bog look particularly good next to a pond. This can be achieved by extending the pond liner in the area required and Piercing with a fork to allow some of the water flow. Add garden soil enriched with well rotted garden compost or manure ensure that the compost does not fall into the pond.

You can plant perennials moisture loving plants or marginal as very little water on them. Examples include hostas, primroses and Mimulus cardinalis.

About the Author
Linda Peppin runs The Gardening Register which is an easy to follow, informative website covering all aspects of gardening. For more gardening related articles visit her site at http://www.gardeningregister.co.uk

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