by Lloyd Glasscock, CPH
Pacific Stone Company / www.pacificstoneco.com
‘Water in the garden.’ For some people the phrase captures images of streams and waterfalls much as one would see in the Cascade foothills. The challenge of course is that rarely does one have the room to make something like this happen. The solution is to downsize the idea so it works in the space available.
The first step is to examine exactly what it is you want to create the water feature for. Is it something simply pretty (hopefully) to look at? Do you desire the sound of water moving and if so, how much? Is it a trickle or a crash? Will you be creating a haven for fish or plants? (Watch the maintenance on this one!!) Once you have considered why you want the water feature you can begin to implement your vision. Carefully plan the location and access to what you create and how it relates to the landscape and your lifestyle.
There are some basics to any feature you would install. A reservoir capable of holding water long term is essential. These can be made of preformed plastic or flexible synthetic rubber (EPDM). With the plastic you get a puncture proof unit and relative ease of installation, but they cost more for the area they fill and the sizes are limited. With EPDM your installation will be more involved but your cost is lower and there are many more size choices. Both are good options depending on what is being created.
A pump will be required to move the water and these are available in a wide range of sizes and models. For a small water feature a pump up to 1200 gallons per hour in capacity should be plenty, and most would use less. A filter system may be necessary for larger ponds, but for small features you can get away without one. One way is to fill a 2 to 3 gallon nursery container with lava rock (any size) and have you pump at the bottom of it. The water passing thru the lava is filtered as it’s drawn to the pump.
An idea that has been very popular for home gardens over the last few years is a column of stone (or group of columns) with a core drilled through the center allowing a tube for water to pass through the column. The column(s) is set in a reservoir elevated on blocks to allow the tubing to be passed through the core hole. The pump sits in the bottom of the reservoir circulating the water. These are great for small garden spaces because they take up very little room. The sound of water splashing can be amplified by raising the column higher in the reservoir so the water can drop from a greater height. All in all a very adaptable idea for most homes wanting small water features.
If the home is more contemporary the column idea may not work. Instead use a glazed planter (something tall and narrow works best) as your water feature. Create the reservoir and elevate the planter on blocks. The tube from the pump goes through the hole in the bottom of the planter and the water is circulated after it runs down the planter’s sides. For this one make the reservoir smaller and fill it with gravel or small stones. This way it will help filter the water and look more natural instead of a ‘pot in a pond’.
Water features, even small ones, are not going to be maintenance free, so be sure you have the ability to do some work on your creation as required. This may mean replacing a burned out pump or removing algae from the pond. When you create your pond be sure you can get to all the parts (pumps, tubing, etc) that may need maintaining without taking the entire thing apart. Again, plan ahead. For algae removal use some of the new algaecides on the market. Resist the use of bleach or detergents; these are very short term solutions, bad for the environment and they smell bad. A good way to quell algae growth is to shade the water surface with stone or other landscaping (depending on what you create) or the use of pond plants which shade the surface and use up the nitrogen in the pond. One caution about pond plants would be to minimize their use in small features or your maintenance may be more than you bargained for.
Does all of this sound simple? It really is with the right amount of planning. As an example I installed my water feature in the back garden in approximately 4 hours (one person) from start to finish and couldn’t be happier with it. So get started on your water feature because the sooner you do, the sooner you can enjoy it!
Lloyd Glasscock is a partner in Pacific Stone Co, an outlet specializing in Natural Flagstone & Wall stone, Concrete Paving Stone and other landscape features in Everett WA. He has worked in the local landscape industry for over twenty years in the areas of retail garden center, landscape supplies, landscape design & consultation and is a Certified Professional Horticulturist through the WSNLA. www.pacificstoneco.com
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