Designing a water garden is enjoyable and simple; it can be created by a person or by a professional landscaping company. A water garden design should factor in the space allowed, the plants preferred and the typical weather of the area the garden will grow in.
Digging A Hole
Making a water garden in one’s back yard begins by digging a hole in the ground. Planning the dig, increasingly slope the sides to allow different plants optimal growing conditions. Some water garden designs will begin with a shelf for plants that enjoy one foot of water or less and from that point the pond will slope to around eighteen inches and the deepest point over twenty-four inches deep. This will allow for a variety of plants to be grown in one water garden.
Choosing Pots
A water garden design should be planned similarly to a container garden because that is essentially what a water garden is. One difference is the type of pots needed. Water garden plants will do best if they are in fabric pots, which allow the water to flow freely around the soil and the roots. Also even the smallest water plants will need a pot at least ten inches wide to allow the water plants room to grow. Water garden designs should figure places for pots to be placed to allow the particular plant the most sun, water depth and soil that it needs to be healthy and thrive. If fabric pots are unavailable or undesired, plastic pots will also work well for water garden designs. The pots can be placed on cinderblocks while young to encourage them to grow faster and lowered slowly as the plant matures.
Choosing The Types Of Plants
There are too many beautiful water plants to talk about each in detail; however there are some general buying guidelines to follow when selecting appropriate plants for the region in which one lives. Water plants labeled tropical will only do well in extremely hot conditions; they prefer the very edge of Florida, Texas and southern California. Plants labeled hardy will grow in most areas of the United States except for extreme climates such as Alaska and a few other pockets of the country. Hardy plants are ideal for most people’s water garden designs as there are a large variety of plants that can suit anyone’s taste.