How to construct a Water Garden and Waterfall
Whether you want to develop a variety of water plants, then raise koi or just listen to the noise of falling water as you relax, a pond and waterfall can give your lawn a whole new look. Use a single, continuous liner for pond, stream and waterfall. Select plants and rocks to give the pond and pond a natural look. If you will have fish in the pond, then remember that they will eat a few of the plants.
Select a location close to the house where you will be able to see the pond annually. Set the pond where it’ll get 4 to 6 hours of sun every day. Mark out the location of the pond and waterfall with a garden hose. Try several shapes prior to making a last choice.
Dig from the pond, forming three measures, a 12-inch-deep, 12- to-18-inch-wide measure at the edge for bog plants, an 18- to 24-inch measure and an area which will be more than 24 inches deep and at least 40 percent of the width and length of the pond, to give all plants the right quantity of water and sunlight. Use the dirt to build up and level the side of the pond and then build the nest up.
Dig a hole at the end opposite the nest for a skimmer. Place an external filter at the top of the nest, either digging down or building up the dirt to place the filter at the right level. Dig a ditch from the skimmer to the filter for the pipes. Excavate the stream if you will have one. Connect pump and PVC hoses according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Line the pond and stream with several layers of paper or a cushioned pond underlayment to protect the liner from rocks or roots which may be sticking upward. Place liner near the waterfall. Unfold it, smoothing out as many wrinkles as possible. Connect the liner to the skimmer. Hold it against the filter while you pile stones to form the nest.
Cover the liner with stones, beginning at the bottom of the pond. Position the stones to show off any unusual colours or patterns. Fill in around the stones with gravel to cover the liner and make a natural appearance.
Fill the pond with water. Start the pump when it is covered with water and continue filling to within a couple of inches of the top of the pond. Make any adjustments you need to the degree of the edge with the addition of dirt under the liner. Trim the liner so that it overlaps the edge by about one foot. Finish placing rocks to cover the liner edge.
Fill containers which are 15 inches wide and 10 inches deep approximately two-thirds full of heavy clay loam soil. Place a waterlily tuber so the growing stage is facing the middle along with the tuber is at a slight downward angle. Cover it with dirt. Place the container on cement blocks at the deepest part of the pond.
Plant submersible plants like anacharis in 6-inch-wide containers. Place these containers on the second shelf of the pond. Plant cattails, rushes and other bog plants at 10 inch wide containers and place them on the shallow shelf of the pond. Cover the soil in each pot with a one-half-to-three-quarter-inch layer of pea gravel to hold the dirt in the pot.
Plant flowers, ferns, shrubs and ground covers around the pond to make a natural atmosphere.