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Making A Water Garden |
In a very few instances it may be possible to make use of a
natural stream or pool, but in most cases the water garden
will have to be created.
The construction of a water garden or pool is within the
scope of the average handyman. Where there is a choice of
position, it should be made right in the open.
The large majority of plants need plenty of sunshine. In
shade they may become thin and drawn in appearance and will
almost certainly flower less freely. If one side of the pool is
partly shaded this will be no great disadvantage, for plants can
be selected for such a position. Overhanging trees should be
avoided, for falling leaves and twigs may well clog the surface
of the water. It is also necessary to choose a site where rubbish
is not likely to blow into the water, or where sewage or other
polluted fluids will not overflow into the pool. A position very
near the road should not be chosen, for there, the water may
be contaminated by dust and other matter, causing it to
become thick and dirty and quite unsuitable for plants or fish.
Obviously, it will be an advantage to construct the pool
within easy reach of a water supply so as to prevent the neces-
sity of carrying water for any great distance when any cleaning
out or refilling is being done.
Some of the taller grasses, bamboos or shrubs referred to in
later chapters should be placed on the north side of the water
so as to give shelter from the bitter north winds, but the size
and design of the pool will naturally vary according to personal preference and space available. It may either be the more
or less formal centerpiece to a lawn or paved garden or as it
so often is, an adjunct to the rock garden. In the former case,
it will probably be rectangular or square with the sides vertical.
The informal pool is likely to be of an irregular shape with
sloping sides like those of a saucer.
The latter shape greatly lessens the possibility of ice exerting
pressure and causing leakages as sometimes happens with the
straight-sided pools. The easy-to-make, saucer-shaped pools
also enable plants liking shallow water to be grown round the
edges. All this is not meant to decry the deeper pool for with
such, it is quite easy to construct ledges on the sides at various
heights, in order to accommodate plants liking different depths
of water.
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