Limitless Possibilities
Of all the beautiful gardens that are lovingly tended throughout the world, surely the most memorable and compelling are those that include some element of water. A touch of cooler air in the summertime, a bit of humidity in the shade, the sounds of abundant wildlife surrounding a colorful pond environment. The combinations are both endless and unforgettable.
Whether you call them garden ponds, decorative ponds, ornamental ponds, or even just backyard water features, they’re infinitely flexible. In fact, decorative planted ponds can be any size or shape. Whether your vision is a grand showstopper in the center of your formal gardens or a tiny peaceful oasis that graces a corner of your balcony, you can enjoy peaceful sounds of moving water, glimpses of colorful butterflies and dragonflies, and even the scent of flowers or aromatic herbs basking in the sun. Besides, who could forget the occasional sighting of a bright green anole or blue tailed skink as it darts quickly among the leaves in search of lunch?
Decorative ponds can feature colorful flowering plants as well as other interesting visual elements like spiky reeds or fascinating sculptures. They can include colorful river rocks or dramatic boulders, and they can connect to mesmerizing rills, lively waterfalls, or cool fountains and spitters. They can be tucked into a quiet corner to present a lovely surprise to the intrepid explorer, or they can take center stage and set the tone for your entire backyard oasis.
Decorative ponds can do so much in any garden, whether it’s a wild cottage garden, or a water-conscious xeriscape. Including a decorative pond in your garden design allows you to introduce new life, sounds, and movement to your environment and support your local wildlife ecosystem. Even the smallest outdoor spaces can host a tiny container pond with a burbling fountain and a few lilies to bring peace and natural beauty right to your doorstep.
Water-Wise Ponds
Adding a pond in a garden intended to minimize water use may seem counterintuitive, but ponds, once they’ve been filled, actually use only half the water required for the same area of sod while providing important environmental benefits. Ponds provide a vital water supply for birds and other wildlife, from critical pollinators to other beneficial insects, lizards, and vulnerable amphibians. In seasons where water is already scarce, especially in developed urban and suburban spaces, including a pond in your water conscious design could be the difference between their survival…or not.
In hot, sunny weather, your biggest concern in a garden pond is going to be evaporation, and in this case a pond is already much more water-wise than a thirsty lawn. Nonetheless, there are additional steps you can take to conserve precious water in your pond:
- Shade provided by trees, roofed structures like gazebos, or even shade sails placed to protect the pond during the hours of most intense sun exposure will significantly reduce evaporative loss. You can place your pond accordingly or you can add features like shade sails or trellises later.
- Limit water movement in your pond. Fountains or other splashy features that increase exposure to air encourage evaporation. If you need movement to discourage mosquitoes or algae growth, an underwater pump that doesn’t break the surface is a good option.
- Design your pond with limited areas of shallow water. Shallow water quickly heats up on a sunny day and evaporates much more readily than deeper water.
- Use submerged planting shelves to hold marginal or emergent plants. This limits shallow areas where evaporation is more rapid.
- Add only a few shallow entrance slopes for wildlife and keep them in sheltered, shady areas. Wildlife will appreciate the natural cover as well.
- If you include bog plants, be sure to line those areas so that the water doesn’t soak into the ground.
- Plant bog areas densely so they shade their own roots and limit evaporation. If your bog plants are kept in pots, make sure the pots are generously sized, both in depth and diameter and roots spread throughout the available space. Surface roots encourage water loss.
- In bog areas, use mulch generously to keep the soil cool and further limit evaporation. Sand or light color pea gravel also help reflect sunlight and keep the soil cool. However, if you need acidic soil, ground leaves or pine needles are a better choice.
Clearly, ponds are extremely valuable additions to even the most water conscious gardens. If you choose to incorporate a water feature, focus on wise placement so that your pond does the most good, and intelligently employ as many water saving strategies as possible.
No Fish Required!
When considering an outdoor or garden pond, many assume that you’re talking about a feature that’s focused on fish, and that’s indeed a very popular option. Koi, goldfish, red minnows, mosquito fish, and many other types are easy to keep in a well-designed and maintained backyard pond and they offer a unique type of reward for those who are committed to fish keeping.
However, fish are not the only denizens of a planted pond, and there is plenty to enjoy even if fish are not on your list. In fact, wild creatures of all types and sizes will inevitably be drawn to a healthy garden or decorative pond, from insects like damselflies, pond skaters, bees and butterflies, to reptiles like turtles, lizards, and (mostly harmless) snakes, or amphibians like salamanders, newts, frogs, and all their fascinating juvenile forms: tadpoles.
Songbirds and hummingbirds are delightful visitors to any garden, and a planted garden pond offers an ideal environment where food, water, and safety are all available close at hand. If you have a particularly large pond, you may even attract some migrating waterfowl a few times a year.
In this series, we’ll be focusing on backyard ponds, decorative ponds, planted ponds, ornamental ponds, and wildlife or naturalized ponds that are not especially focused on fish. If fish are a definite desire for your backyard oasis, check out our free resources on designing, building, and maintaining a healthy backyard fish pond.
