Top tips for creating a water feature
There’s nothing quite like some water in our gardens to convey a sense of peace and tranquility – a water feature burbling away, a sparkling, clear pond with a few water lilies in it and some goldfish swimming about.
Professional award winning garden designer Kate Durr comments “Water has a compelling quality, bringing light and life to the most limited of spaces. Simple still pools introduce calm, whereas moving water brings an energy and playfulness. The sound of falling water can be soothing and help diminish traffic noise so I often incorporate water features into my urban garden designs.”
Kate suggests that any water feature is carefully contained in a garden plan so it complements rather than dominates the entire space. When creating her Gold Medal and Best Festival Garden Award Garden at RHS Malvern Kate incorporated a narrow corten steel rill to dramatically divide the show garden, echoing the strong linear design of the layout. The rill was filled with black Dyofix dyed water, creating a flat mirrored plane allowing filigree reflections of two Amelanchier trees in spring leaf.
Kate added “The reflection danced across the surface, adding movement, light and dynamism to my garden. An effect that can be created in any home garden, whatever the size.”
Keeping the water clean
Kate’s top tips when designing a garden feature include:
Site your water feature to ensure it is neither in full sun or full shade – too much sun will promote algae growth, while shade combined with falling leaves from nearby plants and trees will result in unhealthy oxygen levels;
Use a pond dye, such as Dyofix, as this will not only create deep reflective tones in your water enhancing reflections it will also suppress algae growth and ensure your pond or pool stays healthy; and
Aeration is vital – either by artificial means, employing fountains or spouts or by natural means using aquatic plants.
Now is a great time to start planning a water feature for your spring garden and the best time to apply a product such as Dyofix is to get it into the water in early Spring so that it can halt the growth of algae and weeds before they get established when the sun comes out.
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