FAQs - Pond Design

Q - Where is the best place to locate my water garden?

Resist the impulse to locate the pond at the back-corner of the yard, where water  tends to accumulate when it rains. The best place to locate your pond is near the area where you spend your outdoor time.  Try to situate the pond, stream, and waterfalls so they are visible to different living areas inside the house.  By bringing the pond up close the house, you’ll get the most out of your investment.

Q - What is the best shape for a pond?

You can shape your pond in any configuration your imagination and budget can handle.  That is, if you are building a flexible liner pond.  Obviously, preformed ponds are limited to shape of preformed liner that you purchased.

When laying out your pond, try to use existing landscape and features to help shape the pond.  Unless you are looking for a formal pond, stay away from straight or perfectly circular lines.  Also, try using sweeping curves instead of tight, angular ones.  You want the current from the stream and waterfalls to be able to travel through the pond to your skimmer.  Tight corners can create “dead” areas that will trap all the debris that falls into the pond.

Q - How tall should the waterfalls be?

It depends.  If your yard has an existing slope, use it to your advantage.  Just remember, the farther the water travels vertically, the less power you will get out of your pump.  You may need to increase the size of you pump to get the correct water flow. 

If your yard has little or no slope, then the waterfall height should be no more than 2 to 3’ tall.  Unless you are willing to create a massive berm (wall of dirt and retaining wall) behind the waterfall, it tends to turn out looking like a volcano coming from nowhere in the middle of your flat yard.  A three foot waterfall and supporting berm can easily be blended into your yard and will look much more natural.

Remember, it is not just the height of the waterfall that creates the sound, it is the movement.  You can create as much or more sound from a small, dynamic waterfall than from a higher, “sheeting” one.

Q - What is the minimum slope for a stream?

The typical recommendation is one inch of vertical drop for evry ten horizontal feet of stream.

Q - What's the main purpose of landscaping around the pond?

Aesthetically speaking, the purpose of the landscaping around the pond is the same as the pond itself, for the whole area to look and feel as natural as possible. Many pond builders study nature to see how a pond looks in the wild and they try to emulate that look and feel. The pond landscapers (who are usually the pond owners) should aim to accomplish the same goal with the plant material they choose.

Q - Can I plant close to or even in between the rocks surrounding the pond?

Absolutely you can and should. If you have a look at ponds out in the wild you’ll see the Mother Nature sticks a plethora of plants into every nook and cranny, and when she does, those plants grow over and around the rocks, softening the look and feel of the pond itself.

Q - What are the best plants to use close to the pond?

Any creeping plant that acts as a softener, naturally forming around the rocks. Mosses and various ground-covers work very well here.

It is also possible to bring the lawn right up to the edge of the pond. However, care should be taken to ensure any run-off is directed away from the pond.

Q - How should plants be organized around the pond?

The general rule of thumb here is to think like a photographer who’s organizing a group of people for a photo – shortest in front, tallest in back, and the others in the middle. That allows all smiles to be seen and appreciated. If you organize your plants with shortest ones up close, the medium size plants and bushes in the middle, and the tall plants, with long, swaying grasses in back, you’ll be on the right track.

Q - Is it possible to over-plant the area surrounding the pond?

As a matter of fact, one of the things a new water gardening enthusiast has to watch out for is over planting in year one. Many of the plants you locate around your pond can grow quickly, turning your water garden in years two and three into a veritable jungle. Remember that a water garden is intended to develop and mature over time and if you try to make it happen all at once you could be creating a problem for yourself.

Q - Are there plants that should be avoided in the area surrounding the pond?

Avoid any plants that don’t look and feel natural and at home by the pond. Also, some types of bamboo have been known to poke holes in liner when planted in a pond.  Though a rare occurrence, make sure you check with your plant specialist first.

Q - Are there plants that attract particular forms of wildlife?

Yes. Presuming of course that the species exists in your geographical area, there are plants that attract certain types of birds. The same can be said of butterflies, dragonflies, turtles, and frogs. They all need food and shelter in order to survive and if you provide them with easy access to the plants they like, then you increase the odds of attracting them to your pond.

Q - How about weeds in the area surrounding the pond? Are they a problem?

Like anywhere else in your yard, the area surrounding the pond has the potential to become weedy. Good maintenance practices and plenty of desirable plants will help keep weed growth to a minimum.

Q - What’s the best way to get natural looking color into the surrounding landscape?

Two things with regard to lots of color. If you take the time to plant bulbs in the fall, they will come up in the spring and give you boatloads of color. The second dash of color comes from annuals like impatiens and petunias. Impatiens, in particular, love the water and grow nicely in the pond or the stream, blooming late into the year giving you a season-long splash of color.

Q - How do trees sitting close to the pond affect the water garden?

Trees can affect a water garden in a few ways.  The shade that trees create will alter the choices of plants you can use in and around the pond.   Also, the leaves from deciduous trees will need to be cleaned out of the pond in the fall.  Ponds that are equipped with skimmers have this done automatically – those without will need to manually remove the leaves.

Some flowering trees will create the same problem in the spring with the petals from their flowers.  Again, the skimmer should capture most of them, but those without skimmers will need to manually remove the petals from the pond.

One last consideration due to trees is with species such as oak and elm that can stain the pond water a dark tea color – usually in the spring.  This is due to the tannins in the bark and leaves of the tree running into the pond after rains.  While not harmful to fish or plants, it can make the pond unsightly.  Using activated charcoal or partial water changes can clear the water back up.

Courtesy of Pond Lifestyles - an Aquascape Designs Website