Any place can accommodate a water garden, even a simple balcony, as long as it is well exposed to natural light. The aquatic garden is not difficult to achieve and gives everyone who observes it a great serenity.
Types of water gardens
If as an open space we only have a balcony, we can set up our water garden simply inside a large container such as a barrel cut in half lengthwise. In a city garden, instead, to create our little overgrown it is advisable to bury in the ground a glass fiber tank equipped with an electric pump that also gives rise to streams, waterfalls and fountains, which in addition to oxygenate the water give the garden a more natural appearance. Tap water is too cold for fish and it should not be wasted, so the pump also serves to recycle this precious resource.
In the countryside we can, using large sheets of resistant plastic, build actual lakes, possibly connected to one another by small waterfalls with a fiberglass or plastic-coated bottom. The use of concrete or concrete tanks that tend to fracture due to the settlement of the ground and the action of frost and thaw is not recommended. The smaller the pond, the lower the seedlings that will adorn it.
Water garden design
At this point we can design the project of our water garden and then with the help of a rubber tube or a rope reproduce on the ground the real size contour, which should preferably be roundish in shape as it looks more natural . We avoid placing the water garden under trees and bushes, from which leaves and flowers would fall which we should continually remove to prevent their decomposition from feeding the growth of algae, which would make the water smelly in a short time. To avoid algae growth it is also advisable to use oxygenating plants that remove mineral salts from them beneath the surface of the water and contribute to the health of all living creatures in water. The water garden should also be located near the water and electricity outlets, in a sunny position. It is also advisable to calculate a quote, as the construction and subsequent maintenance of the water garden can be very expensive.
In principle, the aquatic plants suitable for deeper waters will be placed in the center of the pond, towards the shore smaller plants and along the contour plants that love humidity but not water. The water must be clean and free for at least half of the surface from the vegetation, also to be able to see and feed the fish that live there, which are useful to eliminate the larvae of mosquitoes, the eggs of snails and aphids and algae . Their droppings also fertilize the soil of the bottom.
Water garden made of fiberglass tub
We dig the hole a little bigger than the tank, we remove all the stones from the bottom, we press and we cover with sand. We position the tank by checking that it is perfectly horizontal with a spirit level. We fill the spaces between the tank and the inside of the hole with earth, always checking the level. At the end we pave the edge with stones and cement or sow a lawn.
Water garden made with plastic sheet
The most resistant material is butylite, which is designed to last about fifty years, while polyethylene lasts about ten years. We calculate that the length and width of the material also depends on the depth of the pond. We dig a hole with non-steep walls and remove all the sharp stones, then cover the bottom and walls with sand. We spread the plastic sheet carefully, making it protrude from the edge by at least twenty centimeters and hold it in place with the help of large stones. Enter the water and keep the level 15 centimeters from the edge, then remove the stones and cut the excess plastic along the perimeter of the pond. At the end we pave the edge.
Water gardens: How to place aquatic plants in the pond
Aquatic plants should not be placed too close together because many of them have a very rapid development. The plants for the garden must be planted in plastic pots that serve to prevent excessive vegetation and hinder the transit of fish between the roots that would cloud the water. Containers should be lined with sackcloth and older, darker cut roots. The earth must be clayey, fertile and compact with the supplement of superphosphate and without the addition of organic material. When the plants are placed in the pots we cover the earth with a layer of gravel. The pond must then be filled to cover just the containers and then added as the plants grow.
Near the bankssmaller plants should be placed keeping the pots raised by bricks. Oxygenating plants, essential for good fish health and for eliminating carbon dioxide, have small roots that can be ballasted with pieces of galvanized sheet and simply let fall to the bottom of the pond. Alternatively, they can be planted in pots with holes that are then sunk in water. Floating plants that live just below the surface of the water and draw dissolved nourishment from it are simply left on the surface of the pond. At the end with the addition of some pebbles, rock or amphora (never use sharp materials) on the bottom and some colored fish our pond will be perfect.