PONDS-AND-WATERFALLS

A garden pond is a lovely feature for most gardens but you have to plan ahead. A garden pond without aquatics, or water plants, would look very unnatural as well as bleak. Stocking a pond with plants has an important function, apart from making the pond look natural; the health of the underwater environment.

Locating Your Garden Pond

The ideal location is close to your house where you can appreciate it all year round. Ponds attract wildlife like birds and butterflies, so it is nice to just sit and watch your pond. Some considerations for its location are not to place it under trees or you will be spending a lot of time cleaning out the fallen leaves. A pond also requires a few hours of direct sunlight for some types of aquatics like water lilies.

A Natural Balance

The aim of a garden pond is to be almost self supported so that there is a minimum of maintenance. There has to be a natural balance between all of its components; the size, depth, types of aquatics, and fish. You need a decent sized pond, surface area and of varying depths, to be able to include a balanced selection of the different types of water plants.

The Depth of a Garden Pond

There are several classifications of aquatics and each one has an important role to play in the life of the pond. That is why you need a pond with ledges around the edge of various depths. The first level should be 8 to 10 inches deep for shallow marginal plants. A second level should be provided for deeper marginal plants at about 12 inches, and a deeper area needs to be between 15 and 18 inches for deep marginal plants, water lilies, oxygenating plants, and floating plants. The central part of the pond should be at least 24 inches deep if you want to have goldfish.

The Roles of the Different Water Plants

As I said, you should provide enough surface area so that you can fit in each of the different categories of plants. The floating leaves of water lilies provide shade to discourage algae growth. The floating plants provide food and shelter for fish as well as slight shade. The submerged plants are the oxygenating plants that create the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide as well as food for the fish. The marginal plants at the edges provide shade and shelter.

Planting Your Aquatics

The easiest way to plant water plants is in aquatic baskets. Line the basket with canvas sacking to stop the earth seeping out into the pond. Also, it is a good idea to sprinkle well washed gravel around the plant in the basket. With baskets you have the option of raising them up on bricks to adjust the height.

When buying water plants you will get indications of the proper depth to plant them – this depth is measured from the level of the compost / gravel to the surface of the water. The time to plant your aquatics is from spring to autumn; when they are actively growing.

Passive Income For Life